NVIDIA L4 vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation and NVIDIA L4 share the same AD104 chip and Ada Lovelace architecture, but they are tuned for different worlds: the RTX 4000 Ada is a workstation card with display outputs, while the L4 is a server accelerator with none. Benchmark averages place them close, but the data reveals distinct strengths in memory capacity, power efficiency, and raw compute.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA L4 has 7,424 shading units, while the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation has 6,144. The L4 also leads in texture mapping units (240 vs 192), render output units (80 vs 64), ray tracing cores (60 vs 48), and tensor cores (240 vs 192).

Q: How do their memory configurations differ?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, yielding 360.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 192-bit bus, but its memory clock is lower, producing 300.1 GB/s of bandwidth. So the RTX 4000 Ada has higher bandwidth, while the L4 has more capacity.

Q: Which card has the higher clock speeds?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada runs at a base clock of 1500 MHz and boosts to 2175 MHz. The L4 starts much lower at 795 MHz base and boosts to 2040 MHz. The RTX 4000 Ada's higher clocks contribute to its lead in pixel and texture rates.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada has a TDP of 130 W and requires a 300 W suggested PSU, drawing power from a 1x 16-pin connector. The L4 is far more efficient at 72 W TDP, needs only a 250 W suggested PSU, and uses no power connectors at all.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The L4 has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for direct monitor connection.

Q: How do they compare in benchmark scores?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4000 Ada scores 146,593 versus 140,838 for the L4, a 4.1% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4000 Ada scores 123,842 versus 121,306 for the L4, a 2.1% advantage. The average benchmark score is 135,218 for the RTX 4000 Ada and 131,072 for the L4.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same AD104 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with identical transistor counts of 35,800 million and a die size of 294 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². They share the Ada Lovelace architecture, support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and both use PCIe 4.0 x16 interfaces.

The core configuration differs significantly. The L4 packs more hardware across the board: 7,424 shading units versus 6,144, 240 TMUs versus 192, 80 ROPs versus 64, 60 RT cores versus 48, and 240 tensor cores versus 192. This means the L4 has a theoretical compute advantage in raw FP32 throughput, delivering 30.29 TFLOPS compared to the RTX 4000 Ada's 26.73 TFLOPS. Both cards offer FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32.

Clock behavior is a major differentiator. The RTX 4000 Ada runs its base clock almost twice as high as the L4 (1500 MHz vs 795 MHz) and boosts to 2175 MHz versus 2040 MHz. This allows the RTX 4000 Ada to achieve a higher pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 417.6 GTexel/s, despite having fewer cores. The L4 counters with 163.2 GPixel/s and 489.6 GTexel/s, respectively, because its extra cores outweigh its lower clocks.

Memory is another split. The RTX 4000 Ada uses 20 GB of GDDR6 with a 160-bit bus and 360.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the L4 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus but only 300.1 GB/s bandwidth. The L4's memory runs at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), while the RTX 4000 Ada's runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). So the workstation card prioritizes speed, and the server card prioritizes capacity.

The form factors also differ. The RTX 4000 Ada is 245 mm long and 112 mm tall, while the L4 is much shorter at 169 mm long and 56 mm tall. Both are single-slot cards, but the L4's compact size and lack of power connectors make it easier to install in dense server chassis. The RTX 4000 Ada's 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs are absent on the L4, which has no outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

In the two available benchmark tests, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation wins both. The Geekbench OpenCL result shows the RTX 4000 Ada scoring 146,593 against the L4's 140,838, a 4.1% advantage. This is a moderate gap, reflecting the RTX 4000 Ada's higher clock speeds and memory bandwidth overcoming the L4's extra cores.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is closer. The RTX 4000 Ada scores 123,842, while the L4 scores 121,306, a 2.1% lead. Vulkan workloads often benefit from more cores, which explains why the L4 narrows the gap compared to OpenCL. Still, the RTX 4000 Ada maintains its winning streak.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the RTX 4000 Ada averages 135,218, placing it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. The L4 averages 131,072, also in the 95th percentile. The nearest rival for the RTX 4000 Ada is the NVIDIA A10M with an average score of 135,230, showing a 0% delta, meaning they are effectively tied. The AMD Radeon PRO W6800 scores 135,396 (-0.1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo scores 135,774 (-0.4%).

For the L4, its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti with an average score of 131,938, which is 0.7% ahead. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation itself appears as a rival for the L4, scoring 135,218 and landing 3.1% ahead. The NVIDIA A10M is also 3.1% ahead at 135,230, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 is 3.2% ahead at 135,396.

The data indicates that the RTX 4000 Ada holds a consistent edge in compute benchmarks, but the L4's advantage lies elsewhere—in memory capacity and power efficiency. The 4.1% OpenCL win and 2.1% Vulkan win translate to a 3.1% average benchmark gap between the two. This is not a huge margin, but it is consistent across both tests.

The Verdict

The RTX 4000 Ada Generation is the better choice for users who need display outputs and higher memory bandwidth. Its 4x DisplayPort 1.4a connections allow direct monitor attachment, making it suitable for workstation visualization tasks. The 360.0 GB/s bandwidth is 20% higher than the L4's 300.1 GB/s, which benefits memory-intensive workloads. Its higher clock speeds (2175 MHz boost vs 2040 MHz) and higher pixel/texture rates make it slightly faster in the two benchmark tests, with a 4.1% OpenCL lead and a 2.1% Vulkan lead.

The L4 is the better choice for server environments where power efficiency and memory capacity are paramount. Its 72 W TDP is nearly half the RTX 4000 Ada's 130 W, and it requires no power connectors, simplifying deployment. The 24 GB memory capacity is 4 GB more than the RTX 4000 Ada's 20 GB, which matters for large models or datasets that need to reside in GPU memory. The L4's extra cores (7,424 shading units vs 6,144) and higher FP32 throughput (30.29 TFLOPS vs 26.73 TFLOPS) provide more raw compute headroom, even if benchmark results show it trailing slightly.

The production status for both is Active, but their release dates differ: the L4 launched on March 20, 2023, while the RTX 4000 Ada launched on August 8, 2023. The L4's predecessor is Server Ampere and its successor is Server Hopper, while the RTX 4000 Ada's predecessor is Workstation Ampere and its successor is Blackwell PRO W.

For a workstation user who needs to plug in monitors and values bandwidth, the RTX 4000 Ada is the clear pick. For a server operator who needs maximum memory per card, minimal power draw, and no display output, the L4 is the obvious choice. The benchmark data shows the RTX 4000 Ada winning both tests, but the L4's strengths lie outside those specific workloads. The 3.1% average score gap is small enough that the L4's memory capacity and power efficiency can easily tip the balance for the right use case.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation | NVIDIA L4 |

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

| Generation | Workstation Ada (x000A) | Server Ada (Lxx) |

| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 795 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2175 MHz | 2040 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) | 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 20 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Bus | 160 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 360.0 GB/s | 300.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 7424 |

| TMUs | 192 | 240 |

| ROPs | 64 | 80 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 139.2 GPixel/s | 163.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 417.6 GTexel/s | 489.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 26.73 TFLOPS | 30.29 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 26.73 TFLOPS (1:1) | 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 130 W | 72 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 250 W |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| Dimensions | 245 mm (9.6 in) length, 112 mm (4.4 in) height | 169 mm (6.7 in) length, 56 mm (2.2 in) height |

| Release Date | 2023-08-08 | 2023-03-20 |