NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 vs NVIDIA A40, AI & Machine Learning Comparison
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 wins 5 of 9 benchmarks, averaging 16.1% 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 Qwen3 32B, where NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 leads by 41% (37.95 vs 26.89 tok/s); the closest fight is Z-Image Turbo (19% apart); VRAM decides part of this one: NVIDIA A40 runs 8 of our 12 AI workloads while the other card runs 8, models that don't fit score zero.
Benchmark results head-to-head
| Benchmark | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | NVIDIA A40 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 4B tok/s | 206.67 | 160.79 | +29% |
| Llama 3.1 8B tok/s | 144.9 | 106.18 | +36% |
| Qwen2.5-Coder 14B tok/s | 78.79 | 57.85 | +36% |
| Qwen3 32B tok/s | 37.95 | 26.89 | +41% |
| Llama 3.3 70B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Stable Diffusion XL images/min | 7.46 | 9.2 | -19% |
| Z-Image Turbo images/min | 3.825 | 3.225 | +19% |
| FLUX.1 dev images/min | 0 | 1.95 | n/a |
| Wan 2.2 5B (720p) frames/s | 0.22 | 0.31 | -29% |
Whole-job comparison
How long each card takes to finish a complete pipeline, not just one model. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is faster on 2 of 3; NVIDIA A40 on 1.
| Workflow | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | NVIDIA A40 | Difference | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24-frame storyboard | 8.3 min | 10.2 min | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 1.23x faster | $0.010 vs $0.060 |
| Full codebase review | 12.7 min | 17.3 min | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 1.36x faster | $0.015 vs $0.101 |
| 10 short social clips | 42.4 min | 33.4 min | NVIDIA A40 1.27x faster | $0.049 vs $0.195 |
Renting by the hour, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 finishes 3 of 3 cheaper. The quicker card is not automatically the cheaper way to get the work done.
Cost to rent
| Card | Per hour |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | $0.069 |
| NVIDIA A40 | $0.350 |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is 5.07x cheaper per hour. Cheapest on-demand rate we see across RunPod and Vast.
Specifications compared
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | NVIDIA A40 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 24GB | 48GB |
| Architecture | Ampere (GA102) | Ampere |
| Memory bandwidth | 936.2 GB/s | 696 GB/s |
| Boost clock | 1,695 MHz | 1,740 MHz |
| TDP | 350 W | 300 W |
| Launch MSRP | $1,499 | $5,000 |
| Release | 2020-09-24 | 2020-10-05 |
FAQ
- Which is better for ai & machine learning: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 or NVIDIA A40?
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 performs better for ai & machine learning, winning 5 of 9 benchmarks in our suite with an average 16.1% advantage.
- What are the main hardware differences between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and NVIDIA A40?
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 has 24GB 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 3090 and NVIDIA A40?
- For AI, yes, NVIDIA A40 fits 4 more of our 12 workloads than NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. 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 3090 and NVIDIA A40?
- Qwen3 32B: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 leads by roughly 41% (37.95 vs 26.89 tok/s) in our testing.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 full review · NVIDIA A40 full review · All AI & Machine Learning rankings