NVIDIA L40 vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA L40 is the clear performance leader in this comparison, but the two cards serve completely different deployment scenarios. The L40, with an average benchmark score of 284,111, sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX A4500, averaging 91,671, lands in the 93rd percentile. The L40 wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks decisively, delivering 133.3% higher OpenCL performance and 82.6% higher Vulkan performance.

The L40 is the choice for compute-heavy server workloads, AI inference, and rendering tasks where raw throughput matters more than power draw. Its 48 GB memory capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets that would not fit in the A4500's 20 GB frame buffer. The RTX A4500, by contrast, is a workstation card for professionals who need reliable OpenGL and DirectX 12 support in a dual-slot, 200 W package. It cannot match the L40's compute output, but its lower power requirement (200 W vs 300 W) and 8-pin power connector make it easier to integrate into existing workstation builds without upgrading the power supply beyond 550 W.

The data shows no scenario where the A4500 outperforms the L40 in raw compute. If your priority is maximum throughput, the L40 is the only meaningful option. If your priority is a balanced workstation card with adequate memory and moderate power draw, the A4500 remains a capable choice, but it is not in the same performance class.

Architecture Differences

The L40 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, while the A4500 uses the older Ampere architecture on Samsung's 8 nm node. This process advantage is significant: the L40 packs 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, achieving a density of 125.3 million transistors per square millimeter. The A4500, with 28,300 million transistors on a larger 628 mm² die, manages only 45.1 million per square millimeter. The L40 is the denser, more modern design.

The L40's AD102 chip is a full-fat server processor with 18,176 shading units, 568 texture mapping units, 192 raster operation units, 142 ray tracing cores, and 568 tensor cores. The A4500's GA102 chip is substantially smaller in compute resources: 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The L40 has roughly 2.5 times the shading units and tensor cores of the A4500, which explains its dominant compute scores.

Memory architecture differs as well. The L40 uses a 384-bit bus with 48 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 18 Gbps effective, producing 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The A4500 uses a narrower 320-bit bus with 20 GB of GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective, yielding 640.0 GB/s. Both cards support the same API set: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The L40 belongs to the Server Ada generation, while the A4500 is part of the Workstation Ampere generation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap. The L40 scores 330,926, while the A4500 manages 141,837, a delta of 133.3% in favor of the L40. This means the L40 is more than twice as fast in general-purpose compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, a common path for scientific simulation, image processing, and non-CUDA-optimized tasks.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the L40 posts 237,295 against the A4500's 129,980, a 82.6% advantage. Vulkan is increasingly used for real-time rendering and GPU compute in modern engines, and the L40's lead here is substantial, though smaller than the OpenCL gap. The L40's higher boost clock (2490 MHz vs 1650 MHz) and vastly greater core counts drive both results, but the architecture improvements in Ada Lovelace contribute as well.

The L40's average benchmark score of 284,111 places it 1.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237) and 3.9% behind the L40S (295,763). It sits 13.1% ahead of the NVIDIA L20 (251,147) and 10.7% behind the AMD Instinct MI300X (317,994). The A4500's average of 91,671 is 0.6% ahead of the RTX A4500 Mobile (91,134), 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (92,466), 4.8% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 (87,445), and 5.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (87,108). These comparisons show the L40 competing in the high-end server tier, while the A4500 sits in the mid-range workstation tier.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the L40 in OpenCL compute compared to the A4500?

A: The L40 scores 330,926 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the A4500 scores 141,837, giving the L40 a 133.3% advantage.

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

A: The L40 has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 864.0 GB/s for the L40 and 640.0 GB/s for the A4500.

Q: Which card has more tensor cores?

A: The L40 has 568 tensor cores, while the A4500 has 224. This makes the L40 more suited to AI and deep learning workloads that rely on tensor operations.

Q: Do both cards support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The L40 has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested power supply with a 16-pin connector. The A4500 has a 200 W TDP and requires a 550 W suggested power supply with an 8-pin connector.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The L40 scores 237,295 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the A4500 scores 129,980, a 82.6% lead for the L40.

Where Each One Wins

The L40 wins in every recorded benchmark, so its "wins" are defined by workload type rather than specific tests. It excels in compute-heavy tasks such as large-scale rendering, scientific computation, and AI model training where the 48 GB memory capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth prevent out-of-memory errors and reduce data transfer bottlenecks. Its 90.52 TFLOPS of FP32 and FP16 performance, along with 568 tensor cores, make it a strong candidate for deep learning inference and training, provided the software stack supports CUDA or OpenCL. The L40 also wins in Vulkan-based real-time rendering, where its 237,295 score indicates smooth performance in modern game engines and visualization tools.

The A4500, despite losing every head-to-head test, has its own niche. Its 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU requirement make it easier to slot into existing workstation builds without major power infrastructure changes. Its 20 GB memory is still substantial for many professional workloads, and its 23.65 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is respectable for a mid-range card. The A4500's 93rd percentile ranking shows it outperforms 93% of all GPUs in the database, so it is not a weak card by any means. It is simply outclassed by the L40, which sits at the 99th percentile. For users with modest compute needs, the A4500's lower power draw and adequate memory make it a practical choice, but for anyone whose bottleneck is raw compute throughput, the L40 is the only logical pick.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The L40 uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the A4500 uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts are 76,300 million for the L40 and 28,300 million for the A4500. Die sizes are similar (609 mm² vs 628 mm²), but transistor density differs dramatically: 125.3 million per mm² for the L40 versus 45.1 million per mm² for the A4500.

Clock speeds favor the L40 in boost (2490 MHz vs 1650 MHz) but not in base (735 MHz vs 1050 MHz). Memory clocks are higher on the L40 as well: 18 Gbps effective versus 16 Gbps effective. Memory capacity is 48 GB versus 20 GB, bus width is 384-bit versus 320-bit, and bandwidth is 864.0 GB/s versus 640.0 GB/s.

Compute resources are heavily skewed toward the L40: 18,176 shading units versus 7,168, 568 TMUs versus 224, 192 ROPs versus 96, 142 RT cores versus 56, and 568 tensor cores versus 224. Pixel rates are 478.1 GPixel/s versus 158.4 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 1,414.3 GTexel/s versus 369.6 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 throughput is 90.52 TFLOPS versus 23.65 TFLOPS, both at a 1:1 ratio.

Power draw and connectivity also differ: the L40 has a 300 W TDP with a 16-pin connector and a 700 W suggested PSU, while the A4500 has a 200 W TDP with an 8-pin connector and a 550 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot cards with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and PCIe 4.0 x16 interfaces. Physical dimensions are nearly identical: 267 mm length and 111 mm height for the L40, 267 mm length and 112 mm height for the A4500. The L40 was released on 2022-10-12, the A4500 on 2021-11-22. Both are end-of-life products, with the L40's predecessor being Server Ampere and successor being Server Hopper, while the A4500's predecessor is Quadro Turing and successor is Workstation Ada.