NVIDIA H200 NVL vs NVIDIA L40S Comparison

The NVIDIA H200 NVL and NVIDIA L40S are both dual-slot server accelerators from NVIDIA, but they are engineered for fundamentally different workloads. The H200 NVL is a Hopper-generation part aimed at massive compute and memory capacity, while the L40S is an Ada Lovelace-generation card optimized for graphics and rendering pipelines. Benchmark data provides a clear, if narrow, quantitative view of their performance relationship.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark result in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the NVIDIA L40S scores 334,437 points, while the NVIDIA H200 NVL scores 305,608 points. This gives the L40S a decisive victory with a delta of -8.6% relative to the H200 NVL. In practical terms, the L40S is roughly 9% faster in this specific OpenCL compute workload.

This result is notable because it inverts the typical hierarchy implied by their product positions. The H200 NVL's average benchmark score across its single recorded test is 305,608, which places it in the 100th percentile of all GPUs. The L40S, with an average score of 292,603 across its two recorded tests (OpenCL and Vulkan), also sits in the 100th percentile. However, the L40S's peak OpenCL score of 334,437 is its best result, while the H200 NVL's 305,608 is its only result.

When comparing each card to its nearest rivals, the H200 NVL sits 4.4% ahead of the L40S based on average scores, but this is misleading because the L40S's average is dragged down by its separate Vulkan score of 250,769. In the direct head-to-head OpenCL comparison, the L40S is clearly superior. The H200 NVL is 8.4% ahead of the RTX 6000 Ada Generation and 8.5% ahead of the L40, but the L40S beats the RTX 6000 Ada by only 3.8% and the L40 by 3.9%. The data shows that the L40S is the stronger performer in raw compute benchmarks, despite the H200 NVL's higher average score being derived from a single test.

Architecture Differences

The two cards diverge sharply at the architectural level. The H200 NVL uses the GH100 chip built on the Hopper architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 98.3M per mm². In contrast, the L40S uses the AD102 chip from the Ada Lovelace architecture, also on a 5 nm TSMC process, but with 76,300 million transistors on a smaller 609 mm² die, achieving a higher transistor density of 125.3M per mm².

Memory is where the H200 NVL dominates. It packs 141 GB of HBM3e memory on a 6144-bit bus, delivering 4.89 TB/s of bandwidth. The L40S offers only 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, with 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a 2.9x difference in capacity and a 5.7x difference in bandwidth, making the H200 NVL the clear choice for memory-bound problems.

Compute resources also differ significantly. The H200 NVL has 16,896 shading units, 528 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, along with 528 tensor cores. The L40S has more shading units (18,176), more TMUs (568), and far more ROPs (192), plus 142 dedicated ray tracing cores and 568 tensor cores. The L40S also sports significantly higher clock speeds: a base of 1110 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, versus the H200 NVL's 1365 MHz base and 1785 MHz boost. This clock advantage drives the L40S's higher raw throughput.

The H200 NVL's FP32 performance is 60.32 TFLOPS, while its FP16 performance is 241.3 TFLOPS (4:1 ratio), indicating heavy optimization for reduced-precision AI workloads. The L40S delivers 91.61 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), showing a balanced approach. The L40S also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the H200 NVL lists no graphics API support, confirming its compute-only focus.

Where Each One Wins

The L40S wins decisively in the OpenCL benchmark, which is a general-purpose compute test. Its higher clock speeds and greater number of shading units give it an edge in workloads that are not memory-bandwidth limited. The L40S also has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the H200 NVL has none, making the L40S viable for any visualization or interactive workload. Its Vulkan score of 250,769, while lower than its OpenCL score, demonstrates functional graphics capability that the H200 NVL simply lacks.

The H200 NVL wins on memory capacity and bandwidth. With 141 GB of HBM3e and 4.89 TB/s bandwidth, it is purpose-built for large language model inference and training datasets that cannot fit in the L40S's 48 GB frame buffer. The H200 NVL's FP16 performance of 241.3 TFLOPS is 2.6x higher than the L40S's FP16 output, making it the superior choice for tensor-heavy AI operations, even if its raw FP32 and OpenCL scores are lower.

Power consumption also tells a story. The H200 NVL has a 600 W TDP and requires a 1000 W suggested PSU with an 8-pin EPS connector. The L40S has a 300 W TDP, a 700 W suggested PSU, and uses a single 16-pin connector. This makes the L40S far easier to integrate into existing systems with lower power budgets, while the H200 NVL demands substantial power infrastructure.

The Verdict

The benchmark data shows a clear split: the L40S is the faster card in general compute (OpenCL) and the only one with graphics capabilities. Its 334,437 OpenCL score is 8.6% higher than the H200 NVL's 305,608, and it offers 91.61 FP32 TFLOPS versus the H200 NVL's 60.32 FP32 TFLOPS. For any workload that relies on standard compute, rendering, or ray tracing, the L40S is the data-backed choice.

The H200 NVL is the choice for memory-bound AI and scientific workloads. Its 141 GB of HBM3e memory and 4.89 TB/s bandwidth dwarf the L40S's 48 GB and 864 GB/s. Its FP16 throughput of 241.3 TFLOPS is more than double the L40S's figure, making it the superior accelerator for transformer models and other precision-reduced neural networks. The H200 NVL also has a higher average benchmark score (305,608) than the L40S's average (292,603), but this is due to the L40S's single Vulkan result pulling its average down.

Strictly from the data, a user needing OpenCL performance or any display output should pick the L40S. A user needing massive memory capacity or extreme FP16 throughput should pick the H200 NVL. There is no single winner; the correct choice depends entirely on the workload's memory footprint and precision requirements.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA L40S scores 334,437, which is 8.6% higher than the NVIDIA H200 NVL's 305,608 score.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The NVIDIA H200 NVL has 141 GB of HBM3e memory, while the NVIDIA L40S has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 performance?

A: The NVIDIA L40S delivers 91.61 TFLOPS FP32, which is higher than the NVIDIA H200 NVL's 60.32 TFLOPS FP32.

Q: Does the NVIDIA H200 NVL support graphics APIs?

A: No, the H200 NVL lists no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support, whereas the L40S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The NVIDIA H200 NVL has 4.89 TB/s bandwidth, while the NVIDIA L40S has 864.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA L40S has a transistor density of 125.3M per mm², compared to the NVIDIA H200 NVL's 98.3M per mm².