NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation vs NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between these two NVIDIA cards, with the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation winning both recorded head-to-head tests. Its OpenCL score of 124,812 versus 66,696 for the TITAN X Pascal represents an 87.1% advantage, a decisive margin for compute-oriented workloads that leverage OpenCL. The Vulkan result is closer but still firmly in favor of the newer card: 109,364 versus 77,499, a 41.1% lead. This makes the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation the clear choice for modern graphics API workloads and general compute tasks, while the TITAN X Pascal retains relevance only in scenarios where its specific feature set or older driver ecosystem is required.

Looking at the percentile rankings, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation sits at the 95th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the TITAN X Pascal ranks at the 91st percentile. The average benchmark score tells a similar story: 117,088 for the Ada card versus 72,098 for the Pascal card. The Ada generation card wins in both OpenCL and Vulkan, meaning it is better suited for cross-platform compute and modern rendering pipelines. The TITAN X Pascal, by contrast, has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its strengths lie elsewhere, such as raw pixel throughput and texture fill rates, but those do not translate into wins in the tests captured here.

For users prioritizing compute performance in OpenCL-heavy applications, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the unambiguous pick. For Vulkan-based games or applications, it also leads, though by a narrower margin. The TITAN X Pascal is the older architecture with a higher power draw, so its appeal is limited to legacy workloads or systems where its specific display outputs and driver support are needed. The data does not show any scenario where the TITAN X Pascal outperforms the Ada card in the recorded benchmarks.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras and manufacturing processes. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die. The TITAN X Pascal uses the GP102 chip on TSMC's 16 nm process, with 11,800 million transistors on a much larger 471 mm² die. This is a striking reversal of the usual trend: the newer chip has roughly three times the transistor count but occupies nearly 40% less silicon area. The transistor density figures confirm this: 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter for the Ada chip versus 25.1 million for the Pascal chip.

The Ada card belongs to the GeForce 40-series generation and the Workstation Ada family, while the TITAN X Pascal is part of the GeForce 10 generation. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation ships with 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, features completely absent from the TITAN X Pascal, which has no ray tracing or tensor core hardware. The Pascal card offers 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. So while the Ada card has nearly double the shader count, the Pascal card has more TMUs and ROPs, which explains its higher pixel rate and texture rate figures.

Memory configurations also diverge significantly. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation comes with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 280.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The TITAN X Pascal has 12 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 480.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pascal card has a wider memory bus and higher bandwidth, but the Ada card has nearly double the memory capacity. Clock speeds tell another part of the story: the Ada card runs at a 720 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost, while the Pascal card runs at 1417 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost. The Pascal card has a much higher base clock, but the Ada card's boost clock is slightly higher.

The process node difference is the most consequential architectural gap. The 5 nm TSMC node allows the Ada chip to fit far more transistors into a smaller die, enabling features like RT cores and tensor cores that the 16 nm Pascal chip cannot support. The power envelope reflects this efficiency: the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has a 70 W TDP, while the TITAN X Pascal draws 250 W. The Ada card also has no external power connectors, while the Pascal card requires a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector. The suggested power supply is 250 W for the Ada card and 600 W for the Pascal card. These are not just efficiency numbers; they reflect a fundamental shift in how the two architectures allocate silicon resources.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test delivers the largest margin in the comparison. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation scores 124,812, while the TITAN X Pascal scores 66,696. That is an 87.1% difference, meaning the Ada card nearly doubles the Pascal card's output in this workload. OpenCL is often used for scientific computing, image processing, and other general-purpose GPU tasks, so this result suggests the Ada architecture's shader count and compute features provide a massive advantage over the older Pascal design. The Pascal card's higher base clock and wider memory bus do not compensate for its lower shader count and lack of modern compute features.

The Vulkan test shows a smaller but still decisive gap. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation posts 109,364, while the TITAN X Pascal records 77,499, a 41.1% difference. Vulkan is a low-overhead graphics API used in modern games and increasingly in compute applications. The Ada card's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores likely contribute to its Vulkan advantage, as these specialized units can accelerate certain rendering and compute tasks. The Pascal card, lacking these units entirely, must rely on its general-purpose shaders, which are fewer in number.

To contextualize these scores, the database's nearest rival data places the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation just below the NVIDIA GB10, which has an average score of 117,393, a delta of -0.3%. It also trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 by 1.6% and sits 2.4% above the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB and 2.8% above the RTX A5500 Mobile. The TITAN X Pascal, meanwhile, trades blows with AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, which is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M, which is 0.5% higher. These rival comparisons show that the Ada card competes at a much higher performance tier than the Pascal card, which now sits among older or lower-end parts.

The wins are not close in either test. The smallest margin is the Vulkan result at 41.1%, which is still a substantial gap. The OpenCL result at 87.1% is one of the larger deltas seen in the database for a head-to-head comparison between two NVIDIA cards from different generations. The data indicates that the architectural leap from Pascal to Ada Lovelace, combined with the process node shrink, delivers a generational improvement that is visible in both compute and graphics API benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation scores 124,812 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 87.1% higher than the TITAN X Pascal's 66,696.

Q: Does the TITAN X Pascal win any benchmark in this comparison?

A: No. The recorded data shows the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation winning both head-to-head tests: OpenCL and Vulkan.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 280.0 GB/s bandwidth. The TITAN X Pascal has 12 GB of GDDR5X on a 384-bit bus with 480.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has a 70 W TDP and requires no external power connectors, while the TITAN X Pascal has a 250 W TDP and needs a 6-pin plus an 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 250 W for the Ada card and 600 W for the Pascal card.

Q: Does the TITAN X Pascal support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The TITAN X Pascal has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores.

Q: Which card is more recent?

A: The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation was released in 2023 and is still in active production. The TITAN X Pascal was released in 2016 and is end-of-life.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip on a 5 nm process, while the TITAN X Pascal uses the GP102 chip on a 16 nm process. Transistor counts are 35,800 million versus 11,800 million, and die sizes are 294 mm² versus 471 mm². The Ada card has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs; the Pascal card has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The Ada card includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the Pascal card has none of either.

Clock speeds differ as well. The Ada card runs at 720 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost, while the Pascal card runs at 1417 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost. Memory configurations are 20 GB GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 280.0 GB/s bandwidth for the Ada card, versus 12 GB GDDR5X on a 384-bit bus with 480.4 GB/s bandwidth for the Pascal card. The Ada card achieves 99.84 GPixel/s pixel rate and 299.5 GTexel/s texture rate, while the Pascal card reaches 147.0 GPixel/s and 342.9 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 19.17 TFLOPS for the Ada card versus 10.97 TFLOPS for the Pascal card. FP16 performance is 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1) for the Ada card versus 171.5 GFLOPS (1:64) for the Pascal card.

The power and physical specifications also diverge. The Ada card has a 70 W TDP with no external power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The Pascal card has a 250 W TDP, requires 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 600 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards, but the Ada card measures 168 mm in length and 69 mm in height, while the Pascal card measures 267 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The Ada card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Pascal card uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a for the Ada card and 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the Pascal card. The Ada card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pascal card supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.