NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE vs NVIDIA N1 16SM Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architecture and manufacturing details of the RTX 5090 SE and the N1 16SM?

A: Both GPUs use the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and are fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip with a die size of 750 mm² and 92,200 million transistors. The N1 16SM uses the GB20B chip with a die size of 382 mm², while its transistor count is unknown.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare between the two cards?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.34 TB/s bandwidth. The N1 16SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5090 SE has nearly five times the memory bandwidth.

Q: What are the clock speed differences?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has a base clock of 1740 MHz and a boost clock of 2377 MHz. The N1 16SM has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz. The RTX 5090 SE starts at more than double the base clock of the N1 16SM.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has 14,080 shading units and 440 TMUs. The N1 16SM has 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs. The RTX 5090 SE provides roughly 6.9 times the shading units and 3.4 times the TMUs.

Q: What are the power and connectivity specifications?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W, uses a single 16-pin power connector, and requires a suggested 900 W PSU. It is a dual-slot card. The N1 16SM is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with unknown TDP, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. Both use PCIe 5.0 x16 interfaces.

Q: When were these products released and what are their production statuses?

A: The RTX 5090 SE was released on 2025-12-31 and is listed as Active in production. The N1 16SM was released on 2026-05-31 and is also listed as Active. The RTX 5090 SE has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD; the N1 16SM has no launch MSRP recorded.

Architecture Differences

Both processors are built on the same Blackwell 2.0 architecture and the same 5 nm TSMC process, but their physical designs diverge sharply. The RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip, a large discrete GPU die measuring 750 mm² with 92,200 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². The N1 16SM uses the GB20B chip, a much smaller die at 382 mm², with an unknown transistor count. This size difference reflects distinct design goals: the RTX 5090 SE is a high-throughput discrete accelerator, while the N1 16SM is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) intended for system-on-chip integration.

The memory architectures reinforce this split. The RTX 5090 SE pairs its 384-bit bus with 24 GB of GDDR7, a dedicated high-bandwidth memory type. The N1 16SM uses a 256-bit bus with 128 GB of LPDDR5X, a unified memory configuration typical of integrated processors. The bandwidth gap is substantial: 1.34 TB/s versus 273.2 GB/s. The N1 16SM compensates with far larger capacity, but the RTX 5090 SE moves data at nearly five times the rate.

Compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The RTX 5090 SE has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 160 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The N1 16SM has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 24 ROPs, 16 RT cores, and 64 tensor cores. These numbers indicate the RTX 5090 SE is designed for maximum parallel throughput, while the N1 16SM is configured for moderate integrated performance with much lower resource counts.

Clock behavior also differs. The RTX 5090 SE operates at a base clock of 1740 MHz and boosts to 2377 MHz. The N1 16SM starts at 741 MHz and boosts to 2346 MHz. The boost clocks are close, but the base clock difference shows the discrete card maintains much higher sustained frequencies. The memory clocks differ as well: the RTX 5090 SE runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), while the N1 16SM runs at 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective).

The RTX 5090 SE supports a full API stack with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1 16SM records N/A for all three APIs. The RTX 5090 SE provides display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b; the N1 16SM has a single HDMI output.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains no head-to-head benchmark scores for these two GPUs, and neither has individual benchmark entries. Therefore, direct measured performance comparisons cannot be drawn from the data. However, the specification differences provide a basis for analyzing relative capability.

The most significant performance indicator is FP32 compute throughput. The RTX 5090 SE delivers 66.94 TFLOPS, while the N1 16SM delivers 9.609 TFLOPS. This means the RTX 5090 SE offers approximately 7 times the raw single-precision compute. The FP16 figures mirror this exactly, with both cards showing a 1:1 ratio: 66.94 TFLOPS versus 9.609 TFLOPS.

Texture and pixel rates follow the same pattern. The RTX 5090 SE achieves a texture rate of 1,045.9 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 380.3 GPixel/s. The N1 16SM achieves 300.3 GTexel/s and 56.30 GPixel/s. The RTX 5090 SE is roughly 3.5 times faster in texture fill and 6.8 times faster in pixel fill.

Memory bandwidth heavily favors the RTX 5090 SE at 1.34 TB/s versus 273.2 GB/s, a factor of about 4.9. This directly affects how quickly data can be fed to the compute units, which is critical for high-resolution rendering and large dataset workloads.

The N1 16SM holds an advantage in memory capacity with 128 GB versus 24 GB, a factor of 5.3. This capacity difference is relevant for workloads that require holding very large datasets in memory without swapping, though the bandwidth limitation constrains how quickly that data can be accessed.

The boost clocks are nearly identical, 2377 MHz versus 2346 MHz, a margin of about 1.3 percent. The base clocks differ more significantly at 1740 MHz versus 741 MHz, which indicates the RTX 5090 SE maintains higher performance under sustained load.

The Verdict

The database shows two products with completely different positioning. The RTX 5090 SE is a discrete, dual-slot GPU with a 500 W TDP, a 16-pin power connector, and a suggested 900 W PSU. It delivers 66.94 TFLOPS FP32, 1.34 TB/s bandwidth, and a full API feature set. The N1 16SM is an IGP with no power connectors, unknown TDP, 9.609 TFLOPS FP32, and 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. It has no recorded API support and a single HDMI output.

For workloads that demand maximum compute throughput, high memory bandwidth, and advanced graphics APIs, the RTX 5090 SE is the clear choice based on the recorded numbers. Its FP32 output is roughly 7 times higher, its pixel rate is about 6.8 times higher, and its bandwidth is about 4.9 times higher. These are decisive margins for rendering, simulation, and machine learning inference tasks.

For workloads that require very large memory capacity, the N1 16SM offers 128 GB, which is 5.3 times the capacity of the RTX 5090 SE. This could be relevant for specific data-heavy applications where capacity outweighs bandwidth. However, the N1 16SM's compute and bandwidth limitations will constrain its practical throughput in such scenarios.

The RTX 5090 SE has a recorded launch MSRP of 1,499 USD, while the N1 16SM has no pricing data. The RTX 5090 SE is listed as Active with a predecessor in the GeForce 40 series and a successor in the GeForce 60 series. The N1 16SM has no predecessor or successor recorded.

The data supports a straightforward split: the RTX 5090 SE is the high-performance discrete option, and the N1 16SM is a power-efficient integrated solution with exceptional memory capacity. Users requiring maximum graphics performance should select the RTX 5090 SE. Users prioritizing memory capacity in an integrated form factor should consider the N1 16SM.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE | NVIDIA N1 16SM |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GB202 | GB20B |

| Generation | GeForce 50 | Blackwell IGP (N1x) |

| Die Size | 750 mm² | 382 mm² |

| Transistors | 92,200 million | unknown |

| Transistor Density | 122.9M / mm² | null |

| Base Clock | 1740 MHz | 741 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2377 MHz | 2346 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) | 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 128 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | LPDDR5X |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.34 TB/s | 273.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14,080 | 2,048 |

| TMUs | 440 | 128 |

| ROPs | 160 | 24 |

| RT Cores | 110 | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | 440 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 380.3 GPixel/s | 56.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,045.9 GTexel/s | 300.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 66.94 TFLOPS | 9.609 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 66.94 TFLOPS (1:1) | 9.609 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 500 W | unknown |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 900 W | null |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b | 1x HDMI |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | N/A |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | N/A |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | N/A |

| Dimensions | 267 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm | null |

| Release Date | 2025-12-31 | 2026-05-31 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,499 USD | null |

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 SE wins in every compute and rendering metric recorded in the database. It has higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, higher pixel and texture rates, more shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, and tensor cores. It also has higher memory bandwidth and a wider memory bus. Its base clock is more than double that of the N1 16SM, and its boost clock is slightly higher. This makes it the appropriate choice for high-resolution gaming, real-time ray tracing, content creation, scientific simulation, and any workload that benefits from parallel compute.

The N1 16SM wins in memory capacity, offering 128 GB versus 24 GB. It also has a smaller die size, which may indicate lower manufacturing cost and power draw, though its TDP is unknown. As an IGP with no power connectors, it is designed to be integrated into a host system without discrete power delivery. Its single HDMI output and lack of recorded API support suggest it is intended for basic display and compute tasks rather than advanced graphics workloads.

The release dates show the N1 16SM is a later product, launching on 2026-05-31 versus 2025-12-31 for the RTX 5090 SE. Both are Active in production. The RTX 5090 SE has a clear lineage with a predecessor and successor, while the N1 16SM has none recorded.

For gaming, rendering, and high-performance computing, the RTX 5090 SE is the only viable option based on the data. For applications that require holding extremely large datasets in local memory, the N1 16SM's 128 GB capacity is its defining advantage. The two products serve different market segments, and the benchmark database contains no direct comparison results to suggest otherwise.