Verdict
Head-to-head · Best Workstation Gpus For AI

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation comes out ahead by a clear margin (4.0 vs 3.0). The gap is mostly about mobile professionals requiring reliable graphics performance — read the strengths below before deciding.

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation
Higher ratedRanked #4 in Best Workstation Gpus For AI
NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation
7 sourcesall derived$3,299.99as of Oct 2

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation is a professional-grade laptop GPU built on TSMC's 5nm process with Ada Lovelace architecture. It features 5,120 CUDA cores and 12 GB of ECC GDDR6 VRAM, delivering strong performance for 3D rendering and AI tasks. While it supports advanced features like DLSS 3 and ray tracing, its variable TGP range leads to significant performance differences between systems. The card is designed for professional users requiring reliable graphics performance in mobile workstations.

Strengths
  • — 5,120 CUDA cores for high parallel processing capability
  • — 12 GB of ECC GDDR6 VRAM for professional workloads
  • — Supports DLSS 3 for enhanced frame rates in compatible applications
Watch-outs
  • — Wide TGP range (60 W to 140 W) causes inconsistent performance across systems
  • — Error correction reduces available video memory by up to 1 GB
NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation
Ranked #7 in Best Workstation Gpus For AI
NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation
5 sourcesall derived

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation delivers substantial performance gains over its Ampere predecessor, particularly in rendering and AI workloads. It features 7,680 CUDA cores, 240 tensor cores, and 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with ECC, making it well-suited for demanding content creation tasks. While it offers significant improvements in graphics and rendering capabilities, the price premium may be a consideration for users seeking more modest performance increases.

Strengths
  • — 7,680 CUDA cores for high processing power
  • — 240 4th generation tensor cores for advanced AI capabilities
  • — 24 GB GDDR6 memory with ECC for data integrity
Watch-outs
  • — Higher price premium over previous-generation cards
  • — Limited performance improvement in lower-end models

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation is a professional-grade laptop GPU with 12 GB of ECC GDDR6 VRAM and 5,120 CUDA cores, making it suitable for mobile workstations. While it supports DLSS 3 and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, it falls short of the memory capacity of the RTX 6000 Ada Generation and the RTX A6000, which both offer 48 GB of VRAM. Compared to the RTX A5000, it has less memory but is designed for mobile applications and supports DLSS 3.

NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation offers 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with ECC and 7,680 CUDA cores, making it a mid-range option between the A5000 and the higher-end 6000 Ada Generation. While it provides significant performance gains over previous-generation cards, it falls short of the 48 GB memory capacity of the RTX 6000 Ada Generation and lacks the advanced ray tracing and AI compute capabilities. Compared to the RTX A6000, it offers less memory but is more affordable and doesn't require a specialized power connector.

Specs side-by-side

SpecNVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada GenerationNVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation
Memory Capacity12 GB GDDR624 GB GDDR6 with ECC
ArchitectureAda LovelaceNVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture
CUDA Cores5,1207,680
Tensor Cores160240
TDP60 W to 140 W210W
Memory Bandwidth432 GB/s432 GB/s
Form Factorlarge4.4" (H) x 10.5"(L) Dual Slot
ConnectivityDisplayPort 1.4a, PCIe 4.0DP 1.4a (4)
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