NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are lopsided, with the GeForce RTX 4090 taking 7 of 8 recorded tests. The largest gap appears in Passmark DirectX 12, where the RTX 4090 scores 150 versus 70 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, a 114.3% advantage. That is the single biggest margin in either direction. The RTX 4090 also leads heavily in Passmark GPU Compute, scoring 26613 against 14208, a 87.3% delta. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RTX 4090 posts 326 versus 228, a 43% lead, and in DirectX 10 it wins 224 to 167, a 34.1% margin.

The RTX 4090 extends its lead into legacy and 2D workloads as well. Passmark DirectX 9 shows 397 versus 335, an 18.5% edge. Passmark G2D, which measures 2D graphics performance, lands at 1299 versus 777, a 67.2% gap. The most significant overall 3D result, Passmark G3D, gives the RTX 4090 a 38194 score against 25096, a 52.2% win. Every one of these victories is substantial, and the pattern is consistent: the GeForce card dominates across all DirectX versions and compute-oriented tests.

The single test where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins is Geekbench OpenCL. There, the workstation card scores 326898 versus 255416, a 21.9% advantage. This is a notable outlier because the RTX 4090 wins every other benchmark, but the magnitude of the OpenCL lead is large enough to matter for workloads that rely heavily on that API. The 5880 Ada's win is not a marginal one; it is a decisive reversal in a compute-heavy test.

Aggregate scores reinforce the split. The RTX 4090 averages 60347 across all its benchmarks, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation averages 45972. However, the nearest rivals in the database tell a different story for each card. The RTX 4090 sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with its closest competitor being the Intel Arc Pro A60 at a 0% delta, essentially identical average scores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation sits at the 85th percentile, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A2000, is just 0.2% behind. So while the RTX 4090 has a higher raw average, both cards are closely matched to their immediate neighbors in the overall ranking.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same fundamental silicon: the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². They also share the Ada Lovelace architecture and support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The similarities end there in terms of configuration.

The RTX 4090 is fully enabled. It has 16384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 128 RT cores, and 512 tensor cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is cut down: 14080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 176 ROPs (same as the 4090), 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The shading unit count is 14% lower on the workstation card, and the RT and tensor core counts are also reduced. This explains the texture rate difference: the 4090 reaches 1,290.2 GTexel/s versus 1,082.4 GTexel/s for the 5880 Ada. Pixel rates are closer, at 443.5 GPixel/s versus 433.0 GPixel/s, because both share 176 ROPs.

Clock speeds differ sharply. The RTX 4090 has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a much lower base clock of 975 MHz but a boost of 2460 MHz, only 60 MHz below the 4090's boost. This large base-clock gap is unusual and suggests the workstation card is designed to run at lower sustained clocks, likely for thermal and power discipline. The FP32 throughput reflects both the core count and clocks: the RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS, while the RTX 5880 Ada delivers 69.27 TFLOPS. Both have 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios.

Memory is a major differentiator. The RTX 4090 uses 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective), producing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation doubles capacity to 48 GB but switches to GDDR6, clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), on the same 384-bit bus, yielding 864.0 GB/s. So the 4090 has higher bandwidth, while the 5880 Ada has twice the capacity for large datasets.

Power and physical design also diverge. The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W, is triple-slot, uses a single 16-pin connector, and suggests an 850 W power supply. It measures 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation draws 285 W, is dual-slot, also uses a 16-pin connector, and suggests a 600 W power supply. Its dimensions are 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, with no recorded width. Display outputs differ: the 4090 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the 5880 Ada has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16.

Production status and release timing differ. The RTX 4090 launched on 2022-09-19, has reached end-of-life, and its predecessor is GeForce 30, with a successor in GeForce 50. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation launched on 2024-01-04, is still active, replaces Workstation Ampere, and is succeeded by Blackwell PRO W. The 4090 has a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the 5880 Ada.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: the RTX 4090 is the stronger card for raw graphics performance and DirectX-based workloads, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the choice for memory-hungry compute tasks in the OpenCL environment. The 4090 wins the majority of benchmarks by wide margins, including a 114.3% lead in DirectX 12 and an 87.3% lead in GPU compute. Its 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth make it the faster execution engine for most tasks.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation counters with 48 GB of memory, exactly double the 4090's 24 GB, and a 21.9% win in Geekbench OpenCL. For users whose workloads fit within 24 GB and favor DirectX, the 4090 is the obvious pick. For those who need to hold large models or datasets in VRAM and can leverage OpenCL, the 5880 Ada provides a meaningful capacity and compute advantage. The 285 W TDP and dual-slot cooler also make it easier to integrate into dense workstation chassis, while the 4090 requires more power and space.

Percentile ranks are close: 88th for the 4090 versus 85th for the 5880 Ada. The 4090's average benchmark score of 60347 is much higher than the 5880 Ada's 45972, but each card's nearest rivals are within a fraction of a percent, meaning neither is an outlier in the broader GPU landscape. The verdict from the data is that the 4090 is the performance leader, and the 5880 Ada is a specialized alternative for capacity-bound compute.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X. Both use a 384-bit bus.

Q: What is the biggest benchmark margin between the two?

A: The largest gap is in Passmark DirectX 12, where the RTX 4090 scores 150 versus 70 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, a 114.3% advantage.

Q: Does the RTX 5880 Ada Generation win any benchmark?

A: Yes, it wins Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 326898 versus 255416 for the RTX 4090, a 21.9% lead.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W and suggests an 850 W power supply. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a TDP of 285 W and suggests a 600 W power supply.

Q: Are the cards based on the same chip?

A: Yes, both use the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, but the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has fewer active cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 4090 delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivers 864.0 GB/s.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 wins in every DirectX benchmark recorded, including DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12. The margins range from 18.5% in DirectX 9 to 114.3% in DirectX 12. It also wins Passmark G2D by 67.2%, Passmark G3D by 52.2%, and Passmark GPU Compute by 87.3%. This makes it the clear choice for gaming, real-time 3D rendering, and any workload that uses DirectX APIs. Its higher FP32 throughput (82.58 TFLOPS) and higher texture rate (1,290.2 GTexel/s) support this dominance.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins only in Geekbench OpenCL, but that win is significant. Its 326898 score versus 255416 reflects a 21.9% advantage, and it pairs that with 48 GB of memory. For compute tasks that exceed 24 GB of VRAM, the 4090 cannot even load the data, making the 5880 Ada the only viable option from this pair. Its lower TDP of 285 W and dual-slot design also make it more suitable for multi-GPU workstations with limited space and cooling.

The use-case split is therefore straightforward: choose the RTX 4090 for maximum graphics performance, DirectX-based rendering, and compute within 24 GB of VRAM. Choose the RTX 5880 Ada Generation for OpenCL-heavy workloads, large in-memory datasets, or density-constrained environments. The 4090's end-of-life status and the 5880 Ada's active production status may also influence availability, but the recorded data alone favors the 4090 for most performance metrics.