Intel Gaudi2 vs NVIDIA H100: A Battle of AI Chips
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of many industries, from healthcare to finance. As the demand for AI capabilities continues to grow, major players in the tech industry are constantly striving to develop more powerful and efficient AI chips. In this race, Intel and NVIDIA have emerged as key contenders, with their respective Gaudi2 and H100 chips vying for the top spot.
The Performance Test: Intel Gaudi2 vs NVIDIA H100
Stability AI, the developer of the Stable Diffusion model, recently conducted a series of tests to evaluate the performance of different hardware accelerators. As part of this evaluation, the Intel Gaudi2 and NVIDIA H100 chips were pitted against each other. The aim was to determine which chip could deliver superior performance when running the Stable Diffusion 3 model.
Results: Gaudi2 Takes the Lead
In the performance test, Stability AI tested the Stable Diffusion 3 model on three different hardware configurations: Intel Gaudi2 96GB, NVIDIA H100 80GB Hopper GPU, and A100 80GB Ampere GPU. The test involved processing 16 images per device, and the results were quite revealing.
According to the performance report published by Stability AI, the Intel Gaudi2 chip outperformed the NVIDIA H100 GPU by a significant margin. Gaudi2 was able to produce images 56 percent faster than the H100 GPU. To put it in numerical terms, Gaudi2 achieved a rate of 927 images per second, while H100 reached 595 images per second. The A100 GPU, on the other hand, ranked third with a rate of 381 images per second.
Scaling Up: Gaudi2’s Dominance
As the cluster sizes grew larger, the performance gap between Gaudi2 and the other chips became even more pronounced. For instance, a cluster of 256 Gaudi2 chips achieved an impressive rate of 12,654 images per second, averaging at 49.4 images per second per device. In comparison, the A100 cluster managed 3,992 images per second, averaging at 15.6 images per second per device.
However, it is worth noting that Stability AI highlighted the superiority of A100 chips in terms of performance, thanks to the inclusion of TensorRT technology. According to Stability AI, there was a 40 percent performance difference between Gaudi2 and A100 chips.
The Future of AI Chips
The performance test between Intel Gaudi2 and NVIDIA H100 chips has shed light on the current state of AI hardware. While Gaudi2 emerged as the winner in terms of raw performance, the inclusion of TensorRT technology in A100 chips gives them an edge in certain scenarios.
As the demand for AI capabilities continues to grow, it is clear that the competition between Intel and NVIDIA will only intensify. Both companies will continue to innovate and develop more powerful AI chips, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of artificial intelligence.
In conclusion, the performance test conducted by Stability AI has shown that Intel Gaudi2 has the potential to shake NVIDIA’s seat in the AI chip market. However, NVIDIA’s A100 chips, with the addition of TensorRT technology, still hold their ground and offer a competitive alternative. The battle for AI supremacy is far from over, and it will be exciting to see how these two tech giants continue to evolve their AI chip offerings in the future.
