NVIDIA H20 vs NVIDIA RTX 500 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA H20 and NVIDIA RTX 500 Mobile Ada Generation serve completely different segments of the GPU market, and the data confirms they are not direct competitors. The H20 is a server-focused Hopper architecture part with 96 GB of HBM3 memory, a 6144-bit bus, and 4.03 TB/s of bandwidth, designed for large-scale compute workloads. The RTX 500 Mobile is a 35 W Ada Lovelace mobile part with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, intended for portable devices where power efficiency and compactness matter more than raw throughput.

Benchmark results show both GPUs sit at the 50th percentile in the database, but their average benchmark scores are both recorded as 0, meaning no comparative performance data is available. The choice between these two comes down to the workload environment, not performance numbers. The H20 is for a server chassis with a 500 W TDP, a 900 W suggested PSU, and an SXM Module slot width. The RTX 500 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors, a 35 W TDP, and display outputs that are portable device dependent.

The H20 has no display outputs at all, while the RTX 500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The H20 lists N/A for all three APIs. Anyone needing graphics output or consumer API support must choose the RTX 500 Mobile. Anyone needing massive memory capacity and extreme bandwidth for server-side compute must choose the H20.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA H20 delivers 4.03 TB/s of bandwidth from 96 GB of HBM3 memory on a 6144-bit bus. The RTX 500 Mobile delivers 128.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus. The H20 has roughly 31.5 times the bandwidth.

Q: Can the H20 output video to a display?

A: No. The H20 lists "No outputs" for display outputs and N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan support. The RTX 500 Mobile lists "Portable Device Dependent" for display outputs and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The H20 has a 500 W TDP and a 900 W suggested PSU. The RTX 500 Mobile has a 35 W TDP and no power connectors. The H20 requires a server power supply, while the RTX 500 Mobile draws power through its IGP slot.

Q: How do the transistor counts compare?

A: The H20 uses the GH100 chip with 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die. The RTX 500 Mobile uses the AD107 chip with 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. The H20 has about 4.2 times the transistors and about 5.1 times the die area.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The H20 has 9984 shading units, 312 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The RTX 500 Mobile has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The H20 has roughly 4.9 times the shading units and 4.9 times the TMUs, but the RTX 500 Mobile has more ROPs.

Q: What are the release dates?

A: The H20 was released on 2024-01-31. The RTX 500 Mobile was released on 2024-02-25. Both are listed as Active in production status.

Architecture Differences

The H20 is built on the Hopper architecture using the GH100 chip, while the RTX 500 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process node, but the transistor density differs. The H20 packs 80,000 million transistors into an 814 mm² die, giving a density of 98.3M per mm². The RTX 500 Mobile packs 18,900 million transistors into a 159 mm² die, giving a density of 118.9M per mm². The RTX 500 Mobile achieves a higher transistor density despite being a smaller chip.

The H20 belongs to the Server Hopper (Hxx) generation and the RTX 500 Mobile belongs to the Ada-MW (x000A) generation. The H20's predecessor is Server Ada and its successor is Server Blackwell. The RTX 500 Mobile's predecessor is Ampere-MW and its successor is Blackwell-MW.

The H20 has 312 tensor cores and no listed RT cores. The RTX 500 Mobile has 64 tensor cores and 16 RT cores. The H20's tensor core count is 4.9 times higher than the RTX 500 Mobile. The RTX 500 Mobile includes hardware ray tracing cores, while the H20's RT core count is not recorded in the database.

The H20 uses HBM3 memory, which explains its massive 6144-bit bus width and 4.03 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 500 Mobile uses GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, yielding 128.0 GB/s. The memory clock differs significantly: the H20 runs at 1313 MHz (5.3 Gbps effective) while the RTX 500 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The RTX 500 Mobile has a higher memory clock but a far narrower bus.

The H20 has no display outputs and no API support (DirectX, OpenGL, Vulkan all N/A). The RTX 500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with display outputs described as portable device dependent.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. Clock speeds: the H20 has a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 1980 MHz. The RTX 500 Mobile has a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 2025 MHz. The H20 has a higher base clock by 345 MHz, but the RTX 500 Mobile has a higher boost clock by 45 MHz.

Memory: the H20 has 96 GB of HBM3 with a 6144-bit bus and 4.03 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 500 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 with a 64-bit bus and 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The H20 has 24 times the memory capacity, 96 times the bus width, and roughly 31.5 times the bandwidth.

Compute units: the H20 has 9984 shading units, 312 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The RTX 500 Mobile has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The H20 has more shading units and TMUs, but the RTX 500 Mobile has 8 more ROPs. The H20 has 312 tensor cores; the RTX 500 Mobile has 64 tensor cores. The RTX 500 Mobile has 16 RT cores; the H20 has no recorded RT cores.

Pixel and texture rates: the H20 achieves 47.52 GPixel/s and 617.8 GTexel/s. The RTX 500 Mobile achieves 64.80 GPixel/s and 129.6 GTexel/s. The RTX 500 Mobile has a higher pixel rate by 17.28 GPixel/s, while the H20 has a texture rate that is 4.8 times higher.

FP32 and FP16: the H20 delivers 39.54 TFLOPS FP32 and 79.07 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The RTX 500 Mobile delivers 8.294 TFLOPS FP32 and 8.294 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The H20 has 4.8 times the FP32 throughput and 9.5 times the FP16 throughput.

Power and physical: the H20 has a 500 W TDP with an SXM Module slot width and a 900 W suggested PSU. The RTX 500 Mobile has a 35 W TDP, an IGP slot width, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. The H20 uses PCIe 5.0 x16; the RTX 500 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data is empty, and both GPUs have an average benchmark score of 0. The database records no wins for either GPU: winsA is 0 and winsB is 0. Without recorded benchmark results, the comparison must rely entirely on the specification data.

The largest advantage for the H20 appears in memory bandwidth. The H20's 4.03 TB/s compares to the RTX 500 Mobile's 128.0 GB/s, a factor of about 31.5. The H20 also leads in FP32 throughput: 39.54 TFLOPS versus 8.294 TFLOPS, a 4.8 times advantage. In FP16, the H20's 79.07 TFLOPS is 9.5 times the RTX 500 Mobile's 8.294 TFLOPS. The H20's texture rate of 617.8 GTexel/s is 4.8 times the RTX 500 Mobile's 129.6 GTexel/s.

The RTX 500 Mobile has specific advantages. Its pixel rate of 64.80 GPixel/s exceeds the H20's 47.52 GPixel/s by 17.28 GPixel/s. Its boost clock of 2025 MHz is 45 MHz higher than the H20's 1980 MHz. Its ROP count of 32 is 8 higher than the H20's 24. Its transistor density of 118.9M per mm² is higher than the H20's 98.3M per mm². Its memory clock of 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) is higher than the H20's 1313 MHz (5.3 Gbps effective).

The RTX 500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the H20 lists N/A for all three. The RTX 500 Mobile also has 16 RT cores for ray tracing, a feature the H20 does not record.

Where Each One Wins

The H20 wins in server compute scenarios. Its 96 GB of HBM3 memory and 4.03 TB/s bandwidth suit large models and datasets that require high-capacity, high-bandwidth memory. Its 9984 shading units and 312 tensor cores deliver 39.54 TFLOPS FP32 and 79.07 TFLOPS FP16, making it suited for workloads that scale across thousands of cores. Its 500 W TDP and 900 W suggested PSU indicate a data center environment with dedicated power delivery. Its SXM Module slot width and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface align with server motherboards. Its 617.8 GTexel/s texture rate supports heavy texture processing.

The RTX 500 Mobile wins in portable and graphics scenarios. Its 35 W TDP and no power connectors make it suitable for laptops and compact devices. Its IGP slot width and portable device dependent display outputs confirm its mobile positioning. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 enables modern graphics APIs. Its 16 RT cores provide hardware ray tracing capability. Its 64.80 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds the H20's, which favors rasterization-heavy workloads. Its higher boost clock of 2025 MHz and higher memory clock of 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) indicate a design tuned for responsiveness within a low power envelope.

The H20's higher transistor count (80,000 million versus 18,900 million) and larger die (814 mm² versus 159 mm²) reflect its server-class compute focus. The RTX 500 Mobile's higher transistor density (118.9M per mm² versus 98.3M per mm²) reflects a more efficient use of silicon area for a mobile part. The H20's 24 ROPs are fewer than the RTX 500 Mobile's 32 ROPs, which aligns with the H20's compute-first design where pixel output is secondary.

The release dates are close: the H20 on 2024-01-31 and the RTX 500 Mobile on 2024-02-25. Both are Active in production. The H20's generation is Server Hopper (Hxx) with a predecessor of Server Ada and a successor of Server Blackwell. The RTX 500 Mobile's generation is Ada-MW (x000A) with a predecessor of Ampere-MW and a successor of Blackwell-MW. These lineage details confirm the H20 targets the server product line while the RTX 500 Mobile targets the mobile workstation line.

For a system builder selecting between these two, the decision is dictated by form factor and workload. A server chassis with a 900 W PSU and PCIe 5.0 x16 slot can accommodate the H20. A portable device with no discrete power connector and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface requires the RTX 500 Mobile. The H20 provides no display outputs and no consumer API support, so it cannot drive a monitor. The RTX 500 Mobile can, with display outputs dependent on the host device. Neither GPU has recorded benchmark scores, so performance comparisons must rely on the specification deltas above.