NVIDIA L20 vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Comparison

The NVIDIA L20 and NVIDIA RTX A5500 are two professional workstation and server GPUs from different NVIDIA generations. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the L20 holding a decisive lead in every benchmark recorded. The L20 achieves an average benchmark score of 251,147, while the RTX A5500 trails with an average score of 165,217. This places the L20 in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 97th percentile for the RTX A5500. The performance gap is substantial, but the architectural and specification differences reveal distinct use cases for each card.

The Verdict

Based strictly on benchmark data, the NVIDIA L20 is the superior performer. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, with a 57.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 46.4% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The L20’s average score is 52.0% higher than the RTX A5500’s. For workloads that rely heavily on raw compute throughput, particularly those leveraging OpenCL or Vulkan, the L20 is the clear choice. Its 99th percentile ranking versus the A5500’s 97th percentile underscores its top-tier positioning.

However, the RTX A5500 is not without merit. It remains a capable card, sitting just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and 1.7% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB in average score. Its 97th percentile ranking indicates it outperforms the vast majority of GPUs. For users constrained by power or those with workloads that do not require the L20’s extreme compute density, the A5500 offers a viable, more modestly powered alternative. The data suggests the L20 is for users who need maximum performance and have the power budget for it, while the A5500 suits environments where its lower power draw and adequate performance are sufficient.

Where Each One Wins

The L20 wins decisively in all recorded benchmark categories. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 274,276 against the A5500’s 174,637, a margin of 57.1%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the L20 scores 228,018 versus 155,797, a margin of 46.4%. These are not marginal victories; they represent a generational leap in compute capability. The L20’s advantage likely stems from its significantly higher FP32 throughput of 59.35 TFLOPS compared to the A5500’s 34.10 TFLOPS, a 74.0% difference. Similarly, the L20’s texture rate of 927.4 GTexel/s is 74.0% higher than the A5500’s 532.8 GTexel/s.

The RTX A5500 does not win any benchmark categories. However, its relative competitiveness in the broader market is notable. Its average score is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, just 0.5% behind. This suggests that for certain workloads, particularly those that are not heavily parallelized, the A5500 can perform on par with newer Ada-generation cards. The A5500’s lower power consumption of 230 W versus the L20’s 275 W also makes it a more practical choice for multi-GPU systems where cumulative power draw is a concern. The data points to the L20 as the winner for raw performance, while the A5500 wins on power efficiency and system integration flexibility.

Architecture Differences

The L20 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RTX A5500 uses the older Ampere architecture. This generational shift is reflected in the manufacturing process. The L20 uses a 5 nm process from TSMC, whereas the A5500 uses an 8 nm process from Samsung. Consequently, the L20 packs 76,300 million transistors onto a 609 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 125.3M/mm². In contrast, the A5500 has 28,300 million transistors on a slightly larger 628 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 45.1M/mm². This density difference directly contributes to the L20’s superior performance.

The L20 features the AD102 chip, while the A5500 is based on the GA102 chip. The L20 has more of nearly every compute unit: 11,776 shading units versus 10,240, 368 TMUs versus 320, 128 ROPs versus 96, 92 RT cores versus 80, and 368 tensor cores versus 320. Clock speeds also favor the L20, with a base clock of 1440 MHz and boost of 2520 MHz, compared to the A5500’s 1080 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. The L20’s memory subsystem is upgraded as well, featuring 48 GB of GDDR6 memory with an 864.0 GB/s bandwidth, against the A5500’s 24 GB and 768.0 GB/s. The L20’s memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) on the A5500. Both cards share the same bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x16), display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.4a), and API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA L20 than the RTX A5500 in OpenCL?

A: The L20 scores 274,276 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 57.1% higher than the A5500’s score of 174,637.

Q: Does the RTX A5500 have any performance advantage over the L20?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head benchmarks, the L20 wins both OpenCL and Vulkan tests. The A5500 has a lower power draw of 230 W versus 275 W, but this is not a performance metric.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The L20 has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is double the 24 GB found on the RTX A5500. The L20 also has higher memory bandwidth at 864.0 GB/s compared to 768.0 GB/s.

Q: Are these cards from the same GPU generation?

A: No. The L20 uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, while the RTX A5500 uses the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip. The L20 is also manufactured on a smaller 5 nm process versus the 8 nm process for the A5500.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The L20 is 11.6% faster than the NVIDIA PG506-232 and 14.2% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D, but it is 11.6% slower than the NVIDIA L40 and 12.6% slower than the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation. The A5500 is 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and 1.7% faster than the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB, but it is 0.5% slower than the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and 2.0% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X.

Q: What are the power and physical requirements for each card?

A: The L20 has a TDP of 275 W and requires a 600 W power supply, while the A5500 has a TDP of 230 W and requires a 550 W power supply. Both are dual-slot cards with the same length of 267 mm and similar heights (111 mm for L20, 112 mm for A5500).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded benchmarks show a consistent and significant advantage for the L20. In Geekbench OpenCL, the L20 scores 274,276, which is 57.1% higher than the A5500’s 174,637. This is the largest margin between the two cards. The OpenCL test typically stresses raw compute throughput, and the L20’s architecture and higher clock speeds (1440 MHz base, 2520 MHz boost versus 1080 MHz and 1665 MHz) give it a substantial edge.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the L20 scores 228,018, a 46.4% advantage over the A5500’s 155,797. While the margin is smaller than in OpenCL, it still represents a massive performance gap. Vulkan workloads often benefit from balanced compute and memory performance. The L20’s 48 GB memory capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth provide more headroom for large datasets compared to the A5500’s 24 GB and 768.0 GB/s.

The FP32 performance difference is a key driver of these results. The L20 delivers 59.35 TFLOPS, which is 74.0% higher than the A5500’s 34.10 TFLOPS. Similarly, the pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s for the L20 versus 159.8 GPixel/s for the A5500, a 101.9% advantage. The texture rate shows a 74.0% advantage for the L20 (927.4 GTexel/s vs 532.8 GTexel/s). These compute metrics align with the benchmark deltas, confirming that the L20’s superiority is rooted in its underlying hardware capabilities.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal distinct profiles. The L20 uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the A5500 uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts differ dramatically: 76,300 million for the L20 versus 28,300 million for the A5500. The die size is similar (609 mm² vs 628 mm²), but the transistor density is 125.3M/mm² for the L20 versus 45.1M/mm² for the A5500.

Compute resources favor the L20 across the board. It has 11,776 shading units, 368 TMUs, 128 ROPs, 92 RT cores, and 368 tensor cores. The A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 80 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. Clock speeds are higher on the L20: 1440 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost versus 1080 MHz and 1665 MHz. Memory also differs, with the L20 offering 48 GB GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for 864.0 GB/s bandwidth, versus the A5500’s 24 GB on a 384-bit bus at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for 768.0 GB/s.

Power and physical specs show the L20 draws 275 W and needs a 600 W PSU, while the A5500 draws 230 W and needs a 550 W PSU. Both are dual-slot with a 267 mm length and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The L20 uses a 1x 16-pin power connector, while the A5500 uses a 1x 8-pin connector. The L20 is listed as Active in production, while the A5500 is End-of-life. The L20 was released on 2023-11-15, and the A5500 on 2022-03-21. The L20’s predecessor is Server Ampere and successor is Server Hopper; the A5500’s predecessor is Quadro Turing and successor is Workstation Ada.