NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE and NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation serve fundamentally different segments, and the recorded data reflects that split. The RTX 5090 SE is a GeForce 50-series part built on Blackwell 2.0, while the RTX 4500 Ada Generation is a workstation-class GPU from the Ada Lovelace generation. The database shows the RTX 4500 Ada Generation at the 97th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 166,094, while the RTX 5090 SE has no recorded benchmark scores and sits at the 50th percentile, indicating that the 5090 SE's performance has not yet been measured in the database.

For users who require validated workstation compute performance today, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the only one of the two with measured data. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (average score 165,217, 0.5% ahead), the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (average score 164,894, 0.7% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (average score 168,574, 1.5% behind), and the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (average score 162,504, 2.2% ahead). The 4500's scores place it in a tight cluster, within roughly 2 percentage points of all four rivals, suggesting that it trades blows with established workstation accelerators rather than dominating them.

The RTX 5090 SE, by contrast, is a newer part with substantially larger hardware resources. It carries 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 160 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores, versus the 4500's 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. The 5090 SE also has a 384-bit memory bus with 1.34 TB/s of bandwidth, compared to the 4500's 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s. These figures indicate that the 5090 SE has roughly double the shading, texturing, and rasterization resources of the 4500, plus more than three times the memory bandwidth. However, without benchmark data for the 5090 SE, the database cannot confirm how those resources translate into measured performance.

The choice between these two depends on whether measured, validated results matter more than architectural headroom. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a documented track record in the database, with a 97th percentile ranking. The RTX 5090 SE is an active production part with a newer architecture, but no benchmark scores are recorded for it. Users needing verified performance numbers should look to the 4500; users prioritizing raw resource counts and the newer architecture may favor the 5090 SE, but the data does not yet support a performance verdict for it.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent different architectural generations from NVIDIA. The RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The die contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 122.9 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses the AD103 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, also fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, for a density of 121.1 million per square millimeter. Both use the same process node and foundry, and their transistor densities are nearly identical, but the 5090 SE's die is roughly twice the area and carries twice the transistor count.

Clock speeds differ notably. The RTX 5090 SE has a base clock of 1740 MHz and a boost clock of 2377 MHz. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation runs a base clock of 2070 MHz and a boost clock of 2580 MHz. The 4500 has higher clocks on both metrics, but the 5090 SE compensates with far more execution units. Memory configurations diverge sharply: the 5090 SE uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus with 1.34 TB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), while the 4500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Both have the same memory capacity, but the 5090 SE delivers more than three times the bandwidth.

The power and interface profiles also differ. The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W, requires a single 16-pin power connector, and suggests a 900 W power supply. It uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a TDP of 210 W, no power connectors listed, and suggests a 550 W power supply, with a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. Display outputs diverge as well: the 5090 SE offers one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs, while the 4500 offers four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The 5090 SE is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 245 mm (9.6 inches) for the 4500, and both are dual-slot cards, with the 5090 SE at 40 mm (1.6 inches) wide and the 4500's width not recorded.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The 5090 SE is part of the GeForce 50 series with a predecessor in GeForce 40 and a successor in GeForce 60, while the 4500 belongs to the Workstation Ada generation, with a predecessor in Workstation Ampere and a successor in Blackwell PRO W. The 5090 SE's launch MSRP is 1,499 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the 4500.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in measured benchmark performance, as it is the only one of the two with recorded scores. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 160,786 and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 171,401, producing an average of 166,094. That average places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5500, 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800, and 2.2% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB. It trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X by 1.5%. This places the 4500 in a competitive band where no rival is more than 2.2% away, indicating that its measured performance is solidly mid-pack among workstation accelerators rather than a leader or laggard.

The RTX 5090 SE wins on raw hardware specifications. It has 14,080 shading units versus 7,680, 440 TMUs versus 240, 160 ROPs versus 80, 110 RT cores versus 60, and 440 tensor cores versus 240. Its pixel rate is 380.3 GPixel/s versus 206.4 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 1,045.9 GTexel/s versus 619.2 GTexel/s. Its FP32 compute is 66.94 TFLOPS versus 39.63 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is 66.94 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1). Memory bandwidth is another clear win: 1.34 TB/s versus 432.0 GB/s. The 5090 SE also uses faster GDDR7 memory and a wider 384-bit bus, whereas the 4500 uses GDDR6 on 192 bits.

For use-case splits, the data suggests that the 4500 is appropriate for workloads where validated performance and lower power draw matter. Its 210 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are far below the 5090 SE's 500 W TDP and 900 W suggested PSU. The 4500's four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs support multi-display workstation setups, and its lack of a power connector simplifies installation. The 5090 SE, with its 16-pin connector and higher power envelope, targets systems with more robust power delivery. The 5090 SE's newer architecture and larger resource pool may benefit future workloads, but the database does not currently contain benchmark evidence for that.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 5090 SE have any recorded benchmark scores?

A: No. The database lists no benchmarks for the RTX 5090 SE. Its percentile vs all GPUs is 50, and its average benchmark score is 0, indicating no measured results have been entered. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation, by contrast, has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 160,786 and 171,401, respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 4500 Ada Generation compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 166,094. It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (165,217), 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894), and 2.2% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (162,504). It is 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574).

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has significantly more memory bandwidth at 1.34 TB/s, using 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 432.0 GB/s, using 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. Both have the same memory capacity of 24 GB.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W, uses a single 16-pin power connector, and has a suggested power supply of 900 W. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a TDP of 210 W, lists no power connectors, and has a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5090 SE is built on Blackwell 2.0, while the RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses Ada Lovelace, but their API support is identical.

Q: What are the display output differences?

A: The RTX 5090 SE provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The 4500 has more total display outputs, but the 5090 SE supports the newer DisplayPort 2.1b standard.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark results between the RTX 5090 SE and the RTX 4500 Ada Generation. The head-to-head benchmark list is empty, and the win counts for both cards are zero. This means there is no direct measured comparison available. However, the individual benchmark data for the RTX 4500 Ada Generation provides context for where it stands among its peers, and the specifications of the RTX 5090 SE provide an architectural contrast.

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation's Geekbench OpenCL score of 160,786 and Vulkan score of 171,401 give it an average of 166,094. This average is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A5500's 165,217 (0.5% delta), a card that sits in the same performance class. The gap to the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 is 0.7%, to the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB is 2.2%, and to the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X is -1.5%. These deltas are all small, meaning the 4500 sits in a very tight competitive cluster where no single rival holds a significant advantage.

The RTX 5090 SE's specifications, if translated to benchmark performance, would likely place it in a different class entirely. Its FP32 compute of 66.94 TFLOPS is 1.69 times the 4500's 39.63 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 380.3 GPixel/s is 1.84 times the 4500's 206.4 GPixel/s. Its texture rate of 1,045.9 GTexel/s is 1.69 times the 4500's 619.2 GTexel/s. Its memory bandwidth of 1.34 TB/s is 3.10 times the 4500's 432.0 GB/s. These ratios suggest that, in workloads limited by compute, texturing, or memory bandwidth, the 5090 SE would have a substantial advantage, but the absence of measured scores prevents a definitive statement.

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation's performance percentile of 97 places it among the top GPUs in the database, and its average score of 166,094 confirms that it delivers competitive workstation performance. The RTX 5090 SE's percentile of 50 is not a performance ranking but rather a placeholder reflecting the absence of measured data. Until benchmark scores are recorded for the 5090 SE, the only quantitative comparison available is the architectural one: the 5090 SE has roughly twice the shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, and tensor cores of the 4500, plus a memory bus that is twice as wide and memory that is more than three times as fast. Those are the recorded facts; the benchmark outcomes remain unmeasured.