GeForce RTX 5080 vs NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4, AI & Machine Learning Comparison
NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 wins 9 of 12 benchmarks, averaging 91% faster.
NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4'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 Z-Image Turbo, where NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 leads by 269% (2.7 vs 9.975 images/min); the closest fight is Llama 3.1 8B (4% apart); VRAM decides part of this one: GeForce RTX 5080 runs 135 of our 12 AI workloads while the other card runs 6, models that don't fit score zero.
Benchmark results head-to-head
| Benchmark | GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 4B tok/s | 215.89 | 193.14 | +12% |
| Llama 3.1 8B tok/s | 150.71 | 157.26 | -4% |
| Qwen2.5-Coder 14B tok/s | 81.97 | 86.2 | -5% |
| Qwen3 32B tok/s | 0 | 43.8 | n/a |
| Llama 3.3 70B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Stable Diffusion XL images/min | 8.86 | 18.576 | -52% |
| Z-Image Turbo images/min | 2.7 | 9.975 | -73% |
| FLUX.1 dev images/min | 0 | 4.264 | n/a |
| FLUX.1 Kontext dev images/min | 0 | 1.993 | n/a |
| Qwen-Image-Edit images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| LTX-Video (distilled) frames/s | 3.34 | 8.95 | -63% |
| Wan 2.2 5B (720p) frames/s | 0 | 0.66 | n/a |
Whole-job comparison
How long each card takes to finish a complete pipeline, not just one model. GeForce RTX 5080 is faster on 0 of 1; NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 on 1.
| Workflow | GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 | Difference | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full codebase review | 12.2 min | 11.7 min | NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 1.05x faster | $0.027 vs $0.195 |
Renting by the hour, GeForce RTX 5080 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 |
|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5080 | $0.135 |
| NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 | $1.000 |
GeForce RTX 5080 is 7.41x cheaper per hour. Cheapest on-demand rate we see across RunPod and Vast.
Specifications compared
| GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 16GB | 40GB |
| Architecture | Blackwell (GB203) | Ampere |
| Memory bandwidth | 960 GB/s | 1555 GB/s |
| Boost clock | 2,617 MHz | 1,410 MHz |
| TDP | 360 W | 400 W |
| Launch MSRP | $999 | $12,000 |
| Release | 2025-01-30 | 2020-05-14 |
FAQ
- Which is better for ai & machine learning: GeForce RTX 5080 or NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4?
- NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 performs better for ai & machine learning, winning 9 of 12 benchmarks in our suite with an average 91% advantage.
- What are the main hardware differences between GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4?
- GeForce RTX 5080 has 16GB VRAM and a 360W TDP, while NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 has 40GB VRAM and a 400W TDP.
- Does VRAM matter more than speed between GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4?
- For AI, yes, GeForce RTX 5080 fits 9 more of our 12 workloads than NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4. 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 GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4?
- Z-Image Turbo: NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 leads by roughly 269% (2.7 vs 9.975 images/min) in our testing.
GeForce RTX 5080 full review · NVIDIA A100 40GB SXM4 full review · All AI & Machine Learning rankings