NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between two very different NVIDIA workstation solutions. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation share identical core counts in several areas, but their design goals diverge sharply. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the only one of the two with recorded benchmark scores in the database, placing it in the 85th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 45,972 sits within 1.4% of its nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46,601 and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46,043. The RTX 5090 SE has no recorded benchmark scores and no nearest rivals listed, so its percentile of 50 reflects a database position rather than measured performance.

For users working with the largest possible memory footprint, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation offers 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, double the 24 GB of GDDR7 on the RTX 5090 SE. That memory capacity, combined with a 285 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU, makes it the more conservative choice for power-constrained workstation builds. The RTX 5090 SE, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and 92,200 million transistors, targets higher clock speeds with a base of 1740 MHz and boost of 2377 MHz, but it demands a 500 W TDP and a 900 W suggested PSU. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation counters with a lower base clock of 975 MHz but a higher boost clock of 2460 MHz, achieving slightly better peak throughput in FP32 at 69.27 TFLOPS versus 66.94 TFLOPS.

The RTX 5090 SE delivers substantially higher memory bandwidth at 1.34 TB/s compared to 864.0 GB/s for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. It also uses GDDR7 memory running at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses GDDR6 at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. Both cards use a 384-bit memory bus. The RTX 5090 SE additionally supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses PCIe 4.0 x16, and the newer card offers HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b outputs versus four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs on the Ada card.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA architectures. The RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture. Both are manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts differ: the GB202 packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, while the AD102 contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Transistor density is similar, with 122.9M per mm² on the RTX 5090 SE and 125.3M per mm² on the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.

Both cards share identical counts of 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 176 raster operation units compared to 160 on the RTX 5090 SE. Clock behavior differs notably: the RTX 5090 SE starts at 1740 MHz base and boosts to 2377 MHz, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation idles at a much lower 975 MHz base but boosts higher to 2460 MHz. This gives the Ada card a higher peak pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s versus 380.3 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 1,045.9 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture separates the two clearly. The RTX 5090 SE uses GDDR7 with 24 GB capacity and 1.34 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses GDDR6 with 48 GB capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 384-bit bus width. The RTX 5090 SE's memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. The FP32 and FP16 compute throughput are identical within each card: 66.94 TFLOPS for the RTX 5090 SE and 69.27 TFLOPS for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, both at a 1:1 ratio.

The RTX 5090 SE uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the RTX 5090 SE provides one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b ports, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides four DisplayPort 1.4a ports. Both cards are dual-slot, use a single 16-pin power connector, and share the same 267 mm length and 111 mm or 112 mm height. The RTX 5090 SE has a 40 mm width, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's width is not recorded.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins clearly in memory capacity. Its 48 GB of GDDR6 memory doubles the 24 GB available on the RTX 5090 SE. For workloads that need to hold very large datasets or models in video memory, the Ada card has a decisive advantage. It also delivers slightly higher FP32 compute at 69.27 TFLOPS versus 66.94 TFLOPS, and its higher boost clock of 2460 MHz helps it reach peak rates faster. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation also has a lower TDP of 285 W versus 500 W, meaning it requires a smaller suggested PSU of 600 W instead of 900 W.

The RTX 5090 SE wins on memory bandwidth. Its 1.34 TB/s bandwidth is roughly 55% higher than the 864.0 GB/s of the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. This bandwidth advantage, combined with GDDR7 memory technology, could benefit memory-intensive rendering or compute workloads that stream large amounts of data. The RTX 5090 SE also uses a newer PCIe 5.0 interface versus PCIe 4.0, and it offers more modern display outputs with HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b support. The RTX 5090 SE's base clock of 1740 MHz is substantially higher than the Ada card's 975 MHz, which may translate to better sustained performance in scenarios that do not reach boost clocks.

The recorded benchmarks only cover the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Its PassMark G3D score of 25,096 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 326,898 show measurable performance, but no comparable data exists for the RTX 5090 SE in the database. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation also has a higher pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s, along with more ROPs at 176 versus 160.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare?

A: The RTX 5090 SE delivers 1.34 TB/s bandwidth, which is significantly higher than the 864.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Both use a 384-bit bus width.

Q: Which GPU has higher compute throughput?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation achieves 69.27 TFLOPS in FP32, slightly ahead of the 66.94 TFLOPS of the RTX 5090 SE. Both cards have identical FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has a 500 W TDP and requires a 900 W suggested PSU. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a 285 W TDP and requires a 600 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which card supports newer display outputs?

A: The RTX 5090 SE provides one HDMI 2.1b port and three DisplayPort 2.1b ports. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides four DisplayPort 1.4a ports.

Q: Do the cards have the same core configuration?

A: Yes, both have 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 176 ROPs versus 160 on the RTX 5090 SE.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark results between these two GPUs, and only the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has recorded benchmark scores. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 326,898 places it well above the average. The PassMark suite shows a G3D score of 25,096, a GPU compute score of 14,208, and DirectX scores of 167 for DirectX 10, 228 for DirectX 11, 70 for DirectX 12, and 335 for DirectX 9. The G2D score is 777.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's average benchmark score of 45,972 puts it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX A2000 with an average score of 46,043, a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M with 46,601, a delta of -1.4%. The Intel Arc A730M at 45,592 trails by 0.8%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,384 trails by 1.3%. These deltas show the RTX 5880 Ada Generation sits in a tight competitive cluster rather than dominating its nearest neighbors.

Without benchmark data for the RTX 5090 SE, direct score comparisons are impossible. The specification sheet, however, offers points of contrast. The RTX 5090 SE has a higher base clock of 1740 MHz versus 975 MHz, but the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a higher boost clock of 2460 MHz versus 2377 MHz. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation leads in pixel rate at 433.0 GPixel/s and texture rate at 1,082.4 GTexel/s. The RTX 5090 SE leads in memory bandwidth at 1.34 TB/s. The FP32 gap is small, with the Ada card at 69.27 TFLOPS and the Blackwell card at 66.94 TFLOPS.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation launched earlier, with a release date of January 2024, while the RTX 5090 SE has a release date of December 2025. The RTX 5090 SE has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has no recorded launch MSRP in the database. The RTX 5090 SE's predecessor is the GeForce 40 series and its successor is the GeForce 60 series, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's predecessor is Workstation Ampere and its successor is Blackwell PRO W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE | NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Chip | GB202 | AD102 |

| Transistors | 92,200 million | 76,300 million |

| Die Size | 750 mm² | 609 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 122.9M / mm² | 125.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1740 MHz | 975 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2377 MHz | 2460 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 48 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz, 28 Gbps effective | 2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.34 TB/s | 864.0 GB/s |

| ROPs | 160 | 176 |

| Pixel Rate | 380.3 GPixel/s | 433.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,045.9 GTexel/s | 1,082.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 66.94 TFLOPS | 69.27 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 66.94 TFLOPS (1:1) | 69.27 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 500 W | 285 W |

| Suggested PSU | 900 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Width | 40 mm | Not recorded |

| Release Date | December 2025 | January 2024 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,499 USD | Not recorded |

The two cards share identical shading units, TMUs, ray tracing cores, tensor cores, memory bus width, slot width, power connector type, length, and height. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are manufactured by NVIDIA on a 5 nm TSMC process. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a higher transistor density despite a smaller die, while the RTX 5090 SE has more transistors overall. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's higher boost clock and ROP count contribute to its lead in pixel and texture rates, while the RTX 5090 SE's GDDR7 memory and wider effective bandwidth provide its primary advantage.