NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 vs NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 287,237, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79,842. However, this average is heavily influenced by the different test suites each card was subjected to.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The GeForce RTX 5090 scores 334,370, which is 6.8% higher than the RTX 6000 Ada’s 311,629. This is one of the two head-to-head benchmark results recorded.

Q: What about the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The RTX 5090 leads by a substantial 30.2% in Vulkan, scoring 376,728 versus 262,845 for the RTX 6000 Ada. This is the largest performance gap in the direct comparison.

Q: Which card has more memory, and what type is it?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus. The RTX 5090’s memory bandwidth is 1.79 TB/s compared to 960.0 GB/s for the RTX 6000 Ada.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada has a 300 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 700 W. The RTX 5090 has a 575 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 950 W.

Q: Which card is newer, and what is their production status?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada was released on 2022-12-02 and is marked as end-of-life. The RTX 5090 was released on 2025-01-29 and is active in production.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA generations. The RTX 6000 Ada is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD102 chip, while the RTX 5090 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip. Both are manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, but the die sizes differ significantly: the AD102 measures 609 mm², while the GB202 is larger at 750 mm². Transistor counts also diverge, with the RTX 6000 Ada packing 76,300 million transistors and the RTX 5090 containing 92,200 million. Transistor density is close, at 125.3M per mm² for the RTX 6000 Ada and 122.9M per mm² for the RTX 5090.

The core configurations are notably different. The RTX 5090 has 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. The RTX 6000 Ada has 18,176 shading units, 568 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. Ray tracing cores also differ: 170 on the RTX 5090 versus 142 on the RTX 6000 Ada. Tensor cores follow the same pattern, with 680 on the RTX 5090 and 568 on the RTX 6000 Ada.

Clock speeds reveal a different design philosophy. The RTX 6000 Ada has a base clock of 915 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. The RTX 5090 starts at a much higher base clock of 2017 MHz but boosts to 2407 MHz, slightly lower than the Ada card’s boost. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 6000 Ada runs at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5090 runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective.

Memory subsystems are a major differentiator. The RTX 6000 Ada offers 48 GB of GDDR6 across a 384-bit bus, yielding 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5090 provides 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s, which is nearly double the bandwidth. Both cards are dual-slot and use a single 16-pin power connector, but the RTX 5090 has a wider physical footprint at 304 mm length, 137 mm height, and 40 mm width, versus the RTX 6000 Ada’s 267 mm length and 112 mm height.

The bus interface also differs: the RTX 6000 Ada uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5090 uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are different as well, with the RTX 6000 Ada offering 4x DisplayPort 1.4a and the RTX 5090 offering 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct comparisons between these GPUs, both from the Geekbench suite. In OpenCL, the GeForce RTX 5090 scores 334,370 against the RTX 6000 Ada’s 311,629, a 6.8% advantage for the newer card. In Vulkan, the margin widens dramatically: the RTX 5090 reaches 376,728, while the RTX 6000 Ada trails at 262,845, which translates to a 30.2% deficit. These results show that the RTX 5090 wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2 to 0 record.

Interpreting these numbers requires context from the rival comparisons. The RTX 6000 Ada sits at the 99th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average score of 287,237. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA L40 at 284,111 (1.1% behind), the NVIDIA L40S at 295,763 (2.9% ahead), the AMD Instinct MI300X at 317,994 (9.7% ahead), and the NVIDIA L20 at 251,147 (14.4% behind). This places the RTX 6000 Ada in a workstation-class performance tier, competitive with accelerators like the L40S and MI300X.

The RTX 5090, by contrast, has a 92nd percentile ranking and an average score of 79,842. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (0.3% behind), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (0.6% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (1.1% behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at 80,959 (1.4% ahead). These rivals are older or lower-tier parts, which suggests the RTX 5090’s average score is dragged down by a broader test suite that includes legacy DirectX and Passmark tests, not that it is a weaker GPU.

The Vulkan result is particularly telling. A 30.2% lead for the RTX 5090 indicates a major architectural advantage in this API, likely stemming from the newer Blackwell 2.0 design and its higher memory bandwidth. The OpenCL result, while closer, still favors the RTX 5090. For users prioritizing raw compute in these specific workloads, the data clearly points to the RTX 5090.

The Verdict

From the recorded benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the faster card in both head-to-head tests. It leads by 6.8% in OpenCL and by 30.2% in Vulkan, making it the outright winner for compute tasks that rely on these APIs. The RTX 6000 Ada, despite its workstation pedigree and higher percentile ranking (99th versus 92nd), loses both direct comparisons.

However, the choice is not purely about speed. The RTX 6000 Ada offers 48 GB of memory, which is 50% more than the RTX 5090’s 32 GB. For workloads that require large datasets to reside on the GPU, such as certain simulation or rendering tasks, that extra capacity can be the deciding factor. The RTX 6000 Ada also has a lower TDP at 300 W versus 575 W, and a lower suggested power supply rating at 700 W versus 950 W, which matters for system integration.

The RTX 5090 counters with nearly double the memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s versus 960.0 GB/s), a newer GDDR7 memory type, and a PCIe 5.0 interface. It also has more shading units, TMUs, RT cores, and tensor cores. Its higher base clock of 2017 MHz versus 915 MHz suggests better efficiency at idle or low load, though its boost clock is slightly lower.

From a pure performance standpoint, the RTX 5090 is the choice for users who prioritize compute throughput in OpenCL and Vulkan. The RTX 6000 Ada remains relevant for those who need 48 GB of memory capacity and lower power draw, but the benchmark data shows it is not the faster card in the tested scenarios.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

• Architecture: Ada Lovelace (AD102) versus Blackwell 2.0 (GB202)
• Generation: Workstation Ada versus GeForce 50
• Transistors: 76,300 million versus 92,200 million
• Die Size: 609 mm² versus 750 mm²
• Transistor Density: 125.3M / mm² versus 122.9M / mm²
• Base Clock: 915 MHz versus 2017 MHz
• Boost Clock: 2505 MHz versus 2407 MHz
• Memory Clock: 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 48 GB versus 32 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 versus GDDR7
• Memory Bus Width: 384 bit versus 512 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 960.0 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s
• Shading Units: 18,176 versus 21,760
• TMUs: 568 versus 680
• ROPs: 192 versus 176
• RT Cores: 142 versus 170
• Tensor Cores: 568 versus 680
• Pixel Rate: 481.0 GPixel/s versus 423.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 1,422.8 GTexel/s versus 1,636.8 GTexel/s
• FP32: 91.06 TFLOPS versus 104.8 TFLOPS
• FP16: 91.06 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 300 W versus 575 W
• Suggested PSU: 700 W versus 950 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b
• Dimensions: 267 mm x 112 mm versus 304 mm x 137 mm x 40 mm
• Production Status: End-of-life versus Active
• Release Date: 2022-12-02 versus 2025-01-29
• Launch MSRP: 6,799 USD versus 1,999 USD

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 wins in raw compute performance as measured by the two Geekbench tests. Its 30.2% Vulkan lead is the standout result, indicating a strong advantage for applications that use this API. The 6.8% OpenCL lead is smaller but still decisive. The RTX 5090 also has higher FP32 and FP16 throughput (104.8 TFLOPS versus 91.06 TFLOPS), more shading units, more RT cores, and more tensor cores. Its memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is nearly double that of the RTX 6000 Ada, which benefits bandwidth-sensitive workloads. The PCIe 5.0 interface and GDDR7 memory are newer standards that may offer better future compatibility.

The RTX 6000 Ada wins in memory capacity, offering 48 GB versus 32 GB. This is critical for workloads that need to keep large models or datasets entirely in GPU memory. It also has a higher pixel rate (481.0 GPixel/s versus 423.6 GPixel/s), which could benefit certain rasterization tasks, and a higher ROP count (192 versus 176). The RTX 6000 Ada draws less power (300 W versus 575 W) and requires a smaller power supply (700 W versus 950 W), making it easier to integrate into existing systems. Its smaller physical footprint (267 mm versus 304 mm length) also helps in space-constrained chassis.

For users who need the absolute fastest compute in OpenCL and Vulkan, the RTX 5090 is the clear pick. For users who need maximum memory capacity and lower power consumption, the RTX 6000 Ada remains the appropriate choice, despite losing both head-to-head benchmark tests.