NVIDIA L40S vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the NVIDIA L40S and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the L40S scores 330,727 against 124,287 for the A5500 Mobile, a delta of 166.1%. The Vulkan result follows the same pattern: 260,799 versus 103,601, a 151.7% advantage for the L40S. The L40S wins both recorded benchmark comparisons, giving it a 2 to 0 head-to-head record.

These are not marginal differences. The OpenCL delta of 166.1% means the L40S delivers more than two and a half times the raw compute throughput of the A5500 Mobile in that workload. The Vulkan gap, while slightly smaller at 151.7%, still represents a substantial lead. The average benchmark score for the L40S is 295,763, placing it in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The A5500 Mobile averages 113,944, which sits in the 94th percentile. Both are high performers, but the L40S operates in a different performance tier entirely.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces this gap. The L40S's closest competitors in the database include the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation at 287,237 average score (3% lower), the NVIDIA L40 at 284,111 (4.1% lower), and the AMD Instinct MI300X at 317,994 (7% higher). The L40S also trails the NVIDIA H200 NVL by 11.7%, which scores 334,891. These deltas show the L40S is competitive with top-tier data center accelerators, not just workstation GPUs.

The A5500 Mobile's nearest rivals tell a different story. Its closest match is the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB at 114,395 average score, a 0.4% difference. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation scores 117,088 (2.7% higher), the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 scores 110,725 (2.9% lower), and the NVIDIA GB10 scores 117,393 (2.9% higher). The A5500 Mobile sits comfortably in the middle of this group, showing it is a solid mid-range performer but nowhere near the absolute top tier.

Where Each One Wins

The L40S wins in every recorded benchmark category. It dominates in both OpenCL and Vulkan, making it the clear choice for workloads that rely on these APIs. OpenCL is commonly used for general-purpose GPU compute, scientific simulations, and some machine learning tasks. Vulkan is a low-level graphics and compute API that appears in professional visualization and certain game development workloads. The L40S's 166.1% lead in OpenCL and 151.7% lead in Vulkan indicate it has roughly two to three times the compute capacity for these tasks.

The A5500 Mobile, while losing both head-to-head tests, still holds its own in its own performance neighborhood. Its average score of 113,944 puts it within 3% of the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation and within 0.4% of the Tesla V100 SXM2. For workloads that do not require the absolute highest compute throughput, the A5500 Mobile is a capable performer. The data suggests it would handle Vulkan-based visualization or OpenCL compute tasks adequately, but it will not match the L40S in raw throughput.

The win count is unambiguous: 2 wins for the L40S, 0 for the A5500 Mobile. There is no recorded benchmark where the mobile GPU comes out ahead. This is not a case where one card wins in some tests and the other wins in others; the L40S is simply faster across the board in the available measurements.

Architecture Differences

The L40S is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD102 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 125.3 million per mm². The A5500 Mobile uses the older Ampere architecture with the GA103 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It has 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die, with a much lower density of 44.4 million per mm². The process node difference alone explains a significant portion of the performance gap.

The L40S features 18,176 shading units, 568 texture mapping units, and 192 raster output units. It also has 142 ray tracing cores and 568 tensor cores. The A5500 Mobile has 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 58 RT cores, and 232 tensor cores. The L40S has roughly 2.4 times the shading units, 2.4 times the TMUs, 2 times the ROPs, 2.4 times the RT cores, and 2.4 times the tensor cores. This scaling directly translates to the benchmark results.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The L40S has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The A5500 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The L40S offers three times the memory capacity and 68.75% more bandwidth. Clock speeds also favor the L40S: its base clock is 1110 MHz with a boost of 2520 MHz, while the A5500 Mobile runs at 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost. The L40S memory runs at 18 Gbps effective, compared to 16 Gbps on the mobile part.

Power and physical characteristics differ as expected. The L40S draws 300 W and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with a single 16-pin connector. It is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The A5500 Mobile has a 165 W TDP, uses no external power connectors (it is portable device dependent), and has no recorded dimensions. The L40S offers display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the A5500 Mobile's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The L40S was released on 2022-10-12, while the A5500 Mobile came earlier on 2022-03-21. Both are marked as end-of-life in production status. The L40S succeeds the Server Ampere generation and is succeeded by Server Hopper. The A5500 Mobile succeeds Quadro Turing-M and is succeeded by Ada-MW.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion. The NVIDIA L40S outperforms the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile in every recorded benchmark. For workloads that demand maximum compute throughput, the L40S is the obvious choice. Its 166.1% lead in OpenCL and 151.7% lead in Vulkan mean it is roughly two and a half times faster in compute-heavy tasks. The L40S sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the A5500 Mobile is in the 94th percentile.

The L40S is designed for server and workstation environments. It has a 300 W TDP, requires a 700 W PSU, and comes in a dual-slot form factor. It is not a portable device. The A5500 Mobile, with its 165 W TDP and no external power connectors, is built for laptops and other portable systems. The trade-off is clear: the L40S offers massive compute performance at the cost of size and power, while the A5500 Mobile offers moderate performance in a power-efficient, mobile package.

For users who need the highest possible compute performance in a fixed workstation or server chassis, the L40S is the data-backed choice. Its 48 GB memory capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets and memory-intensive workloads. The 16 GB memory and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth of the A5500 Mobile will be limiting for such tasks.

For users who require GPU compute in a portable system, the A5500 Mobile is a reasonable performer but it cannot match the L40S. The benchmark data shows no scenario where the mobile GPU wins. The choice between these two is not about which is better overall; it is about which fits the use case. If the system is stationary and power is available, the L40S is the superior option. If portability is required, the A5500 Mobile is the only one of the two that can be installed in a laptop, but its performance will be a fraction of the L40S.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA L40S has an average benchmark score of 295,763, while the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile averages 113,944.

Q: How much faster is the L40S in OpenCL compute?

A: The L40S scores 330,727 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 166.1% higher than the A5500 Mobile's 124,287.

Q: What are the memory capacities of these two GPUs?

A: The L40S has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the A5500 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What architectures do these GPUs use?

A: The L40S uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip on a 5 nm process, while the A5500 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture with the GA103 chip on an 8 nm process.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The L40S has a 300 W TDP, while the A5500 Mobile has a 165 W TDP.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The L40S has 142 ray tracing cores, compared to 58 on the A5500 Mobile.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA L40S | NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Chip | AD102 | GA103 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 22,000 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 496 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 125.3M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1110 MHz | 975 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2520 MHz | 1500 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 864.0 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 18176 | 7424 |

| TMUs | 568 | 232 |

| ROPs | 192 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 142 | 58 |

| Tensor Cores | 568 | 232 |

| Pixel Rate | 483.8 GPixel/s | 144.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,431.4 GTexel/s | 348.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 91.61 TFLOPS | 22.27 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 91.61 TFLOPS (1:1) | 22.27 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 165 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not specified |

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

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | Not specified |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 267 mm x 111 mm | Not specified |

| Release Date | 2022-10-12 | 2022-03-21 |

| Predecessor | Server Ampere | Quadro Turing-M |

| Successor | Server Hopper | Ada-MW |