NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

NVIDIA’s RTX 4500 Ada Generation and Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB occupy opposite ends of the GPU timeline, yet both remain relevant in the benchmark database. The RTX 4500 Ada is an active workstation part built for modern graphics and compute, while the Tesla V100 is an end-of-life datacenter accelerator from the Volta era. The data shows a clear split: the V100 edges out the Ada card in OpenCL compute, but the RTX 4500 dominates in Vulkan by a wide margin. Below is a breakdown of what each card offers, based strictly on the provided specifications and benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation averages 166,094 across all benchmarks, placing it in the 97th percentile of all GPUs. The Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB averages 138,063, which puts it in the 96th percentile. The Ada card leads by roughly 20% in overall average score.

Q: How do the two cards compare in raw compute performance?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla V100 scores 163,063, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 4500’s 160,786. However, in Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4500 scores 171,401, a 51.6% advantage over the V100’s 113,062.

Q: What are the key architectural differences?

A: The RTX 4500 uses the AD103 chip on TSMC’s 5 nm process with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. The Tesla V100 uses the GV100 chip on TSMC’s 12 nm process with 21,100 million transistors on a much larger 815 mm² die. The Ada card features 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, while the V100 has no RT cores but 640 tensor cores.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla V100 has significantly higher memory bandwidth at 897.0 GB/s, thanks to its 4096-bit HBM2 interface. The RTX 4500 offers 432.0 GB/s over a 192-bit GDDR6 bus. Despite the bandwidth deficit, the Ada card has 24 GB of memory compared to the V100’s 16 GB.

Q: Is the RTX 4500 Ada Generation a good upgrade over the Tesla V100?

A: For graphics-heavy workloads using Vulkan, yes—the RTX 4500 is 51.6% faster. For pure OpenCL compute, the V100 is slightly faster by 1.4%. The Ada card also adds modern features like RT cores and a 5 nm process, but the V100’s higher bandwidth and larger tensor core count may benefit certain compute tasks.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is listed as “Active” in production, while the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB is marked “End-of-life.” The Ada card was released on 2023-08-08, whereas the V100 dates back to 2017-06-20.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is built on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It packs 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The Tesla V100, in contrast, uses the GV100 chip with the older Volta architecture, on a 12 nm process. It contains 21,100 million transistors spread across a much larger 815 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 25.9M per mm².

Core configurations differ sharply. The RTX 4500 has 7,680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 60 RT cores for ray tracing and 240 tensor cores for AI workloads. The Tesla V100 has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, but no RT cores. Its tensor core count is higher at 640, reflecting its datacenter-focused design for deep learning.

Memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The RTX 4500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla V100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, achieving 897.0 GB/s. The V100’s bandwidth advantage is nearly double, but the Ada card offers 50% more capacity.

Clock speeds and power also diverge. The RTX 4500 runs at a base of 2070 MHz and boosts to 2580 MHz, with a TDP of 210 W and no external power connectors. The Tesla V100 operates at 1245 MHz base and 1380 MHz boost, drawing 300 W via two 8-pin connectors. The Ada card also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the V100 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

Choose the RTX 4500 Ada Generation for modern graphics workloads, especially those leveraging Vulkan or DirectX 12 Ultimate. Its 51.6% lead in Vulkan over the Tesla V100 is decisive for gaming, rendering, or any real-time graphics task. The Ada card also offers 24 GB of memory, RT cores, and a much more power-efficient 5 nm process. It is the active production part, making it a future-proof choice.

Choose the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB for specific compute-heavy tasks that rely on OpenCL or benefit from its massive memory bandwidth. The V100 wins the OpenCL benchmark by 1.4%, and its 897.0 GB/s bandwidth plus 640 tensor cores make it a strong candidate for datacenter-style workloads. However, its end-of-life status and lack of display outputs limit its versatility.

For most users, the RTX 4500 is the better all-rounder. It wins the average benchmark score by 20% (166,094 vs 138,063) and offers features the V100 lacks entirely, such as ray tracing support and modern API compatibility. The V100’s only clear wins are bandwidth and raw OpenCL compute, which matter only in narrow use cases.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation | NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB |

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

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 45,900 million | 21,100 million |

| Die Size | 379 mm² | 815 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2070 MHz | 1245 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2580 MHz | 1380 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 897.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 7680 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 240 | 320 |

| ROPs | 80 | 128 |

| RT Cores | 60 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 240 | 640 |

| FP32 Performance | 39.63 TFLOPS | 14.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.26 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 210 W | 300 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 700 W |

| 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) |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-08-08 | 2017-06-20 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two cards split the head-to-head benchmarks exactly one win each. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla V100 scores 163,063 against the RTX 4500’s 160,786, giving the V100 a 1.4% edge. This is a narrow victory, but it shows that the older Volta architecture still holds its own in compute-oriented OpenCL tasks. The V100’s higher memory bandwidth and larger tensor core count likely contribute to this result.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a completely different story. The RTX 4500 scores 171,401, while the Tesla V100 manages only 113,062. That is a 51.6% advantage for the Ada card, a massive gap that reflects the V100’s lack of RT cores and its older graphics pipeline. Vulkan heavily favors modern architectures with dedicated ray tracing hardware and higher clock speeds, both of which the RTX 4500 possesses.

Looking at the nearest rivals confirms the positioning. The RTX 4500’s average score of 166,094 is 0.5% above the RTX A5500 (165,217) and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574) by 1.5% but beats the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (162,504) by 2.2%. The Tesla V100’s average of 138,063 is 0.2% ahead of the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731) and 1.2% above the AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136,472), but it falls behind the AMD Instinct MI100 (139,035) by 0.7%.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins decisively in graphics and real-time rendering. Its 51.6% Vulkan advantage over the Tesla V100 makes it the clear choice for any application that uses Vulkan, including modern game engines and professional visualization tools. The Ada card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the V100 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1), which matters for features like ray tracing and mesh shaders. The 24 GB memory capacity is another win for large textures and datasets, even if bandwidth is lower.

The Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB wins in raw memory throughput and specific compute scenarios. Its 897.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than double the RTX 4500’s 432.0 GB/s, which benefits memory-bound workloads like certain scientific simulations or large matrix operations. The V100’s 640 tensor cores (vs. 240 on the Ada card) also give it an edge in older AI frameworks that rely on Volta’s tensor core layout. The OpenCL win, though slim, proves that the V100 remains viable for compute tasks that do not leverage modern graphics APIs.

In terms of power and physical requirements, the RTX 4500 is the more practical card. It draws 210 W with no external power connectors and recommends a 550 W PSU, while the V100 requires 300 W, two 8-pin connectors, and a 700 W PSU. The Ada card also has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it usable in a workstation, whereas the V100 has no display outputs at all. The RTX 4500’s 5 nm process and active production status ensure long-term availability, while the V100 is end-of-life and limited to PCIe 3.0.