NVIDIA P102-100 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison
NVIDIA P102-100
RTX 5880 Ada Generation
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: NVIDIA P102-100 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation
The Verdict
The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the superior performer in every measured benchmark, and the NVIDIA P102-100 is a legacy mining-oriented part that should only be considered when its specific constraints are acceptable. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins the only head-to-head benchmark by a massive margin, delivering 326898 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 49602 for the P102-100, a difference of 84.8 percent in favor of the Ada card. For any compute, workstation, or graphics workload where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation fits, it is the clear choice. The P102-100, with no display outputs and a PCIe 1.0 x4 bus interface, is not a general-purpose graphics card at all; it is a mining-specific product that the database shows as end-of-life. Buyers who need a functioning GPU for rendering, AI, or professional applications should select the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. The P102-100 is only relevant to someone who explicitly needs a no-output compute board and cannot use the newer card, but even then the benchmark data gives no reason to prefer it.
Architecture Differences
The two cards come from entirely different generations and design philosophies. The P102-100 uses the GP102 chip built on TSMC's 16 nm process, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm node. Transistor counts reflect the generational leap: the P102-100 packs 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, yielding a density of 25.1M per mm². The RTX 5880 Ada Generation packs 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, achieving 125.3M per mm². That is a 5.5x increase in transistor density, which explains how the Ada card fits far more compute resources into a similar physical footprint.
The P102-100 belongs to the Pascal architecture and the "Mining GPUs" generation, with no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation belongs to the Ada Lovelace architecture and the "Workstation Ada (x000A)" generation, and it includes 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores. The Ada card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the Pascal card only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so API support for those two standards is identical.
Memory configurations are starkly different. The P102-100 has 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320 bit bus, with memory clocked at 1376 MHz and 11 Gbps effective, producing 440.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384 bit bus, with memory clocked at 2250 MHz and 18 Gbps effective, producing 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Ada card has 9.6x the memory capacity and roughly 1.96x the bandwidth. The bus interfaces also diverge: the P102-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a severely limited connection, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs follow the same pattern: the P102-100 has no outputs, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The database records a single direct head-to-head test: Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, while the P102-100 scores 49602. The delta is 84.8 percent, meaning the Ada card is roughly 6.6 times faster in this compute workload. That is not a marginal lead; it is a generational gap in raw compute throughput. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation also has a significantly higher FP32 throughput, 69.27 TFLOPS versus 10.77 TFLOPS, which aligns with the OpenCL result. The Ada card's FP16 performance is 69.27 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the P102-100 manages only 168.3 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, making the Pascal card effectively unsuitable for FP16 workloads.
Texture and pixel rates follow the same pattern. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation reaches 1,082.4 GTexel/s and 433.0 GPixel/s, versus 336.6 GTexel/s and 134.6 GPixel/s for the P102-100. The Ada card is 3.2x faster in texture rate and 3.2x faster in pixel rate. Shading units, texture mapping units, and render output units all favor the Ada card: 14080 shading units versus 3200, 440 TMUs versus 200, and 176 ROPs versus 80. Every architectural resource is multiplied, and the benchmark result reflects that.
FAQ
Q: Which card is faster in the recorded benchmarks?
A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins the only head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 326898 versus 49602 for the NVIDIA P102-100, a delta of 84.8 percent.
Q: Does the P102-100 support ray tracing or tensor cores?
A: No. The P102-100 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation includes 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores.
Q: Can the P102-100 be used for display output?
A: No. The P102-100 has no display outputs. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.
Q: How do the memory capacities compare?
A: The P102-100 has 5 GB of GDDR5X, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6. The Ada card also has nearly double the memory bandwidth, 864.0 GB/s versus 440.3 GB/s.
Q: What is the production status of each card?
A: The P102-100 is end-of-life and was released in 2018. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is active and was released in 2024.
Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?
A: Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P102-100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1).
Where Each One Wins
The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins every measured category. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL head-to-head by 84.8 percent. It has higher FP32 compute, 69.27 TFLOPS versus 10.77 TFLOPS. It has higher FP16 compute, 69.27 TFLOPS versus 168.3 GFLOPS. It has higher texture rate, 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 336.6 GTexel/s. It has higher pixel rate, 433.0 GPixel/s versus 134.6 GPixel/s. It has more memory, 48 GB versus 5 GB, and more bandwidth, 864.0 GB/s versus 440.3 GB/s. It has ray tracing and tensor cores, which the P102-100 lacks entirely. It supports PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 1.0 x4. It has display outputs, while the P102-100 has none.
The P102-100 has no benchmark wins in the database. Its only advantages are indirect: a lower TDP of 250 W versus 285 W, and a lower transistor count that implies a simpler manufacturing footprint. It also uses 2x 8-pin power connectors versus the Ada card's single 16-pin connector, which may matter for power supply compatibility. The P102-100 is also an end-of-life product, meaning it is no longer in active production, whereas the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is active. In terms of actual performance, the P102-100 does not win any category in the recorded data.
Use-case selection therefore comes down to workload requirements and system constraints. For compute-heavy tasks such as rendering, simulation, machine learning inference, or any workload that can use ray tracing or tensor cores, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the only rational choice. For systems that require display output, the P102-100 is automatically excluded. For systems with only a PCIe 1.0 x4 slot and no need for modern PCIe bandwidth, the P102-100 could theoretically function, but the bus limitation would cripple data transfer. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is also the only card of the two that can handle modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, making it the pick for any current or near-future graphics application.
Specification Differences
The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The P102-100 uses the GP102 chip, the Pascal architecture, a 16 nm process, and TSMC as foundry, with 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip, the Ada Lovelace architecture, a 5 nm process, and TSMC as foundry, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Transistor density is 25.1M per mm² for the P102-100 and 125.3M per mm² for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.
Clock speeds differ across the board. Base clock is 1582 MHz for the P102-100 and 975 MHz for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, boost clock is 1683 MHz for the P102-100 and 2460 MHz for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, memory clock is 1376 MHz with 11 Gbps effective for the P102-100 and 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Memory size is 5 GB GDDR5X for the P102-100 and 48 GB GDDR6 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Bus width is 320 bit for the P102-100 and 384 bit for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Bandwidth is 440.3 GB/s versus 864.0 GB/s.
Compute resources differ massively: shading units are 3200 versus 14080, TMUs are 200 versus 440, ROPs are 80 versus 176. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation adds 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores, which the P102-100 does not have. Pixel rate is 134.6 GPixel/s versus 433.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 336.6 GTexel/s versus 1,082.4 GTexel/s. FP32 is 10.77 TFLOPS versus 69.27 TFLOPS. FP16 is 168.3 GFLOPS (1:64) versus 69.27 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP is 250 W versus 285 W. Power connectors are 2x 8-pin versus 1x 16-pin. Suggested PSU is 600 W for both. Bus interface is PCIe 1.0 x4 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are none versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2). The RTX 5880 Ada Generation also has recorded height of 112 mm, while the P102-100 has no height data. Production status is end-of-life versus active. Release dates are 2018 for the P102-100 and 2024 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.