NVIDIA L4 vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB and the NVIDIA L4 serve fundamentally different purposes despite both being professional server accelerators. The data shows the V100 leads in both available benchmark tests, but the L4 counters with a dramatically newer architecture, higher raw compute throughput, and vastly superior power efficiency. The V100 wins on sheer memory bandwidth and legacy compute, while the L4 wins on modern feature support and operational efficiency.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB is the clear winner in raw memory performance and aggregate benchmark scores. Its 897.0 GB/s memory bandwidth dwarfs the L4’s 300.1 GB/s, a 3x advantage that directly powers its 19.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 8.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The V100’s HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus is built for data movement, making it the stronger choice for workloads that are bandwidth-bound rather than compute-bound. Its average benchmark score of 150305 places it at the 96th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the L4’s 95th percentile with an average score of 131072.

The NVIDIA L4 wins on architecture and efficiency. Built on the 5 nm process versus the V100’s 12 nm, the L4 packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 121.8M / mm² — nearly five times the V100’s 25.9M / mm². The L4 also delivers 30.29 TFLOPS FP32 performance, more than double the V100’s 14.13 TFLOPS, despite consuming only 72 W compared to the V100’s 250 W. The L4’s single-slot design with no power connectors stands in stark contrast to the V100’s dual-slot footprint requiring 2x 8-pin connectors. For inference, ray tracing, or any workload leveraging the Ada Lovelace architecture’s 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, the L4 is the forward-looking choice.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans three generations. The V100 uses the GV100 chip with Volta architecture, released in 2018, while the L4 uses the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, released in 2023. The V100 is end-of-life, the L4 is active production.

The V100 features 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 640 tensor cores, with a base clock of 1230 MHz and boost of 1380 MHz. Its memory subsystem is designed for massive parallelism: 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The L4 counters with 7424 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 240 tensor cores, and 60 RT cores — a configuration that trades memory bus width and ROP count for sheer shader throughput. The L4 clocks much higher (2040 MHz boost versus 1380 MHz), which explains its FP32 advantage despite fewer TMUs and ROPs.

Process technology is the defining difference. The V100’s 12 nm TSMC node with 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die is a classic high-performance compute design. The L4’s 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die represents a fundamental shift toward density and efficiency. The L4 also uses GDDR6 memory instead of HBM2, which explains its lower bandwidth but allows for a much simpler, lower-power implementation.

Feature support diverges significantly. The V100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the L4 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The L4’s RT cores are a major addition the V100 lacks entirely. The L4 also runs on PCIe 4.0 x16 versus the V100’s PCIe 3.0 x16, offering double the host interface bandwidth.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the V100 wins both head-to-head tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the V100 scores 168763 against the L4’s 140838, a 19.8% advantage. This is the larger margin of the two tests and reflects the V100’s memory bandwidth advantage in OpenCL workloads, which often emphasize data movement.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the V100 scores 131847 against the L4’s 121306, an 8.7% lead. The smaller margin here suggests the L4’s newer architecture and higher clock speeds partially compensate for its bandwidth deficit in Vulkan’s more compute-oriented workloads. Still, the V100 maintains its lead.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The V100 averages 150305, which is 14.6% higher than the L4’s 131072. In terms of rival positioning, the V100 sits between the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X (avg score 160671, 6.5% higher) and the AMD Instinct MI100 (avg score 139035, 8.1% lower). The L4 sits very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (avg score 131938, only 0.7% higher), indicating the L4 punches at the level of a high-end consumer card in these tests.

The V100’s 96th percentile ranking versus the L4’s 95th percentile is a narrow margin, but the V100’s lead is consistent across both tests. The L4’s lower scores in these specific benchmarks do not negate its architectural advantages; they simply reflect that the V100 remains competitive in raw compute tasks that favor memory bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB has 897.0 GB/s bandwidth from HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus. The NVIDIA L4 has 300.1 GB/s from GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus — the V100 has exactly 3x the bandwidth.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The NVIDIA L4 delivers 30.29 TFLOPS FP32, which is more than double the V100’s 14.13 TFLOPS. The L4’s higher boost clock of 2040 MHz versus the V100’s 1380 MHz drives this advantage.

Q: Which card has more tensor cores?

A: The V100 has 640 tensor cores, while the L4 has 240. However, the L4’s tensor cores are from the Ada Lovelace generation and are paired with 60 RT cores, which the V100 lacks entirely.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The L4 consumes 72 W with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The V100 consumes 250 W with 2x 8-pin connectors and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The L4 uses less than a third of the power.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The L4 is a single-slot card measuring 169 mm in length and 56 mm in height. The V100 is a dual-slot card with no listed dimensions, but its slot width and power connector requirements indicate a much larger physical footprint.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA L4 supports ray tracing, with 60 RT cores. The Tesla V100 has no RT cores and predates the introduction of dedicated ray tracing hardware.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two cards:

• Chip: GV100 (V100) vs AD104 (L4)
• Architecture: Volta vs Ada Lovelace
• Generation: Tesla Volta (Vxx) vs Server Ada (Lxx)
• Process Node: 12 nm vs 5 nm
• Foundry: TSMC for both, but process differs
• Transistors: 21,100 million vs 35,800 million
• Die Size: 815 mm² vs 294 mm²
• Transistor Density: 25.9M / mm² vs 121.8M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1230 MHz vs 795 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1380 MHz vs 2040 MHz
• Memory Size: 32 GB vs 24 GB
• Memory Type: HBM2 vs GDDR6
• Memory Bus: 4096 bit vs 192 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 897.0 GB/s vs 300.1 GB/s
• Memory Clock: 876 MHz / 1752 Mbps effective vs 1563 MHz / 12.5 Gbps effective
• Shading Units: 5120 vs 7424
• TMUs: 320 vs 240
• ROPs: 128 vs 80
• RT Cores: None vs 60
• Tensor Cores: 640 vs 240
• Pixel Rate: 176.6 GPixel/s vs 163.2 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 441.6 GTexel/s vs 489.6 GTexel/s
• FP32: 14.13 TFLOPS vs 30.29 TFLOPS
• FP16: 28.26 TFLOPS (2:1) vs 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 250 W vs 72 W
• Slot Width: Dual-slot vs Single-slot
• Power Connectors: 2x 8-pin vs None
• Suggested PSU: 600 W vs 250 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 vs PCIe 4.0 x16
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_1) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Dimensions: Not listed vs 169 mm / 6.7 inches length, 56 mm / 2.2 inches height
• Production Status: End-of-life vs Active
• Release Date: 2018-03-26 vs 2023-03-20
• Predecessor: Tesla Pascal vs Server Ampere
• Successor: Tesla Turing vs Server Hopper

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split. Choose the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB if your workloads are dominated by memory bandwidth and you need maximum capacity — its 32 GB HBM2 with 897.0 GB/s bandwidth is unmatched by the L4’s 24 GB GDDR6 at 300.1 GB/s. The V100 also wins both head-to-head benchmarks by 19.8% and 8.7%, and its average benchmark score of 150305 is 14.6% higher than the L4’s 131072. This card remains a viable option for legacy compute deployments, particularly where existing Volta infrastructure is in place or where the 4096-bit memory bus is essential.

Choose the NVIDIA L4 if efficiency, modern features, and forward compatibility matter more than raw benchmark scores. The L4 delivers more than double the FP32 performance (30.29 vs 14.13 TFLOPS) at 72 W — a 71% power reduction from the V100’s 250 W. Its 5 nm process, PCIe 4.0 interface, 60 RT cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support make it the only choice for ray tracing or next-generation workloads. The L4’s single-slot, power-connector-free design enables deployment density the V100 cannot match. Its benchmark scores trail, but the L4 compensates with architectural currency: it is the active product, while the V100 is end-of-life. For new deployments, the L4’s combination of lower power, higher clocks, and modern feature set makes it the more rational long-term investment, provided the workload does not saturate the L4’s narrower memory bus.