RTX 4090 vs RTX 3090

Detailed comparison of specifications, performance, and pricing between NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

๐Ÿ†
Overall Winner
RTX 4090
Wins 5 of 7 categories
โšก
Performance Leader
RTX 4090
165.2 TFLOPS (+132%)
๐Ÿ’ฐ
Price Leader
RTX 3090
$$800 (125% cheaper)
๐Ÿ“Š
Best Value ($/TFLOPS)
RTX 4090
$11/TFLOPS
The RTX 4090 is 132% faster, but the RTX 3090 is 125% cheaper.

Difference Analysis

Metric
RTX 4090
Difference
RTX 3090
Tensor TFLOPS
165.2
+132%
71.2
VRAM
24GB
=
24GB
Memory Bandwidth
1.0 TB/s
+8%
936 GB/s
Hardware Price
$$1.8k
+125%
$$800
Cloud Price/hr
$0.235
+192%
$0.081

Full Specifications

Specification RTX 4090 RTX 3090
Brand NVIDIA NVIDIA
Series Consumer Consumer
Architecture Ada Lovelace Ampere
VRAM 24GB 24GB
VRAM Type GDDR6X GDDR6X
Memory Bandwidth 1.0 TB/s 936 GB/s
FP16 TFLOPS 165.2 71.2
Tensor TFLOPS - -
TDP 450W 350W
Form Factor PCIe PCIe
Hardware Price $$1.8k $$800
Cloud Price (min) $0.235/hr $0.081/hr

Which Should You Choose?

๐Ÿง 

For AI Training

Large model training needs maximum VRAM and memory bandwidth.

Recommended: RTX 4090
24GB VRAM ยท 1.0 TB/s
โšก

For AI Inference

Inference prioritizes throughput and cost efficiency.

Recommended: RTX 4090
Best performance per dollar
๐Ÿ’ฐ

On a Budget

Get the most capability for your money.

Recommended: RTX 3090
$$800 ยท 125% cheaper
โ˜๏ธ

For Cloud Rental

Minimize hourly costs for cloud workloads.

Recommended: RTX 3090
From $0.081/hr

RTX 4090 vs RTX 3090 FAQ

It depends on your use case. The RTX 4090 offers 132% better performance (165.2 vs 71.2 TFLOPS). However, the RTX 3090 is 125% cheaper. For raw performance, choose RTX 4090. For value, consider your budget and workload requirements.

The RTX 4090 has more VRAM with 24GB compared to 24GB (0% more). More VRAM is crucial for training large models and running inference on bigger batch sizes.

For AI training, the RTX 4090 is generally better due to its larger VRAM (24GB). Large language models and deep learning workloads benefit significantly from more memory. However, if your models fit in 24GB, the cheaper option may be more cost-effective.

The RTX 3090 is 125% cheaper at $$800 vs $$1.8k. When considering performance per dollar, evaluate your specific workload requirements to determine the best value.

Upgrading to RTX 4090 would give you 132% more performance and 0% more VRAM. The upgrade cost difference is approximately $$1.0k. Consider if your workloads are bottlenecked by current GPU capabilities.