RTX 4090 vs H100

Ada LovelacevsHopperUpdated 40 days ago

The H100 emerges as the winner for the most common AI use case of LLM training and inference. Its 1979 TFLOPS FP16 and 80 to 94 GB VRAM enable scaling massive models that overwhelm the RTX 4090's 24 GB and 165 TFLOPS, despite higher costs averaging $2.62 per hour.

RTX 4090 from $0.39/hrH100 from $1.90/hr

Specifications Compared

SpecRTX-4090H100
TDP450W700W
VRAM24 GB80-94 GB
CUDA Cores16,38416,896
Memory TypeGDDR6XHBM3
ArchitectureAda LovelaceHopper
Form FactorsPCIeSXM5, PCIe, NVL
InterconnectPCIe 4.0NVLink, PCIe 5.0, InfiniBand
Tensor Cores512528
FP8 Performance660 TFLOPS3,958 TFLOPS
FP16 Performance165 TFLOPS1,979 TFLOPS
FP32 Performance82.6 TFLOPS67 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1.3 TFLOPS34 TFLOPS
INT8 Performance660 TOPS3,958 TOPS
Memory Bandwidth1,008 GB/s3,350 GB/s

Performance Analysis

The H100 dominates in FP16 performance at 1979 TFLOPS compared to the RTX 4090's 165 TFLOPS, accelerating large model training where half-precision computations prevail. This gap translates to faster convergence in deep learning pipelines, especially for LLMs exceeding the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM capacity. The RTX 4090 edges out in FP32 at 82.6 TFLOPS over 67 TFLOPS, benefiting traditional simulations but less critical for modern AI.

FP8 performance underscores inference advantages: the H100's 3958 TFLOPS supports quantized models at scale, handling higher throughput than the RTX 4090's 660 TFLOPS. Memory bandwidth of 3350 GB/s on the H100 versus 1008 GB/s enables larger batch sizes, reducing overhead in training runs with models like GPT variants.

Power draw reflects these capabilities: 700W TDP for the H100 demands robust cooling, while 450W suits the RTX 4090 for denser deployments. Interconnects matter too: NVLink on the H100 boosts multi-GPU efficiency over PCIe 4.0, minimizing latency in distributed training.

Live Cloud Pricing

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

RTX 4090

ProviderGPU ModelVRAMHost SpecsRegionPriceStatusAction
TensorDock
TensorDock
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
24GB VRAM
$0.39/GPU/hr
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
24GB VRAM
$0.44/GPU/hr
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
24GB VRAM
$0.47/GPU/hr
Available
TensorDock
TensorDock
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
24GB VRAM
$0.48/GPU/hr
Available
Vast.ai
Vast.ai
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
24GB VRAM
$0.53/GPU/hr
Available

H100

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×)

Compare real-time pricing across 25+ providers

When to Choose the RTX 4090

The RTX 4090 excels in cost-sensitive scenarios like Stable Diffusion image generation or fine-tuning smaller LLMs under 24 GB VRAM. Its pricing from $0.27 per hour across 75 cloud offers delivers 165 TFLOPS FP16 at low overhead, ideal for individual developers or prototyping.

Single-GPU tasks benefit from 82.6 TFLOPS FP32 and 450W TDP, fitting standard PCIe setups without specialized infrastructure.

When to Choose the H100

The H100 suits enterprise-scale LLM training requiring 80 to 94 GB HBM3 VRAM and 1979 TFLOPS FP16 for massive datasets. Its 3350 GB/s bandwidth supports enormous batch sizes, accelerating convergence in distributed clusters via NVLink.

High-throughput inference leverages 3958 TFLOPS FP8, justifying $0.80 per hour pricing for production deployments handling enterprise loads.

Use Cases

LLM Training
H100

The H100's 1979 TFLOPS FP16 and 80 to 94 GB HBM3 VRAM handle large-scale training batches efficiently. The RTX 4090's 24 GB limits model sizes.

LLM Inference
H100

H100 delivers 3958 TFLOPS FP8 for high-throughput quantized inference. Its 3350 GB/s bandwidth supports bigger batches than the RTX 4090's 1008 GB/s.

Fine-tuning
RTX 4090

RTX 4090's 165 TFLOPS FP16 suffices for models under 24 GB at $0.27 per hour. H100 overkill for smaller parameter counts.

Stable Diffusion
RTX 4090

RTX 4090's 82.6 TFLOPS FP32 and 24 GB GDDR6X optimize image generation workflows affordably. Lower TDP of 450W fits consumer setups.

Scientific Computing
H100

H100's NVLink and 3350 GB/s bandwidth enable multi-GPU HPC simulations. Superior FP16 scales complex workloads beyond RTX 4090 capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which GPU has more VRAM: RTX 4090 or H100?

The H100 provides 80 to 94 GB HBM3 VRAM, dwarfing the RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X. This allows the H100 to load much larger models without swapping.

RTX 4090 vs H100: which is cheaper in the cloud?

RTX 4090 rentals start at $0.27 per hour, averaging $0.39 across 75 offers. H100 begins at $0.80 per hour, averaging $2.62 across 22 offers.

Is H100 better for AI training than RTX 4090?

Yes, H100's 1979 TFLOPS FP16 vastly outpaces RTX 4090's 165 TFLOPS. Combined with 3350 GB/s bandwidth, it excels in large LLM training.

What is the power consumption of RTX 4090 and H100?

RTX 4090 has a 450W TDP, suitable for standard servers. H100 requires 700W, needing advanced cooling in datacenters.

Can RTX 4090 match H100 in inference?

No, H100's 3958 TFLOPS FP8 crushes RTX 4090's 660 TFLOPS for quantized inference. Memory bandwidth of 3350 GB/s versus 1008 GB/s boosts H100 throughput.

RTX 4090 or H100 for multi-GPU setups?

H100 with NVLink and PCIe 5.0 scales better across nodes. RTX 4090 relies on PCIe 4.0, limiting cluster efficiency.

Which is cheaper to rent, the RTX 4090 or the H100?

Cloud rental prices for both the RTX 4090 and H100 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 RTX 4090 have compared to the H100?

The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory. The H100 has 80 to 94 GB of HBM3 memory.

Can I find RTX 4090 and H100 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 RTX 4090 and the H100?

The RTX 4090 uses the Ada Lovelace architecture (2022) while the H100 uses Hopper (2022). The H100 delivers 12.0x the FP16 throughput and 3.3x the memory bandwidth of the RTX 4090.