A100 SXM4 80GB vs Tesla T4

AmperevsTuringUpdated 35 days ago

The A100 SXM4 80GB emerges as the clear winner for most machine learning use cases, driven by 80 GB HBM2e VRAM, 312 TFLOPS FP16, and 2039 GB/s bandwidth that dwarf the T4's equivalents. These specs enable training and inference at scales unattainable on the T4, justifying the average $1.41 per hour cost over the T4's $1.66 per hour for high-throughput demands.

A100 SXM4 80GB from $0.73/hrTesla T4 from $0.53/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecA100T4
TDP400W70W
VRAM40-80 GB16 GB
CUDA Cores6,9122,560
Memory TypeHBM2eGDDR6
ArchitectureAmpereTuring
Form FactorsSXM4, PCIePCIe
InterconnectNVLink, PCIe 4.0, InfiniBand
Tensor Cores432320
FP16 Performance312 TFLOPS8.1 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance19.5 TFLOPS8.1 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance9.7 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance624 TOPS130 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth2,039 GB/s320 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The A100 SXM4 80GB outperforms the T4 dramatically in compute capabilities: its FP16 performance reaches 312 TFLOPS versus the T4's 8.1 TFLOPS, enabling faster mixed-precision training for deep learning models. FP32 performance also favors the A100 at 19.5 TFLOPS against the T4's 8.1 TFLOPS, benefiting general-purpose simulations and single-precision tasks. This FP16 to FP32 delta on the A100 accelerates training pipelines where half-precision dominates, reducing epochs by factors tied to the 38x FP16 advantage. In inference, the A100 handles larger models without quantization due to superior throughput. Memory bandwidth defines batch size limits: the A100's 2039 GB/s supports massive batches for stable training gradients, while the T4's 320 GB/s restricts it to smaller batches, increasing latency in memory-bound scenarios. Power consumption reflects this: the A100 draws 400W for peak output, but the T4's 70W suits dense deployments. Real-world impacts include the A100 training ResNet-50 in minutes versus hours on the T4.

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 T4

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
AWS
AWS
NVIDIA Tesla T4
16GB VRAM
$0.53/GPU/hr
AWS
AWS
NVIDIA Tesla T4
16GB VRAM
$0.75/GPU/hr
AWS
AWS
4×NVIDIA Tesla T4
16GB VRAM
$0.98/GPU/hr
$3.91/hr total (4×)
AWS
AWS
NVIDIA Tesla T4
16GB VRAM
$1.20/GPU/hr
AWS
AWS
NVIDIA Tesla T4
16GB VRAM
$2.18/GPU/hr

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the A100 SXM4 80GB

The A100 SXM4 80GB excels in scenarios demanding high VRAM and compute, such as training large language models requiring over 40 GB memory. Its 312 TFLOPS FP16 and 2039 GB/s bandwidth enable efficient handling of billion-parameter models with large batch sizes. Cloud users benefit from 24 live offers starting at $0.67 per hour for scalable HPC clusters.

When to Choose the Tesla T4

The T4 suits lightweight inference and edge computing where 70W TDP minimizes costs in multi-GPU servers. Its 16 GB GDDR6 handles standard vision models at 8.1 TFLOPS FP16 with low pricing from $0.53 per hour. Deployments prioritizing density over peak performance favor the T4's PCIe form factor.

Use Cases

LLM Training
A100 SXM4 80GB

The A100's 80 GB VRAM and 312 TFLOPS FP16 support billion-parameter models with large batches, far exceeding the T4's 16 GB and 8.1 TFLOPS limits.

LLM Inference
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100's 2039 GB/s bandwidth and high FP16 throughput enable low-latency serving of large models; T4 suits only quantized small models.

Fine-tuning
A100 SXM4 80GB

Fine-tuning benefits from A100's 19.5 TFLOPS FP32 and massive VRAM for full-parameter updates, unlike T4's constraints.

Stable Diffusion
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100 accelerates diffusion models with 312 TFLOPS FP16 for high-resolution generations; T4 struggles with memory for complex prompts.

Scientific Computing
A100 SXM4 80GB

A100's 2039 GB/s bandwidth and NVLink interconnect optimize simulations; T4's 320 GB/s limits large dataset processing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VRAM difference between A100 SXM4 80GB and T4?

The A100 SXM4 80GB provides 80 GB HBM2e VRAM, while the T4 offers 16 GB GDDR6. This 5x capacity gap allows the A100 to load massive models without swapping.

How do FP16 performances compare?

A100 achieves 312 TFLOPS in FP16, compared to T4's 8.1 TFLOPS, a roughly 38x advantage. This boosts mixed-precision AI training speeds significantly.

Which has higher memory bandwidth?

A100 delivers 2039 GB/s, over 6x the T4's 320 GB/s. Higher bandwidth supports larger batch sizes and reduces training times.

What are the power requirements?

A100 consumes 400W TDP, versus T4's efficient 70W. T4 enables denser cloud deployments with lower cooling needs.

How do cloud prices compare?

A100 SXM4 80GB starts at $0.67 per hour averaging $1.41 across 24 offers; T4 from $0.53 per hour averaging $1.66 over 6 offers. A100 provides better value for performance.

Is T4 better for inference?

T4 excels in low-power inference with 8.1 TFLOPS FP16 at 70W, suitable for edge tasks. A100 outperforms for high-throughput serving.

Which is cheaper to rent, the A100 or the T4?

Cloud rental prices for both the A100 and T4 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 T4?

The A100 has 40 to 80 GB of HBM2e memory. The T4 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Can I find A100 and T4 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 T4?

The A100 uses the Ampere architecture (2020) while the T4 uses Turing (2018). The A100 delivers 38.5x the FP16 throughput and 6.4x the memory bandwidth of the T4.

A100 SXM4 80GB vs Tesla T4: 38.5x FP16 Gap, 80GB vs 16GB | GPUPerHour