A100 PCIe 40GB vs RTX 2060 SUPER

AmperevsTuringUpdated 35 days ago

The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40GB emerges as the clear winner for the most common use case of cloud-based AI training and inference on gpuperhour.com. Its 312 TFLOPS FP16, 40 GB VRAM, and 2039 GB/s bandwidth deliver superior performance for large-scale models, far exceeding the RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.2 TFLOPS and 8 GB limits.

A100 PCIe 40GB from $0.73/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecA100RTX-2060
TDP400W160W
VRAM40-80 GB6-12 GB
CUDA Cores6,9121,920
Memory TypeHBM2eGDDR6
ArchitectureAmpereTuring
Form FactorsSXM4, PCIePCIe
InterconnectNVLink, PCIe 4.0, InfiniBand
Tensor Cores432240
FP16 Performance312 TFLOPS6.5 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance19.5 TFLOPS6.5 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance9.7 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance624 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth2,039 GB/s336 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40GB outperforms the RTX 2060 SUPER significantly in compute-intensive tasks due to its specialized architecture. Its 312 TFLOPS FP16 capability accelerates mixed-precision training and inference in deep learning models, where the RTX 2060 SUPER manages only 7.2 TFLOPS FP16. The A100's FP32 performance of 19.5 TFLOPS supports general-purpose computing better than the 7.2 TFLOPS on the RTX 2060 SUPER. This FP16 to FP32 ratio on the A100 enables faster AI model training by leveraging tensor cores efficiently. Memory bandwidth of 2039 GB/s on the A100 allows larger batch sizes in neural network training, reducing overhead and improving throughput; the RTX 2060 SUPER's 448 GB/s limits it to smaller batches. In real-world scenarios, the A100 handles massive datasets without swapping, while the RTX 2060 SUPER suits lighter inference loads. Power draw of 400W on the A100 reflects its datacenter design, compared to 175W on the RTX 2060 SUPER for desktop efficiency.

Live Cloud Pricing

Real-time prices from 25+ providers. Updated every 60 seconds.

A100 PCIe 40GB

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$0.73/GPU/hr
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
2×NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$0.73/GPU/hr
$1.47/hr total (2×)
Available
LeaderGPU
LeaderGPU
8×NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80GB
80GB VRAM
$0.90/GPU/hr
$7.20/hr total (8×)
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$1.07/GPU/hr
Available
Denvr
Denvr
8×NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$1.15/GPU/hr
$9.20/hr total (8×)

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the A100 PCIe 40GB

Choose the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40GB for demanding AI and HPC workloads requiring substantial VRAM. Its 40 GB HBM2e capacity supports training large language models with billion-parameter scales, where the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB falls short. High FP16 performance of 312 TFLOPS excels in distributed training via NVLink and PCIe 4.0 interconnects. Cloud availability at $0.60 per hour from providers makes it ideal for scalable projects without upfront hardware costs.

When to Choose the RTX 2060 SUPER

Select the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER for budget-conscious gaming, content creation, or entry-level machine learning on desktops. Its 175W TDP and PCIe form factor enable easy integration into personal rigs at lower costs than cloud A100 rentals averaging $1.85 per hour. The 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM suffices for Stable Diffusion image generation or small model inference, where 448 GB/s bandwidth handles moderate loads efficiently.

Use Cases

LLM Training
A100 PCIe 40GB

The A100 PCIe 40GB's 40 GB HBM2e VRAM and 312 TFLOPS FP16 enable training of large models with big batches. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM cannot accommodate such scales.

LLM Inference
A100 PCIe 40GB

High memory bandwidth of 2039 GB/s on the A100 supports high-throughput inference for production. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 448 GB/s suits only small deployments.

Fine-tuning
A100 PCIe 40GB

19.5 TFLOPS FP32 and 40 GB VRAM on the A100 accelerate fine-tuning of complex models. RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.2 TFLOPS limits speed on larger datasets.

Stable Diffusion
Either

RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 runs standard Stable Diffusion pipelines effectively. A100 excels for high-resolution batch generation with 40 GB VRAM.

Scientific Computing
A100 PCIe 40GB

A100's 2039 GB/s bandwidth and 400W TDP handle data-parallel simulations. RTX 2060 SUPER's lower specs restrict complex computations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VRAM difference between NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40GB and RTX 2060 SUPER?

The A100 PCIe 40GB provides 40 GB HBM2e VRAM for large models. The RTX 2060 SUPER offers 8 GB GDDR6, adequate for consumer tasks. This gap impacts batch sizes in training.

How do memory bandwidths compare?

A100 PCIe 40GB achieves 2039 GB/s, enabling fast data movement in AI workloads. RTX 2060 SUPER delivers 448 GB/s, sufficient for gaming and light ML. Higher bandwidth reduces bottlenecks.

What are the FP16 and FP32 performances?

A100 PCIe 40GB reaches 312 TFLOPS FP16 and 19.5 TFLOPS FP32 for accelerated deep learning. RTX 2060 SUPER provides 7.2 TFLOPS in both, geared toward graphics.

What is the cloud pricing for these GPUs?

NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40GB starts at $0.60 per hour, averaging $1.85 per hour across 11 offers. RTX 2060 SUPER has no live cloud offers, as it targets desktop use.

Which GPU has lower power consumption?

RTX 2060 SUPER uses 175W TDP, ideal for desktops. A100 PCIe 40GB requires 400W for datacenter performance. Lower TDP aids energy-efficient personal setups.

Can RTX 2060 SUPER handle AI training?

RTX 2060 SUPER manages small-scale training with 7.2 TFLOPS FP32 and 8 GB VRAM. For production, A100's 312 TFLOPS FP16 and 40 GB VRAM outperform significantly.

Which is cheaper to rent, the A100 or the RTX 2060?

Cloud rental prices for both the A100 and RTX 2060 vary by provider, configuration, and availability. This page shows live pricing from 25+ providers updated every 60 seconds. Scroll to the Live Cloud Pricing section to compare current rates.

How much VRAM does the A100 have compared to the RTX 2060?

The A100 has 40 to 80 GB of HBM2e memory. The RTX 2060 has 6 to 12 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Can I find A100 and RTX 2060 GPUs available to rent right now?

Yes. This page shows real-time availability across 25+ cloud GPU providers. The Live Cloud Pricing section displays only in-stock offers with current pricing.

What is the main difference between the A100 and the RTX 2060?

The A100 uses the Ampere architecture (2020) while the RTX 2060 uses Turing (2019). The A100 delivers 48.0x the FP16 throughput and 6.1x the memory bandwidth of the RTX 2060.

A100 PCIe 40GB vs RTX 2060 SUPER: 80GB vs 12GB | GPUPerHour