NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs NVIDIA A40, AI & Machine Learning Comparison
NVIDIA A40 wins 4 of 8 benchmarks, averaging -24.9% faster.
NVIDIA A40's numbers are anchored estimates calibrated against our measured cards, pending first-party measurement. Treat small gaps as ties.
What the numbers say
The gap is widest in Llama 3.1 8B, where NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti leads by 36% (144.11 vs 106.18 tok/s); the closest fight is Qwen3 4B (28% apart); VRAM decides part of this one: NVIDIA A40 runs 8 of our 12 AI workloads while the other card runs 3, models that don't fit score zero.
Benchmark results head-to-head
| Benchmark | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | NVIDIA A40 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 4B tok/s | 206.45 | 160.79 | +28% |
| Llama 3.1 8B tok/s | 144.11 | 106.18 | +36% |
| Qwen2.5-Coder 14B tok/s | 78.31 | 57.85 | +35% |
| Qwen3 32B tok/s | 0 | 26.89 | n/a |
| Llama 3.3 70B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Z-Image Turbo images/min | 0 | 3.225 | n/a |
| FLUX.1 dev images/min | 0 | 1.95 | n/a |
| Wan 2.2 5B (720p) frames/s | 0 | 0.31 | n/a |
Whole-job comparison
How long each card takes to finish a complete pipeline, not just one model. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is faster on 1 of 1; NVIDIA A40 on 0.
| Workflow | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | NVIDIA A40 | Difference | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full codebase review | 12.8 min | 17.3 min | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 1.35x faster | $0.038 vs $0.101 |
Renting by the hour, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti finishes 1 of 1 cheaper. The quicker card is not automatically the cheaper way to get the work done.
Cost to rent
| Card | Per hour |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | $0.180 |
| NVIDIA A40 | $0.350 |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is 1.94x cheaper per hour. Cheapest on-demand rate we see across RunPod and Vast.
Specifications compared
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | NVIDIA A40 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 12GB | 48GB |
| Architecture | Ampere (GA102) | Ampere |
| Memory bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 696 GB/s |
| Boost clock | 1,665 MHz | 1,740 MHz |
| TDP | 350 W | 300 W |
| Launch MSRP | $1,199 | $5,000 |
| Release | 2021-06-03 | 2020-10-05 |
FAQ
- Which is better for ai & machine learning: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or NVIDIA A40?
- NVIDIA A40 performs better for ai & machine learning, winning 4 of 8 benchmarks in our suite with an average -24.9% advantage.
- What are the main hardware differences between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and NVIDIA A40?
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has 12GB VRAM and a 350W TDP, while NVIDIA A40 has 48GB VRAM and a 300W TDP.
- Does VRAM matter more than speed between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and NVIDIA A40?
- For AI, yes, NVIDIA A40 fits 8 more of our 12 workloads than NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. A model that exceeds VRAM doesn't run slower, it doesn't run at all, so the card that fits the model wins that workload outright.
- Where is the biggest performance difference between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and NVIDIA A40?
- Llama 3.1 8B: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti leads by roughly 36% (144.11 vs 106.18 tok/s) in our testing.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti full review · NVIDIA A40 full review · All AI & Machine Learning rankings