A100 PCIe 40GB vs RTX 3090 Mobile
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | A100 PCIe 40GB | RTX 3090 Mobile | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 6,821 | 12,998 | -47.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 65 | 106 | -38.7% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 39 | 66 | -40.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 21 | 37 | -43.2% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 19.5 | 30.2 | -35.5% |
| VRAM | 40 GB HBM2 | 16 GB GDDR6X | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 1,555 | 1,008 | +54.3% |
| TDP (W) | 250 | 210 | — |
| Stable Diffusion (it/s) | 9.7 | 12.1 | -19.8% |
| LLM inference (tokens/s) | 53 | 80 | -33.8% |
- RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 39 fps — about 41% faster.
- RTX 3090 Mobile draws less power (210W vs 250W).
Verdict: A100 PCIe 40GB or RTX 3090 Mobile?
A100 PCIe 40GB advantages
- Video memory (+60%)
- Memory bandwidth (+35%)
RTX 3090 Mobile advantages
- 1440p gaming (+41%)
- 4K gaming (+43%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+48%)
- AI image generation (+20%)
- Local LLM inference (+34%)
- Power efficiency (+16%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the A100 PCIe 40GB if you play the latest titles at high textures or do GPU-accelerated work.
- Choose the RTX 3090 Mobile if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the A100 PCIe 40GB if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads.
A100 PCIe 40GB vs RTX 3090 Mobile: which should you choose?
A100 PCIe 40GB — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2020, Ampere) with 40 GB of HBM2, averaging 39 fps at 1440p.
RTX 3090 Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2020, Ampere) with 16 GB of GDDR6X, averaging 66 fps at 1440p.
A100 PCIe 40GB vs RTX 3090 Mobile: RTX 3090 Mobile is faster for gaming. RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 39 fps — about 41% faster. RTX 3090 Mobile draws less power (210W vs 250W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps against 39. At 4K (21 vs 37 fps) VRAM (40GB vs 16GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
AI and creator workloads
Beyond gaming, the RTX 3090 Mobile is quicker for AI image generation (12.1 vs 9.7 it/s in Stable Diffusion) and local LLM inference (80 vs 53 tokens/s), which increasingly matters for creators and developers.
Power and value
Board power is 250 W versus 210 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the A100 PCIe 40GB better than the RTX 3090 Mobile?
RTX 3090 Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 39 fps — about 41% faster.
What is the main difference between the A100 PCIe 40GB and the RTX 3090 Mobile?
RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 39 fps — about 41% faster. RTX 3090 Mobile draws less power (210W vs 250W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the A100 PCIe 40GB if you play the latest titles at high textures or do GPU-accelerated work. Choose the RTX 3090 Mobile if you game at 1440p.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.