Quadro RTX 3000 vs RTX 4000 Ada Generation
With 20GB on board versus 6GB for the Quadro RTX 3000, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation carries more headroom for large models and memory-hungry workloads.
Maximum Capacity Reached. Remove a model to add another. (2/2)
Quadro RTX 3000 vs RTX 4000 Ada Generation: In-Depth Breakdown
VRAM: Quadro RTX 3000 vs RTX 4000 Ada Generation
With 20GB of VRAM against the Quadro RTX 3000's 6GB, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation has a 14GB edge. VRAM is what determines whether a model fits without quantization at all — a 70B-parameter model in FP16 needs around 140GB, and smaller models still benefit from spare capacity. That extra headroom lets the RTX 4000 Ada Generation load bigger models and run larger production batch sizes.
Inference Speed: Memory Bandwidth
Memory bandwidth determines how quickly data is fed to the compute units — it's the main bottleneck for autoregressive inference (token generation in LLMs). The RTX 4000 Ada Generation delivers 360 GB/s versus 336 GB/s on the Quadro RTX 3000, a 7% edge. For models already loaded into VRAM, token generation speed scales closely with this number: the RTX 4000 Ada Generation will produce tokens proportionally faster in bandwidth-bound workloads.
AI Training & Compute
FP32 throughput is the metric that matters most for training, scientific simulation, and rendering work. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation posts 26.7 TFLOPS versus 5.3 TFLOPS on the Quadro RTX 3000, a 404% compute lead. Expect training jobs and heavy matrix math to finish proportionally sooner on the RTX 4000 Ada Generation.
Which should you buy: Quadro RTX 3000 or RTX 4000 Ada Generation?
For large-model workloads bottlenecked on VRAM, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation is the better pick. The Quadro RTX 3000 costs less and holds up fine if your models fit inside its 6GB.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Quadro RTX 3000 or RTX 4000 Ada Generation run large language models?
Which is faster for LLM inference, the Quadro RTX 3000 or the RTX 4000 Ada Generation?
Which is better for AI training?
Which should you buy: Quadro RTX 3000 or RTX 4000 Ada Generation?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Quadro RTX 3000 | RTX 4000 Ada Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Turing | Ada Lovelace |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / CUDA Cores) | 1,920 | 6,144✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Quadro RTX 3000 | RTX 4000 Ada Generation |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB | 20 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 192-bit✓ | 160-bit |
| Bandwidth | 336 GB/s | 360 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Quadro RTX 3000 | RTX 4000 Ada Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| TDP | 160 W | 130 W✓ |
| Released | Apr 2019 | — |
Workstation
| Specification | Quadro RTX 3000 | RTX 4000 Ada Generation |
|---|---|---|
| FP32 (TFLOPS) | 5.3 TFLOPS | 26.7 TFLOPS✓ |
| ECC | Yes | Yes |
| NVLink | No | No |
| Form factor | single-slot | single-slot |