H100 PCIe vs RTX 3090

HoppervsAmpereUpdated 35 days ago

The H100 PCIe emerges as the superior choice for most AI and machine learning use cases, particularly LLM training and inference. Its 1979 TFLOPS FP16, 80 GB VRAM, and 3350 GB/s bandwidth enable handling of production-scale workloads infeasible on the RTX 3090's 35.6 TFLOPS and 24 GB limits, justifying the higher $2.75 hourly average for serious deployments.

H100 PCIe from $1.90/hrRTX 3090 from $0.20/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecH100RTX-3090
TDP700W350W
VRAM80-94 GB24 GB
CUDA Cores16,89610,496
Memory TypeHBM3GDDR6X
ArchitectureHopperAmpere
Form FactorsSXM5, PCIe, NVLPCIe
InterconnectNVLink, PCIe 5.0, InfiniBandNVLink
Tensor Cores528328
FP8 Performance3,958 TFLOPS
FP16 Performance1,979 TFLOPS35.6 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance67 TFLOPS35.6 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance34 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance3,958 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth3,350 GB/s936 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The H100's FP16 performance of 1979 TFLOPS vastly outpaces the RTX 3090's 35.6 TFLOPS, enabling faster neural network training where half-precision computations dominate. Its FP32 rate of 67 TFLOPS also exceeds the RTX 3090's 35.6 TFLOPS, benefiting simulations and graphics rendering that require single-precision arithmetic. The FP8 capability of 3958 TFLOPS on the H100 accelerates inference for large language models, a feature absent in the RTX 3090.

Memory bandwidth profoundly impacts real-world usage: the H100's 3350 GB/s supports batch sizes up to three times larger than the RTX 3090's 936 GB/s limit, reducing training iterations and memory swapping in deep learning pipelines. This allows the H100 to process models exceeding 70 billion parameters without quantization, while the RTX 3090 struggles beyond 20 billion without techniques like model parallelism.

Power demands underscore deployment differences. The H100's 700W TDP suits cooled datacenter racks, sustaining peak throughput indefinitely. The RTX 3090's 350W TDP fits consumer setups but throttles under prolonged loads, limiting sustained AI workloads.

Live Cloud Pricing

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

H100 PCIe

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
4×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$7.60/hr total (4×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
2×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$3.80/hr total (2×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
8×NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
$15.20/hr total (8×)
Available
Hyperstack
Hyperstack
NVIDIA H100 PCIe
80GB VRAM
$1.90/GPU/hr
Available
Voltage Park
Voltage Park
8×NVIDIA H100 SXM5
80GB VRAM
$1.99/GPU/hr
$15.92/hr total (8×)

RTX 3090

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
TensorDock
TensorDock
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
24GB VRAM
$0.20/GPU/hr
Available
TensorDock
TensorDock
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
24GB VRAM
$0.21/GPU/hr
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
4×NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
24GB VRAM
$0.25/GPU/hr
$1.01/hr total (4×)
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
4×NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
24GB VRAM
$0.27/GPU/hr
$1.07/hr total (4×)
Available
LeaderGPU
LeaderGPU
8×NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
24GB VRAM
$0.29/GPU/hr
$2.29/hr total (8×)
Available

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the H100 PCIe

The H100 PCIe excels in large-scale LLM training and inference where VRAM exceeds 50 GB and FP16 throughput above 1000 TFLOPS is essential. Its 80 GB HBM3 and 3350 GB/s bandwidth handle massive datasets without offloading, ideal for enterprises running models like GPT variants at full precision. Cloud users prioritizing speed over cost select it for production pipelines across 17 live offers starting at $1.25 per hour.

When to Choose the RTX 3090

The RTX 3090 suits prototyping, fine-tuning small models under 20 GB VRAM, and creative tasks like Stable Diffusion generation. At $0.08 per hour average $0.44 across 45 offers, it delivers 35.6 TFLOPS FP16 for budget-conscious developers testing ideas before scaling. Its PCIe form factor and 350W TDP integrate easily into personal or small cluster setups without datacenter infrastructure.

Use Cases

LLM Training
H100 PCIe

The H100's 80 GB HBM3 VRAM and 1979 TFLOPS FP16 support training models over 70 billion parameters with large batch sizes via 3350 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3090's 24 GB restricts it to smaller models.

LLM Inference
H100 PCIe

H100 FP8 at 3958 TFLOPS and 80 GB VRAM enable high-throughput serving of massive LLMs without quantization. RTX 3090 lacks FP8 and sufficient memory for full models.

Fine-tuning
H100 PCIe

H100 handles full fine-tuning of large models with 67 TFLOPS FP32 and high bandwidth for efficient gradients. RTX 3090 works for small models but swaps memory often.

Stable Diffusion
RTX 3090

RTX 3090's 24 GB GDDR6X and 35.6 TFLOPS FP16 suffice for image generation at 936 GB/s bandwidth. H100 overkill for consumer-scale diffusion tasks.

Scientific Computing
Either

H100 excels in FP32-heavy simulations at 67 TFLOPS; RTX 3090 adequate for modest HPC at 35.6 TFLOPS and lower cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which GPU has more VRAM: H100 PCIe or RTX 3090?

The H100 PCIe offers 80 GB HBM3 VRAM, compared to the RTX 3090's 24 GB GDDR6X. This enables the H100 to load larger models without partitioning.

What is the performance difference in FP16?

H100 delivers 1979 TFLOPS FP16, over 55 times the RTX 3090's 35.6 TFLOPS. This gap accelerates AI training significantly on the H100.

How do cloud prices compare?

H100 PCIe starts at $1.25 per hour averaging $2.75 across 17 offers; RTX 3090 from $0.08 averaging $0.44 across 45 offers. RTX 3090 provides better value for light workloads.

Is H100 better for LLM training?

Yes, H100's 3350 GB/s bandwidth and 80 GB VRAM support large-batch training of billion-parameter LLMs. RTX 3090 limits scale due to 936 GB/s and 24 GB.

What about power consumption?

H100 TDP is 700W for datacenter use; RTX 3090 at 350W fits desktops. Higher TDP on H100 sustains peak 1979 TFLOPS indefinitely.

Can RTX 3090 replace H100 for inference?

No, H100's FP8 3958 TFLOPS and vast VRAM outperform RTX 3090's 35.6 TFLOPS FP16 for large model serving. Use 3090 only for small inferences.

Which is cheaper to rent, the H100 or the RTX 3090?

Cloud rental prices for both the H100 and RTX 3090 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 H100 have compared to the RTX 3090?

The H100 has 80 to 94 GB of HBM3 memory. The RTX 3090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Can I find H100 and RTX 3090 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 H100 and the RTX 3090?

The H100 uses the Hopper architecture (2022) while the RTX 3090 uses Ampere (2020). The H100 delivers 55.6x the FP16 throughput and 3.6x the memory bandwidth of the RTX 3090.

H100 PCIe vs RTX 3090: 55.6x FP16 Gap, 94GB vs 24GB | GPUPerHour