Data Center NVIDIA

A100 SXM

Q: How much does A100 SXM cost?

The A100 SXM has a market price of approximately $12k (MSRP: $15k). Cloud rental starts at $1.30/hr. Prices may vary based on retailer, region, and availability.

Q: Is A100 SXM good for AI and machine learning?

Yes, the A100 SXM with 80GB VRAM is suitable for many AI/ML workloads. It's particularly recommended for LLM Training. For large language models, you may need multiple GPUs or consider higher-VRAM options like A100 or H100.

Q: Should I buy A100 SXM or rent from cloud?

The breakeven point is approximately 9,231 hours of usage. Buy if you'll use it more than this; rent for shorter projects or variable workloads. Cloud rental from Fluidstack starts at $1.30/hr.

Q: What can I run on A100 SXM?

With 80GB VRAM and 78.0 FP16 TFLOPS, the A100 SXM can run: Large language models (7B-13B), Stable Diffusion XL, video AI, and professional 3D rendering.

Q: A100 SXM vs alternatives - which is better?

The A100 SXM offers 80GB VRAM and 78.0 FP16 performance at $12k. Compare with similar GPUs using our comparison tool above. Key factors: VRAM for model size, TFLOPS for speed, and price for budget.

Ampere Architecture · 80GB HBM2e · SXM

VRAM

80GB

FP16

78.0

TDP

400W

Hardware Price

$12k

MSRP: $15k

Cloud from

$1.30/hr

9 providers

Cheapest at Fluidstack →

Quick Insights

Performance/Dollar

6.50 TFLOPS/$k

FP16 performance per $1000

VRAM/Dollar

6.7 GB/$k

VRAM per $1000

vs Data Center Average

-57% perf

FP16 TFLOPS comparison

Cloud Availability

9 providers

from $1.30/hr

Specifications

VRAM	80GB HBM2e
Memory Bandwidth	2.0 TB/s
FP16 TFLOPS	78.0
Tensor TFLOPS	312.0
FP32 TFLOPS	19.5

TDP	400W
Form Factor	SXM
Architecture	Ampere
NVLink	Yes (600GB/s)
Release Date	2020-11

Buy vs Rent Analysis

Buy Hardware

$12k

One-time cost, unlimited usage
Full control over hardware
Electricity & cooling costs extra
Depreciation over 2-3 years

Best if using >9231 hours total

Rent Cloud GPU

$1.30/hr

Pay only for what you use
No upfront investment
Scale up/down instantly
No maintenance required

Best for <9231 hours or variable usage

Breakeven Point

9,231

hours of usage

At $1.30/hr cloud pricing, buying the hardware pays off after 9,231 hours (~385 days or 12.8 months of 24/7 usage).

Usage	Monthly Cloud Cost	Months to Breakeven
100 hrs/month	$130.00	93 months
200 hrs/month	$260.00	47 months
500 hrs/month	$650.00	19 months

Cloud GPU Pricing

Rent A100 SXM from 9 cloud providers. Prices shown per GPU per hour.

Provider	Type	Instance	GPUs	On-Demand	Per GPU	Spot	Availability
Paperspace	gpu-cloud	paperspace-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	-	-	-	-
Fluidstack	gpu-cloud	fluidstack-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$1.30/hr	$1.30/hr Cheapest	-	-
Jarvis Labs	gpu-cloud	jarvislabs-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$1.49/hr	$1.49/hr	-	-
RunPod	gpu-cloud	NVIDIA A100-SXM4-80GB	1x	$1.59/hr	$1.59/hr	$1.59/hr	-
Datacrunch (Verda)	gpu-cloud	datacrunch-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$1.79/hr	$1.79/hr	$0.895/hr (-50%)	-
TensorDock	marketplace	tensordock-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$1.80/hr	$1.80/hr	-	-
Lambda Labs	gpu-cloud	lambda-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$2.79/hr	$2.79/hr	-	-
Google Cloud Platform	hyperscaler	gcp-a10080gb	1x	$3.93/hr	$3.93/hr	$1.57/hr (-60%)	-
CoreWeave	gpu-cloud	coreweave-a100-80gb-sxm	1x	$6.16/hr	$6.16/hr	-	-

Best Spot Deal: Google Cloud Platform offers spot pricing at $1.57/hr (60% off on-demand).

A100 SXM vs Alternatives

Compare A100 SXM with similar GPUs from other brands.

GPU	VRAM	FP16 TFLOPS	Bandwidth	Hardware Price	Cloud Price
A100 SXM Current	80GB	78.0	2.0 TB/s	$12k	-	-
AMD Instinct MI210 AMD	64GB (-20%)	181.0 (+132%)	1.6 TB/s	-	-	Compare
MI300 AMD	128GB (+60%)	490.3 (+529%)	5.3 TB/s	$15k (+25%)	-	Compare
AMD Instinct MI300A AMD	128GB (+60%)	980.0 (+1156%)	5.3 TB/s	-	-	Compare
AMD Instinct MI250X AMD	128GB (+60%)	383.0 (+391%)	3.3 TB/s	-	-	Compare
AMD Instinct MI250 AMD	128GB (+60%)	362.0 (+364%)	3.3 TB/s	-	-	Compare

Best Use Cases for A100 SXM

🧠

LLM Training

4/5

Cost-effective training option

⚡

AI Inference

4/5

General-purpose inference

🔧

Fine-tuning

4/5

Great value for fine-tuning

Compare A100 SXM

Popular Comparisons

Other NVIDIA GPUs

B200 192GB · $45k
H200 141GB · $38k
H100 80GB · $32k
H100 PCIe 80GB · $28k
H100 NVL 94GB · $35k

Alternatives

AMD Instinct MI210 64GB · -
MI300 128GB · $15k
AMD Instinct MI300A 128GB · -
AMD Instinct MI250X 128GB · -
AMD Instinct MI250 128GB · -

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Frequently Asked Questions about A100 SXM