A100 SXM4 80GB vs Tesla P100

AmperevsPascalUpdated 35 days ago

The A100 SXM4 80GB emerges as the clear winner for most contemporary use cases, particularly machine learning training and inference, due to its 312 TFLOPS FP16 performance, 80 GB VRAM, and 2039 GB/s bandwidth that dwarf the P100's capabilities. While the P100 offers marginal cost advantages at $0.60 per hour, the A100's superior specs justify the investment for performance-critical applications.

A100 SXM4 80GB from $0.73/hrTesla P100 from $0.60/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecA100P100
TDP400W250W
VRAM40-80 GB16 GB
CUDA Cores6,9123,584
Memory TypeHBM2eHBM2
ArchitectureAmperePascal
Form FactorsSXM4, PCIeSXM2, PCIe
InterconnectNVLink, PCIe 4.0, InfiniBandNVLink
Tensor Cores432
FP16 Performance312 TFLOPS9.3 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance19.5 TFLOPS9.3 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance9.7 TFLOPS4.7 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance624 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth2,039 GB/s732 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The A100's FP16 performance of 312 TFLOPS vastly outpaces the P100's 9.3 TFLOPS, making it ideal for training deep learning models that leverage half-precision arithmetic. FP32 throughput on the A100 at 19.5 TFLOPS doubles the P100's 9.3 TFLOPS, benefiting single-precision scientific simulations. This disparity translates to faster convergence in neural network training and higher inference throughput for production deployments.

Memory bandwidth profoundly impacts workload efficiency: the A100's 2039 GB/s supports larger batch sizes without bottlenecks, unlike the P100's 732 GB/s, which limits scalability in memory-intensive tasks. Combined with 80 GB versus 16 GB VRAM, the A100 accommodates models exceeding 16 GB, such as large language models, preventing out-of-memory errors common on the P100.

Power consumption reflects capability differences, with the A100 at 400W TDP versus the P100's 250W, yet the A100's efficiency per watt yields better performance density in dense clusters. Interconnects like PCIe 4.0 and InfiniBand on the A100 enhance multi-GPU scaling over the P100's NVLink alone.

Live Cloud Pricing

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

A100 SXM4 80GB

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$0.73/GPU/hr
Available
LeaderGPU
LeaderGPU
8×NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80GB
80GB VRAM
$0.90/GPU/hr
$7.20/hr total (8×)
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
2×NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$1.00/GPU/hr
$2.00/hr total (2×)
Available
Denvr
Denvr
4×NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80GB
80GB VRAM
$1.15/GPU/hr
$4.60/hr total (4×)
Denvr
Denvr
8×NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80GB
80GB VRAM
$1.15/GPU/hr
$9.20/hr total (8×)

Tesla P100

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
LeaderGPU
LeaderGPU
2×NVIDIA Tesla P100
16GB VRAM
$0.60/GPU/hr
$1.20/hr total (2×)
Available

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the A100 SXM4 80GB

The A100 SXM4 80GB excels in modern AI workloads requiring high FP16 performance of 312 TFLOPS and 80 GB VRAM, such as training large language models or running Stable Diffusion at scale. Its 2039 GB/s bandwidth supports massive batch sizes, reducing training times significantly compared to older hardware.

Choose the A100 for inference-heavy production environments or scientific computing with datasets over 16 GB, where the P100 falls short due to memory constraints.

When to Choose the Tesla P100

The P100 suits budget-conscious users running legacy Pascal-optimized code or light FP32 workloads at 9.3 TFLOPS, where its 250W TDP offers lower power draw than the A100's 400W. At $0.60 per hour with only one offer, it provides cost savings for non-demanding tasks.

Opt for the P100 in environments with strict power budgets or when compatibility with 2016-era software limits upgrades, avoiding the A100's higher average pricing of $1.41 per hour.

Use Cases

LLM Training
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100's 312 TFLOPS FP16 and 80 GB VRAM enable training of billion-parameter models, far beyond P100's 9.3 TFLOPS and 16 GB limits.

LLM Inference
A100 SXM4 80GB

High FP16 throughput of 312 TFLOPS and 2039 GB/s bandwidth on A100 support low-latency serving of large models, outperforming P100's constraints.

Fine-tuning
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100 handles fine-tuning with 80 GB VRAM for full model loading, while P100's 16 GB often requires model parallelism or reduced precision.

Stable Diffusion
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100's memory and 312 TFLOPS FP16 accelerate image generation pipelines; P100 struggles with VRAM limits on high-resolution tasks.

Scientific Computing
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100's 19.5 TFLOPS FP32 and PCIe 4.0 interconnect scale simulations better than P100's 9.3 TFLOPS FP32 and older NVLink.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which has more VRAM: A100 or P100?

The A100 SXM4 80GB offers 80 GB HBM2e VRAM, compared to the P100's 16 GB HBM2. This allows the A100 to manage significantly larger models and datasets without swapping.

Is A100 faster than P100 for AI training?

Yes, the A100 achieves 312 TFLOPS in FP16 versus the P100's 9.3 TFLOPS, accelerating training by over 33 times in mixed precision. FP32 performance also doubles at 19.5 TFLOPS.

What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A100 provides 2039 GB/s bandwidth, nearly three times the P100's 732 GB/s. Higher bandwidth supports larger batch sizes and reduces data transfer bottlenecks.

How do power requirements compare?

The A100 has a 400W TDP, higher than the P100's 250W. However, the A100 delivers far greater performance per watt for demanding workloads.

What are current cloud prices?

A100 SXM4 80GB starts at $0.67 per hour (average $1.41) across 24 offers; P100 at $0.60 per hour (average $0.60) across one offer. Pricing favors P100 for light use.

Which supports better multi-GPU scaling?

A100 uses NVLink, PCIe 4.0, and InfiniBand for superior interconnects over P100's NVLink alone. This enhances performance in multi-node clusters.

Which is cheaper to rent, the A100 or the P100?

Cloud rental prices for both the A100 and P100 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 P100?

The A100 has 40 to 80 GB of HBM2e memory. The P100 has 16 GB of HBM2 memory.

Can I find A100 and P100 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 P100?

The A100 uses the Ampere architecture (2020) while the P100 uses Pascal (2016). The A100 delivers 33.5x the FP16 throughput and 2.8x the memory bandwidth of the P100.

A100 SXM4 80GB vs Tesla P100: 80GB vs 16GB | GPUPerHour