GeForce RTX 4090 vs RTX A5000: Which GPU is Best?

The debate about NVIDIA GeForce RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090 concerns the two most powerful graphics cards targeting different audiences. Whereas the GeForce RTX 4090 has remained one of the company’s strongest consumer GPUs and targets many gamers and content creators, the RTX A5000 was developed for professional workloads like AI, Data Science, and 3D Rendering.

In this article, we will compare RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090 in numerous aspects and select the most suitable card according to your needs. Let’s move on to specifications to see how they may differ.

RTX A5000 vs 4090: General Comparison

Here’s a comparison of the general information between NVIDIA RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090:

General Information	GeForce RTX 4090	RTX A5000
Launched	October 12, 2022	April 12th, 2021
Used in	Desktop	Workstation
Factory	NVIDIA	NVIDIA
Generation	GeForce 40	Quadro Ampere
Motherboard Bus	PCIe 4.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Memory	24576 MB	24576 MB
Core Clock	2230 MHz	1170 MHz (47.5% lower)
Boost Clock	2700 MHz	1695 MHz (37.2% lower)
Effective Clock	21000 MHz	16000 MHz (23.8% lower)
OpenGL	OpenGL 4.6	OpenGL 4.6
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	450 W	230 W (48.9% lower)
Length	360 mm	267 mm (25.8% shorter)
Cooling Fans	3 Fans	1 Fan (166.7% fewer)
Case Slots	4 Slots	2 Slots (50% fewer)

The table summarizes important specifications and differences between RTX 4090 and RTX A5000, from clock speeds to power consumption and even form factor.

Performance Comparison Between RTX 4090 vs A5000

Here’s the table comparing the performance of the GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX A5000:

Performance	GeForce RTX 4090	RTX A5000
Overall Score	1,000,000	768,382 (23.2% lower)
Future Proof	90%	80% (11.1% lower)
Benchmark Score	1,000,000	590,404 (41% lower)
2D Benchmark Score	1,298.1	1,031.7 (20.5% lower)
Average DirectX Performance	278.8 FPS	169.7 FPS (39.1% lower)
DirectX 9 Performance	398.6 FPS	244.8 FPS (38.6% lower)
DirectX 10 Performance	234.9 FPS	160.9 FPS (31.5% lower)
DirectX 11 Performance	336.7 FPS	186.6 FPS (44.6% lower)
DirectX 12 Performance	145 FPS	86.7 FPS (40.2% lower)
Graphic Card Computing	28,575.8 operations/s	12,827.2 operations/s (55.1% lower)

This table highlights the performance differences between the two GPUs in various benchmarks and computing tasks, showing how the RTX 4090 consistently outperforms the RTX A5000, especially in gaming and DirectX performance.

Clock Speeds and Memory Comparison

Here’s a comparison table of NVIDIA RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090 on the basis of clock speeds and memory:

Clock Speeds	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
Base Clock	2235 MHz	1170 MHz
Boost Clock	2520 MHz	1695 MHz
Memory Clock	1313 MHz	2000 MHz
Memory Size	24 GB	24 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6X	GDDR6
Memory Bus	384-bit	384-bit
Memory Bandwidth	1010 GB/s	768.0 GB/s

The RTX 4090 has better clock speeds and higher memory bandwidth. This makes it a better choice for high-performance applications.

Render Configuration: RTX A5000 vs 4090

Below, we compare the render configurations of both graphic cards:

Render Config	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
SM Count	128	64
Shading Units	16384	8192
TMUs	512	256
ROPs	176	96
Tensor Cores	512	256
RT Cores	128	64
Cuda Cores	16,384	8,192

Where the RTX 4090 stands out is with across-the-board core count doublings that have put it to work as a far better server-side renderer of those options.

Theoretical Performance: NVIDIA RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090

When the theoretical performances of both the NVIDIA RTX A5000 and RTX 4090 are weighed against one another, the differences really clear up.

Theoretical Performance	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
Pixel Rate (GPixel/s)	443.5	162.7
Texture Rate (GTexel/s)	1290	433.9
FP16 (half) Performance	165.2 TFLOPS	27.77 TFLOPS
FP32 (float) Performance	82.58 TFLOPS	27.77 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) Performance	1290 GFLOPS	433.9 GFLOPS

The RTX 4090 surpasses the A5000 in all performance metrics and sets a new standard for computational power in modern graphics cards.

Board Design of 4090 vs A5000

A comparison of the board design reveals notable differences between the RTX A5000 and RTX 4090.

Board Design	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
TDP	450 W	230 W
Suggested PSU	850 W	550 W
Outputs	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a	4x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors	1x 16-pin	1x 8-pin

Overall, the RTX 4090’s higher TDP and additional power requirements indicate increased capabilities, forcing users to consider their system power supply and connectivity options.

Graphics Processor Comparison of RTX A5000 vs RTX 4090

Comparing the GPUs of both the RTX A5000 and the RTX 4090, there are major architectural differences.

Graphics Processor	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
GPU Name	AD102	GA102
GPU Variant	AD102-300-A1	–
Architecture	Ada Lovelace	Ampere
Foundry	TSMC	Samsung
Process Size	5 nm	8 nm
Transistors	76.3 billion	28.3 billion
Die Size	609 mm²	628 mm²

The RTX 4090, built on the more advanced Ada Lovelace architecture, boasts a higher transistor count and smaller process size, indicating its superior efficiency and performance potential compared to the A5000.

Graphics Features of RTX A5000 and 4090

Looking at the graphics program features, both RTX A5000 and RTX 4090 bear support for the latest state-of-the-industry standards:

Graphics Features	RTX 4090	RTX A5000
DirectX	12 Ultimate (12_2)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	3.0	3.0
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
CUDA	8.9	8.6
Shader Model	6.7	6.7

While they share many core features, the RTX 4090’s slight advancements in CUDA capabilities highlight its edge in performance for modern applications.

Which GPU Is Best?

The decision between the GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX A5000 fully depends on the case you put it to.

• For gamers and content creators, the GeForce RTX 4090 is the better choice because it offers superior gaming performance and excellent content creation at a lower price than the RTX A5000, which makes the former very valuable in the consumer space.
• Introduced for workstations, the RTX A5000 exchanges most of its generational increases in performance for ECC memory, higher reliability, and certified drivers for applications like AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and other 3D modeling software. Thanks to its power efficiency and stability, it is a go-to GPU for users needing rock-solid performance in grueling professional environments.

If you want raw gaming or general computing power, go with the GeForce RTX 4090. However, if you focus on professional workloads where stability, precision, and certified software support are critical, the RTX A5000 is better.

Conclusion

In the end, most of the comparisons of the GeForce RTX 4090 against the RTX A5000 feel favorable toward the former, where clock speed, memory bandwidth, and rendering power make the GeForce RTX 4090 an outstanding deal toward high gaming with a dedicated game server and heavy computing. However, the RTX A5000 is still a good workstation GPU since it’s good at power use and performs quite robustly considering professional applications. Which one is to be opted for depends on the customer’s specific needs, whether it is gaming hosting and creative jobs with the RTX 4090 or professional 3D rendering with the RTX A5000.

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