NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB Comparison

NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB represent two very different eras of NVIDIA’s accelerator lineup, and the benchmark data reflects a generational gap that goes beyond simple clock speeds. In the two available head-to-head tests, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins decisively, posting a 22.1% higher score in Geekbench OpenCL (160786 vs 131696) and a 19.2% higher score in Geekbench Vulkan (171401 vs 143765). These are not marginal victories; they are consistent, double-digit leads across both compute APIs, suggesting the newer Ada architecture’s design philosophy translates into broad performance advantages rather than niche wins.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result is the OpenCL delta of 22.1%, where the RTX 4500 Ada Generation’s score of 160786 dwarfs the Tesla V100’s 131696. This is a substantial gap that indicates the Ada card’s 39.63 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, combined with its 7680 shading units, provides a raw compute advantage that the Volta-based V100 cannot offset despite its higher memory bandwidth. The V100, with its 15.67 TFLOPS FP32 and 5120 shading units, is simply outgunned in raw shader work.

In Vulkan, the margin tightens slightly to 19.2%, with the RTX 4500 scoring 171401 against the V100’s 143765. While the absolute delta shrinks, the RTX 4500 still maintains a commanding lead. This is notable because Vulkan often favors architectures with more modern scheduling and lower overhead; the Ada card’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and its newer feature set may contribute to its stronger showing here. The V100, limited to DirectX 12 (12_1), lacks the same level of API modernity.

Looking at the broader context, the RTX 4500’s average benchmark score of 166094 places it at the 97th percentile of all GPUs, while the V100’s 137731 average sits at the 96th percentile. The percentile difference is small, but the raw score gap is nearly 21%. The RTX 4500’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (deltaPct 0.5%), AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (0.7%), and AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (-1.5%), indicating it sits comfortably in a high-performance workstation tier. Meanwhile, the V100’s rivals are the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (-0.2%), AMD Radeon PRO V620 (0.9%), and AMD Instinct MI100 (-0.9%), showing it competes with older or more specialized hardware.

The data implies the RTX 4500 is not just faster; it is faster in a way that suggests architectural efficiency. The V100 was designed for a different era, and its 12 nm process node and 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die are far less dense than the RTX 4500’s 5 nm node with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. This 3.1x transistor density advantage (121.1M / mm² vs 25.9M / mm²) allows the Ada card to pack more compute units into a smaller, more power-efficient footprint.

The Verdict

From the data alone, the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the clear performance winner in every measured benchmark. It wins both head-to-head tests, achieving a 22.1% lead in OpenCL and a 19.2% lead in Vulkan. For any workload that relies on these APIs—whether it is general compute, rendering, or AI inference—the RTX 4500 offers demonstrably superior performance. The V100’s only advantage lies in its larger 32 GB memory capacity and higher 898.0 GB/s bandwidth, but the benchmark scores do not reflect a benefit from that bandwidth in these particular tests.

The percentile ranks are close (97th vs 96th), but that is a misleading indicator of their relative standing. The RTX 4500’s average score of 166094 is significantly higher than the V100’s 137731, and the delta is consistent across both tests. There is no benchmark in the FACT PACK where the V100 wins, so any argument for the V100 must rest on unmeasured factors like memory capacity or software ecosystem, which are not part of this analysis.

The production status also matters: the RTX 4500 is listed as "Active," while the V100 is "End-of-life." This suggests the RTX 4500 is the current, supported choice, whereas the V100 is a legacy product. For new deployments, the data strongly favors the RTX 4500. For existing V100 installations, the benchmark results indicate a significant upgrade path, but the decision to migrate would depend on whether the 22% performance delta justifies the change in memory configuration.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in every benchmark category provided. In Geekbench OpenCL, its 160786 score represents a 22.1% improvement over the V100, making it the superior choice for OpenCL-based compute tasks such as scientific simulation, video encoding, and general-purpose GPU computing. Its 39.63 TFLOPS FP32 and 39.63 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio) provide balanced performance across both precision levels, which is critical for mixed-precision workloads.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4500’s 171401 score and 19.2% lead indicate it is also better for graphics and compute workloads that leverage Vulkan’s low-level API. This includes real-time rendering, game development, and certain machine learning frameworks that use Vulkan for inference. The card’s 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and tensor operations, which are not present in the V100 (RT cores are null, though it does have 640 tensor cores).

The Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB, despite losing both benchmarks, has specific strengths that the data does not capture in scores. Its 32 GB of HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus and 898.0 GB/s bandwidth is nearly double the RTX 4500’s 24 GB GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. For workloads that require massive memory capacity or extremely high bandwidth—such as large language model training or scientific datasets that exceed 24 GB—the V100 may still be preferable, even if its raw compute scores are lower. However, the benchmark results do not show any test where this advantage translates into a win.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 166094, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB’s 137731, a difference of approximately 20.6%.

Q: What is the performance delta in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 160786, which is 22.1% higher than the Tesla V100’s 131696 in Geekbench OpenCL.

Q: Does the Tesla V100 win any benchmark in this comparison?

A: No, the data shows the RTX 4500 wins both head-to-head benchmarks (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), with the V100 recording zero wins (winsB: 0).

Q: How do their memory configurations differ?

A: The RTX 4500 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla V100 has 32 GB of HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus and 898.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is listed as "Active," while the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB is listed as "End-of-life."

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 throughput?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 39.63 TFLOPS FP32, while the Tesla V100 has 15.67 TFLOPS FP32, making the RTX 4500 over 2.5x faster in this metric.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is profound. The RTX 4500 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, yielding a die size of 379 mm² with 45,900 million transistors. In contrast, the Tesla V100 uses the Volta architecture on a 12 nm process, resulting in a much larger 815 mm² die with only 21,100 million transistors. This means the RTX 4500 achieves a transistor density of 121.1M / mm², while the V100 manages just 25.9M / mm²—a 4.7x difference in density.

The RTX 4500 features 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The V100 has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, with 640 tensor cores but no RT cores. The RTX 4500’s FP32 and FP16 performance are both 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), whereas the V100’s FP32 is 15.67 TFLOPS and FP16 is 31.33 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This indicates the RTX 4500 is designed for equal throughput across precision levels, while the V100 favors FP16.

The memory subsystems are also fundamentally different. The RTX 4500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, achieving 432.0 GB/s. The V100 uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, achieving 898.0 GB/s. The V100’s memory bandwidth is 2.08x higher, but the RTX 4500 compensates with higher clock speeds (base 2070 MHz vs 1290 MHz, boost 2580 MHz vs 1530 MHz) and a much more efficient architecture.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification category. The RTX 4500 has a smaller process node (5 nm vs 12 nm), a smaller die (379 mm² vs 815 mm²), but more transistors (45,900 million vs 21,100 million). Clock speeds favor the RTX 4500 significantly: base 2070 MHz vs 1290 MHz, boost 2580 MHz vs 1530 MHz, and memory clock 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) vs 877 MHz (1754 Mbps effective).

Memory capacity and type differ: the RTX 4500 has 24 GB GDDR6, while the V100 has 32 GB HBM2. Bus width is 192-bit vs 4096-bit, and bandwidth is 432.0 GB/s vs 898.0 GB/s. The RTX 4500 has more shading units (7680 vs 5120) and TMUs (240 vs 320), but fewer ROPs (80 vs 128). It also has 60 RT cores vs none, and 240 tensor cores vs 640.

Power and form factor also diverge. The RTX 4500 has a TDP of 210 W and is a dual-slot card, while the V100 has a TDP of 250 W and is an SXM module. Both have no power connectors, but the suggested PSU differs: 550 W for the RTX 4500 and 600 W for the V100. The RTX 4500 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the V100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 4500, while the V100 has no outputs. API support favors the RTX 4500 with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs the V100’s DirectX 12 (12_1); both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4500 measures 245 mm in length and 112 mm in height, while the V100’s dimensions are not specified. Release dates are 2023-08-08 for the RTX 4500 and 2018-03-26 for the V100.