Gaudi 2 vs RTX 2080

GaudivsTuringUpdated 35 days ago

The Gaudi 2 emerges as the clear winner for most AI workloads: its 420 TFLOPS compute, 96 GB VRAM, and 2460 GB/s bandwidth dwarf the RTX 2080's 10.1 TFLOPS, 8-11 GB, and 616 GB/s, enabling scalable training and inference. While RTX 2080 wins on cost at $0.05 per hour, Gaudi 2's performance justifies $0.91 per hour for production use.

Gaudi 2 from $0.91/hrRTX 2080 from $0.13/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecGAUDI2RTX-2080
TDP600W215W
VRAM96 GB8-11 GB
Memory TypeHBM2eGDDR6
ArchitectureGaudiTuring
Form FactorsOAMPCIe
InterconnectEthernetNVLink
FP16 Performance420 TFLOPS10.1 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance420 TFLOPS10.1 TFLOPS
Memory Bandwidth2,460 GB/s616 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The Gaudi 2's FP16 and FP32 performance both reach 420 TFLOPS, enabling efficient mixed-precision training and inference without precision bottlenecks common in asymmetric GPUs. In contrast, the RTX 2080 offers only 10.1 TFLOPS in each, limiting it to smaller models or lower throughput tasks. This delta translates to Gaudi 2 handling large-scale training runs up to 40 times faster in compute-bound scenarios.

Memory specifications profoundly impact real-world usage: Gaudi 2's 96 GB HBM2e VRAM supports massive batch sizes for models exceeding 70 billion parameters, while RTX 2080's 8-11 GB GDDR6 restricts it to batches under 8 or model parallelism. The 2460 GB/s bandwidth on Gaudi 2 minimizes data transfer stalls during training epochs, compared to 616 GB/s on RTX 2080 which bottlenecks large dataset processing.

Power draw underscores deployment differences, with Gaudi 2 at 600W for datacenter density via OAM form factor and Ethernet interconnect, versus RTX 2080's 215W PCIe card with NVLink. For inference, Gaudi 2 sustains high throughput on voluminous inputs; RTX 2080 suits low-latency edge cases but falters on memory-intensive loads.

Live Cloud Pricing

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

Gaudi 2

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
LeaderGPU
LeaderGPU
8×Intel Gaudi 2
96GB VRAM
$0.91/GPU/hr
$7.29/hr total (8×)
Available
Denvr
Denvr
8×Intel Gaudi 2
96GB VRAM
$1.25/GPU/hr
$10.00/hr total (8×)

RTX 2080

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
11GB VRAM
$0.13/GPU/hr
Available

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the Gaudi 2

Select the Gaudi 2 for large-scale AI training and inference where 96 GB VRAM accommodates full model loading without sharding. Its 420 TFLOPS FP16 performance excels in transformer-based workloads, and 2460 GB/s bandwidth enables batch sizes over 100, reducing training time significantly. At $0.91 per hour, it offers value for production pipelines despite 600W TDP.

Enterprise users benefit from its Ethernet scalability in multi-node clusters for distributed training.

When to Choose the RTX 2080

Choose the RTX 2080 for budget prototyping or small-scale inference on models under 8 GB. Its $0.05 per hour pricing across eight cloud offers minimizes costs for experimentation, with 10.1 TFLOPS sufficient for lightweight fine-tuning. The 215W TDP suits edge or single-node setups without high power infrastructure.

Hobbyists or developers testing Stable Diffusion variants find its NVLink interconnect adequate for modest multi-GPU needs.

Use Cases

LLM Training
Gaudi 2

Gaudi 2's 96 GB VRAM and 420 TFLOPS FP16 handle large LLMs without sharding. RTX 2080's 8-11 GB limits it to tiny models.

LLM Inference
Gaudi 2

Gaudi 2 supports high-throughput inference on full models via 2460 GB/s bandwidth. RTX 2080 restricts batch sizes due to 616 GB/s and low VRAM.

Fine-tuning
Gaudi 2

Gaudi 2's symmetric 420 TFLOPS FP16/FP32 accelerates fine-tuning of mid-to-large models. RTX 2080's 10.1 TFLOPS suits only small adapters.

Stable Diffusion
RTX 2080

RTX 2080's 10.1 TFLOPS and $0.05 per hour pricing suffice for image generation at 512x512. Gaudi 2 overkill for single-user diffusion.

Scientific Computing
Either

RTX 2080 handles FP32 simulations at low cost; Gaudi 2 excels in memory-heavy parallel computes with 96 GB VRAM.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VRAM difference between Gaudi 2 and RTX 2080?

Gaudi 2 offers 96 GB HBM2e VRAM, while RTX 2080 provides 8-11 GB GDDR6. This allows Gaudi 2 to load models over 70 GB without offloading. RTX 2080 requires model parallelism for anything larger.

How do their FP16 performances compare?

Gaudi 2 delivers 420 TFLOPS FP16, vastly exceeding RTX 2080's 10.1 TFLOPS. This results in up to 40x faster tensor operations on Gaudi 2. Both maintain symmetry with FP32 at matching rates.

What are the cloud pricing differences?

RTX 2080 starts at $0.05 per hour averaging $0.10 across eight offers. Gaudi 2 begins at $0.91 per hour averaging $1.08 over two offers. RTX 2080 suits low-budget tasks.

Which has higher memory bandwidth?

Gaudi 2 achieves 2460 GB/s, four times RTX 2080's 616 GB/s. Higher bandwidth reduces training stalls on large batches. This benefits data-heavy workloads on Gaudi 2.

What are their TDPs?

Gaudi 2 consumes 600W in OAM form factor for datacenters. RTX 2080 uses 215W in PCIe, ideal for desktops. Gaudi 2 enables denser cloud deployments.

Can RTX 2080 compete in AI training?

RTX 2080's 10.1 TFLOPS limits it to small models under 8 GB. Gaudi 2's 420 TFLOPS and 96 GB VRAM dominate large-scale training. Use RTX 2080 only for prototyping.

Which is cheaper to rent, the Gaudi 2 or the RTX 2080?

Cloud rental prices for both the Gaudi 2 and RTX 2080 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 Gaudi 2 have compared to the RTX 2080?

The Gaudi 2 has 96 GB of HBM2e memory. The RTX 2080 has 8 to 11 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Can I find Gaudi 2 and RTX 2080 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 Gaudi 2 and the RTX 2080?

The Gaudi 2 uses the Gaudi architecture (2022) while the RTX 2080 uses Turing (2018). The Gaudi 2 delivers 41.6x the FP16 throughput and 4.0x the memory bandwidth of the RTX 2080.

Gaudi 2 vs RTX 2080: Intel 96GB vs NVIDIA 11GB | GPUPerHour