L40 vs RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell

L40

2022Core: 735 MHzBoost: 2490 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
NVIDIA

RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell

2025Core: 1740 MHzBoost: 2377 MHz
Similar parts
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L40 vs RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

L40 vs RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

L40

2022

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the safer long-term pick here because the hardware is newer and the feature stack is stronger.
  • 342.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $31,000 MSRPvs$6,999 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.1 vs 4.4 G3D/$ ($31,000 MSRP vs $6,999 MSRP).

RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell

2025

Why buy it

  • Costs $24,001 less on MSRP ($6,999 MSRP vs $31,000 MSRP).
  • Delivers 320.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.4 vs 1.1 G3D/$ ($6,999 MSRP vs $31,000 MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: Blackwell 2.0 (2025−2026) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
L40 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 5.3% in PassMark G3D (32,601 vs 30,968), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2025 generation instead of 2022. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell makes the most sense to buy today. It is $24,001 cheaper on MSRP at $6,999 vs $31,000, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 320.7% (4.4 vs 1.1), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. L40 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

L40 vs RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

L40

The L40 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 13 2022. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 2490 MHz. It has 18176 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 142 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 32,601 points.

NVIDIA

RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell

The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 18 2025. It features the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1740 MHz to 2377 MHz. It has 14080 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 110 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 30,968 points.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the L40 scores 32,601 versus the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell's 30,968 — the L40 leads by 5.3%. The L40 is built on Ada Lovelace while the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell uses Blackwell 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 18,176 (L40) vs 14,080 (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell). Raw compute: 90.52 TFLOPS (L40) vs 66.94 TFLOPS (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell). Boost clocks: 2490 MHz vs 2377 MHz. Ray tracing: 142 RT cores (L40) vs 110 (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell) with 568 Tensor cores vs 440.

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
G3D Mark Score
32,601+5%
30,968
Architecture
Ada Lovelace
Blackwell 2.0
Process Node
4 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
18176+29%
14080
Compute (TFLOPS)
90.52 TFLOPS+35%
66.94 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
2490 MHz+5%
2377 MHz
ROPs
192+9%
176
TMUs
568+29%
440
L1 Cache
17.8 MB+29%
13.8 MB
L2 Cache
96 MB
96 MB
Ray Tracing Cores
142+29%
110
Tensor Cores
568+29%
440

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The L40 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
NVIDIA Reflex
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 48 GB of video memory. Memory bandwidth: 960 GB/s (L40) vs 1024 GB/s (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell) — a 6.7% advantage for the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell. Memory bus width is 384-bit on the L40 and 384-bit on the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell.

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
VRAM Capacity
48 GB
48 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR7
Memory Bandwidth
960 GB/s
1024 GB/s+7%
Bus Width
384-bit
384-bit
L2 Cache
96 MB
96 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (L40) vs 12 Ultimate (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
DirectX
12.2+2%
12 Ultimate
Vulkan
1.3
1.3
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 8th Gen (L40) vs NVENC (9th Gen) (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell). Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs NVDEC (6th Gen). Supported codecs: AV1,HEVC,H.264,VP9 (L40) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell).

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
Encoder
NVENC 8th Gen
NVENC (9th Gen)
Decoder
NVDEC 5th Gen
NVDEC (6th Gen)
Codecs
AV1,HEVC,H.264,VP9
H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The L40 draws 300W versus the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell's 300W — a 0% difference. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (L40) vs 650W (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell). Power connectors: 16-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 75.

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
TDP
300W
300W
Recommended PSU
750W
650W-13%
Power Connector
16-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
267mm
267mm
Height
111mm
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
80°C
75-6%
Perf/Watt
108.7+5%
103.2
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the L40 came in at $31000, while the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell launched at $6999. On MSRP, RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell was 77.4% cheaper ($24001 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.1 (L40) vs 4.4 (RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell) — the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell offers 300% better value. The newer card here is RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell (2025 vs 2022).

FeatureL40RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
MSRP
$31000
$6999-77%
Performance per Dollar
1.1
4.4+300%
Codename
AD102
GB202
Release
October 13 2022
March 18 2025
Ranking
#61
#13

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