NVIDIA L40 vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

# NVIDIA L40 vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB

The NVIDIA L40 and Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB represent two very different eras of NVIDIA's server GPU lineup. The L40, built on Ada Lovelace, is a 2022 release that sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the V100, a Volta-based card from 2017, still holds a respectable 96th percentile position. In head-to-head Geekbench testing, the L40 wins both available benchmarks by margins exceeding 100%, but the V100 remains relevant for specific legacy workloads. The data shows a generational leap in compute capability, memory capacity, and feature support, though both cards share the same 300 W TDP and dual-slot form factor.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA L40 than the Tesla V100 in compute benchmarks?

A: The L40 leads by 102.9% in Geekbench OpenCL (330,926 vs 163,063) and by 109.9% in Geekbench Vulkan (237,295 vs 113,062). In both tests, the L40 more than doubles the V100's score.

Q: What are the memory capacity and type differences?

A: The L40 comes with 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The V100 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, offering 897.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the V100's smaller capacity, its HBM2 memory provides slightly higher bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The L40 includes 142 dedicated RT cores as part of its Ada Lovelace architecture. The V100 has no RT cores listed, as Volta predates NVIDIA's ray tracing hardware implementation.

Q: What is the transistor count and density difference?

A: The L40 packs 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die (125.3M / mm²) using TSMC's 5 nm process. The V100 has 21,100 million transistors on a larger 815 mm² die (25.9M / mm²) using 12 nm technology.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The L40 averages 284,111 across its benchmark suite, which is 105.8% higher than the V100's 138,063 average. The L40's nearest rival, the RTX 6000 Ada Generation, scores 287,237 (1.1% higher), while the V100's closest competitor, the AMD Instinct MI100, scores 139,035 (0.7% higher).

Q: Which card has better API support?

A: The L40 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the V100 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so the key difference is the L40's newer DirectX feature level.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The L40 uses the AD102 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 76,300 million transistors packed into a 609 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 125.3M per mm², a massive jump from the V100's GV100 chip, which uses 12 nm technology with 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die (25.9M / mm²). The L40's die is actually smaller physically, yet contains over 3.6 times more transistors.

Compute resources differ dramatically. The L40 fields 18,176 shading units, 568 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, compared to the V100's 5,120 shaders, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The L40 also includes 142 RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the V100. Tensor core counts are surprisingly close: 568 on the L40 versus 640 on the V100, though the L40's are newer generation units.

The L40's FP32 throughput is 90.52 TFLOPS, while the V100 manages 14.13 TFLOPS. For FP16, the L40 maintains the same 90.52 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio with FP32), whereas the V100 doubles its FP32 rate to 28.26 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This reflects different design priorities: the L40 offers unified throughput, while the V100 emphasizes FP16 for deep learning workloads.

Clock speeds tell an interesting story. The V100 runs at 1245 MHz base and 1380 MHz boost, which is actually higher than the L40's 735 MHz base clock. However, the L40 boosts to 2490 MHz, a significant turbo advantage. Memory clocks also differ: the L40 uses 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) GDDR6, while the V100 operates at 876 MHz (1752 Mbps effective) HBM2.

Pixel and texture rates favor the L40 decisively: 478.1 GPixel/s versus 176.6 GPixel/s, and 1,414.3 GTexel/s versus 441.6 GTexel/s. These figures reflect the L40's massive shading and texture unit advantages.

The Verdict

The NVIDIA L40 is the clear choice for modern workloads requiring maximum compute performance, large memory capacity, and current API support. Its 48 GB VRAM is triple the V100's 16 GB, and its FP32 performance is 6.4 times higher. For any new deployment involving AI inference, rendering, or compute-heavy tasks, the L40's 99th percentile standing (versus the V100's 96th) and 100%+ benchmark lead make it the practical pick.

The Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB remains viable only for legacy environments where software is optimized for Volta's specific architecture or where the 897.0 GB/s HBM2 bandwidth is more critical than raw compute. Its 640 tensor cores and 2:1 FP16 ratio still serve older deep learning frameworks. However, with both cards marked end-of-life, buyers should consider the L40's 5 nm efficiency and 48 GB capacity as future-proofing. The V100's only real advantages are its slightly higher memory bandwidth and lower transistor density (which may mean better thermal characteristics per area in some chassis), but these do not compensate for the L40's overwhelming performance lead in every available benchmark.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA L40 | NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Volta |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 21,100 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 815 mm² |

| Base Clock | 735 MHz | 1245 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2490 MHz | 1380 MHz |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 864.0 GB/s | 897.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 18,176 | 5,120 |

| TMUs | 568 | 320 |

| ROPs | 192 | 128 |

| RT Cores | 142 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 568 | 640 |

| FP32 Performance | 90.52 TFLOPS | 14.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 90.52 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.26 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 478.1 GPixel/s | 176.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,414.3 GTexel/s | 441.6 GTexel/s |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Release Date | 2022-10-12 | 2017-06-20 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench results paint a stark picture of generational improvement. In the OpenCL test, the L40 scores 330,926 against the V100's 163,063, a delta of 102.9%. This means the L40 achieves just over double the V100's compute throughput in a general-purpose GPU compute workload. The Vulkan test shows an even larger gap: the L40 scores 237,295 versus 113,062, a 109.9% advantage. Both tests consistently demonstrate that the L40 delivers roughly 2x the performance of the V100.

Contextualizing these results with the nearest rivals adds perspective. The L40's average score of 284,111 places it just 1.1% behind the RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237) and 3.9% behind the L40S (295,763). It sits 13.1% above the L20 (251,147) and 10.7% below the AMD Instinct MI300X (317,994). The V100's average of 138,063 is nearly identical to its nearest competitor, the AMD Instinct MI100 (139,035, just 0.7% higher), and only 0.2% above the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731). This indicates the V100 PCIe is well-matched against its contemporaries, while the L40 competes in a much higher performance tier.

The 2:0 win count for the L40 in head-to-head benchmarks reflects a decisive overall victory, but the V100's 96th percentile ranking shows it was no slouch in its era. The performance delta is not incremental; it is transformative, driven by architectural improvements across every subsystem from shading units to memory technology.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA L40 wins in:

• Raw compute performance: 90.52 TFLOPS FP32 is 6.4x the V100's 14.13 TFLOPS, directly translating to faster simulation, rendering, and AI training iterations.
• Memory capacity: 48 GB GDDR6 allows loading models and datasets that would never fit in 16 GB, eliminating the need for memory swapping.
• Modern API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensure compatibility with current software stacks and future development.
• Ray tracing: 142 RT cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the V100 lacks entirely.
• Pixel and texture throughput: 478.1 GPixel/s and 1,414.3 GTexel/s are 2.7x and 3.2x the V100's respective rates, benefiting graphics-heavy workloads.
• PCIe 4.0 interface: Double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 reduces data transfer bottlenecks with modern host systems.
• Display outputs: The L40 includes 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the V100 has no display outputs, making the L40 usable for visualization tasks.

NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB wins in:

• Memory bandwidth: 897.0 GB/s HBM2 edges out the L40's 864.0 GB/s, offering a 3.8% advantage for bandwidth-bound operations.
• Tensor core count: 640 tensor cores versus 568, potentially benefiting older deep learning frameworks optimized for Volta's tensor core layout.
• Higher base clock: 1245 MHz versus 735 MHz, which can help in lightly-threaded workloads that don't engage the L40's boost behavior.
• Power connector compatibility: 2x 8-pin connectors are more common in existing server infrastructure than the L40's 1x 16-pin, easing deployment in older systems.
• Legacy software compatibility: Environments built specifically for Volta's architecture may run without modification, whereas the L40 could require driver or framework updates.
• Die size efficiency for specific thermal solutions: The V100's larger 815 mm² die with lower density may spread heat differently, though both share a 300 W TDP and dual-slot design.