NVIDIA RTX 4090 vs NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
Side-by-side local AI comparison — VRAM, memory bandwidth, model compatibility, and estimated tokens per second across 70 open-weight models.
Quick verdict
These GPUs are closely matched. Both offer 24 GB VRAM and run 42 models natively. The NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti is 0% faster at token generation due to higher memory bandwidth.
Specs comparison
| Spec | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 24 GB | 24 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR6X | GDDR6X |
| Bandwidth | 1008 GB/s | 1008 GB/s |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |
| Backend | CUDA | CUDA |
| Tier | Consumer | Consumer |
| Released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Models (native) | 42 | 42 |
Estimated tokens per second
Computed from memory bandwidth and model active-parameter weight. Assumes model fits natively in VRAM.
| Model | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct(70B) | — | — | — |
| Qwen 3.6 27B(27B) | 59.7 t/s(Q5_K_M) | 59.7 t/s(Q5_K_M) | +0% |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct(8B) | 63 t/s(FP16) | 63 t/s(FP16) | +0% |
| Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct(7.6B) | 66.3 t/s(FP16) | 66.3 t/s(FP16) | +0% |
Delta is NVIDIA RTX 4090 relative to NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti.
Only NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run(0)
No exclusive models — NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti can run everything NVIDIA RTX 4090 can.
Only NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti can run(0)
No exclusive models — NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run everything NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti can.
Both run natively(42)
These models fit in VRAM on both GPUs. Bandwidth determines which runs them faster.
- Mixtral 8x7B Instruct v0.1214.9 t/svs214.9 t/s
- Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B (MoE)739.2 t/svs739.2 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 35B57.6 t/svs57.6 t/s
- Yi 1.5 34B Chat58.6 t/svs58.6 t/s
- Qwen3 32B61.5 t/svs61.5 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 32B Instruct62 t/svs62 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B Instruct62 t/svs62 t/s
- DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B62 t/svs62 t/s
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B739.2 t/svs739.2 t/s
- Gemma 4 31B65 t/svs65 t/s
- Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE)591.4 t/svs591.4 t/s
- Gemma 2 27B Instruct59.3 t/svs59.3 t/s
- Gemma 3 27B Instruct59.7 t/svs59.7 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 27B59.7 t/svs59.7 t/s
- Gemma 4 26B (MoE)466.9 t/svs466.9 t/s
- Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct56 t/svs56 t/s
- +26 more on both
Which should you choose?
Choose NVIDIA RTX 4090 if:
Choose NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti if:
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better for local AI, the NVIDIA RTX 4090 or NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4090 and NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti are closely matched for local AI. Both have 24 GB VRAM and can run the same 42 models natively. The decision comes down to bandwidth: the NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti is faster at token generation.
- How much VRAM does the NVIDIA RTX 4090 have vs the NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X at 1008 GB/s. The NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti has 24 GB of GDDR6X at 1008 GB/s. Both GPUs have the same VRAM amount; bandwidth determines which generates tokens faster.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 4090 run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q4_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q4_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- What is the difference between the NVIDIA RTX 4090 and NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti for AI?
- The key difference for AI inference is VRAM and memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 4090 has 24 GB VRAM at 1008 GB/s (CUDA backend). The NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti has 24 GB VRAM at 1008 GB/s (CUDA backend). VRAM determines which models fit; bandwidth determines tokens per second. The NVIDIA RTX 4090 runs 42 models natively vs 42 for the NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti.