490-BGKE Dell Nvidia A40 Ampere 48GB PCI-Express GDDR6 300W Passive GPU

Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 Ampere 48GB PCI-Express GDDR6 GPU

The Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 Ampere 48GB PCI-Express GDDR6 Graphics Processing Unit is a high-performance accelerator card engineered to meet the evolving needs of professional data centers, artificial intelligence workloads, and advanced graphical computing environments. Designed with a 300W passive cooling structure, the A40 GPU delivers unparalleled energy efficiency, thermal management, and computational precision, making it an essential component for enterprise-grade visualization, simulation, and deep learning acceleration.

Developed on Nvidia’s Ampere architecture, the A40 GPU provides a powerful combination of double-precision floating-point performance, memory bandwidth, and advanced tensor core technology. This architecture ensures higher throughput for both compute-intensive and rendering workloads, making the A40 ideal for professionals in industries such as design visualization, AI model training, high-performance computing (HPC), and large-scale data analytics.

Technical Architecture and Performance Capabilities

The Nvidia A40 utilizes the GA102 GPU architecture, which integrates cutting-edge features tailored for professional and scientific computation. With 10752 CUDA cores, it ensures immense parallel computing potential, allowing users to process complex algorithms and 3D models with precision and speed. The 48GB of GDDR6 memory with ECC (Error Correction Code) further enhances data integrity and reliability, making it suitable for mission-critical applications where accuracy cannot be compromised.

Operating through the PCI-Express 4.0 x16 interface, the Dell 490-BGKE A40 GPU guarantees high-bandwidth communication with the system CPU and other connected devices. This interface ensures faster data exchange and reduces latency in demanding workflows, offering a substantial improvement over previous PCIe 3.0 models. The 300W power envelope allows optimal performance under heavy computational loads while maintaining stability and efficiency in data center environments.

Advanced Ampere GPU Features

One of the primary advantages of the Ampere generation is its refined tensor and RT core design. The third-generation Tensor Cores provide mixed-precision computing that accelerates AI training and inference, while the second-generation RT Cores introduce advanced ray tracing capabilities. This combination enhances both rendering realism and AI-driven workloads, giving professionals an optimized platform for diverse use cases including virtual reality rendering, scientific visualization, and cloud graphics deployment.

Additionally, the A40 incorporates Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) technology, which enables partitioning of the GPU into multiple isolated instances. Each instance operates as an independent GPU with dedicated compute, memory, and cache resources. This functionality is particularly valuable for shared environments and virtualized infrastructures, allowing multiple users or applications to benefit from GPU acceleration simultaneously without performance degradation.

Memory Bandwidth and Data Processing Efficiency

The inclusion of 48GB of GDDR6 memory empowers the Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 to handle massive datasets efficiently. With a 384-bit memory interface and an effective bandwidth of 696 GB/s, it facilitates seamless data flow between the GPU and the system memory, ensuring smooth execution of deep learning frameworks, simulation models, and graphical renderings. This expansive memory capacity allows users to manage complex workloads such as 3D content creation, neural network processing, and computational fluid dynamics with exceptional accuracy.

Furthermore, ECC memory safeguards against data corruption during intensive operations, which is critical for enterprise applications involving financial modeling, AI research, or autonomous driving simulations. The GDDR6 technology also optimizes power consumption, balancing performance with energy efficiency for continuous operation in demanding data center environments.

Use Cases and Application Domains

The Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 GPU is engineered to support a broad spectrum of professional workloads, from AI and deep learning to complex graphical rendering and virtualized workstation environments. Its robust computational framework is designed to enhance productivity in industries that demand accelerated performance, scalability, and accuracy.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

For AI developers, the Nvidia A40 provides the computational backbone for training and inference of complex neural networks. Its tensor core enhancements accelerate deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and MXNet, allowing researchers to achieve faster model convergence and improved prediction accuracy. The GPU’s ability to handle multi-instance workloads makes it a perfect choice for AI inference servers, data labeling systems, and research clusters that require shared GPU resources.

Data Science and Simulation

Data scientists and researchers benefit from the A40’s immense double-precision and mixed-precision computing capabilities. Tasks such as molecular dynamics, seismic processing, or weather prediction require high-throughput floating-point calculations, and the A40 delivers exceptional results in these fields. The GPU’s massive memory and data bandwidth ensure that large-scale simulations and mathematical models run efficiently, minimizing bottlenecks in iterative computation.

Virtualization and Remote Workstations

The Dell 490-BGKE A40 GPU supports Nvidia vGPU (Virtual GPU) software, enabling efficient virtualization of GPU resources. This technology allows multiple virtual workstations or VMs to share the GPU, offering users professional-grade graphics acceleration over a network. It is widely deployed in enterprise VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) environments, supporting professionals in design, architecture, engineering, and content creation fields who require high-end graphics from remote locations.

With Nvidia’s vComputeServer and RTX Virtual Workstation software stacks, IT administrators can allocate GPU resources dynamically, ensuring optimal utilization across workloads. This results in lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and streamlined GPU management within multi-user environments.

Graphics and Visualization Excellence

While the A40 is designed primarily for compute workloads, it also supports advanced graphics rendering powered by Nvidia RTX technology. The second-generation RT Cores enable real-time ray tracing, producing photorealistic lighting, shadows, and reflections for 3D visualizations. This makes the A40 suitable for rendering engines such as Autodesk Arnold, Chaos V-Ray, and Blender’s Cycles renderer, where accuracy and realism are paramount.

Professional designers can use the A40 GPU for large-scale CAD and CAE projects, photogrammetry, and digital twin simulations. Its rendering pipeline delivers smooth viewport interactivity and rapid scene processing even with billions of polygons or complex shader configurations. Combined with Nvidia’s CUDA, OpenCL, and OptiX frameworks, developers can also customize GPU workflows for specialized rendering or simulation pipelines.

Media Production and Content Creation

In the media and entertainment industry, the A40 GPU delivers substantial acceleration for video encoding, visual effects, and real-time compositing. The GPU supports NVENC and NVDEC hardware encoding and decoding for multiple 8K video streams, enabling efficient post-production workflows. Studios using applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Autodesk Flame benefit from faster rendering, smoother playback, and reduced export times, enhancing creative productivity without compromising quality.

With massive GPU memory and exceptional parallel processing performance, the Dell 490-BGKE A40 facilitates real-time playback of complex visual scenes, making it an indispensable tool for film editors, VFX artists, and animators handling high-resolution digital content.

Connectivity and Integration

The PCI-Express 4.0 x16 interface on the A40 GPU provides ultra-fast communication between the graphics card and host CPU. This interface ensures higher throughput for data-intensive workloads, enabling smooth performance across advanced computing platforms. It supports both AMD and Intel server architectures, ensuring broad compatibility across enterprise-class motherboards and rack servers.

Furthermore, the GPU’s support for multi-GPU scalability allows professionals to link multiple A40 cards within the same system to achieve exponential performance gains. This configuration is beneficial in large-scale rendering farms, AI training clusters, and HPC infrastructures where parallel processing power is essential. With Nvidia NVLink bridges, users can achieve high-bandwidth interconnects between GPUs, further enhancing collaborative computational tasks.

Reliability, Durability, and Enterprise Readiness

Built with enterprise-grade reliability in mind, the Dell 490-BGKE A40 GPU undergoes rigorous testing and validation to ensure consistent performance in mission-critical environments. It is optimized for continuous operation within rack-mounted servers, ensuring stable thermal and electrical characteristics under sustained workloads. The ECC-protected memory architecture ensures data fidelity across long-running tasks, minimizing the risk of computational errors in sensitive simulations or AI training sessions.

The passive cooling design contributes to long-term durability by eliminating moving components that could wear over time. Combined with Dell’s stringent quality control and system integration standards, this GPU provides a dependable solution for data centers aiming to achieve consistent uptime and predictable performance.

Scalability in Data Center Environments

The A40 GPU integrates seamlessly into scalable enterprise infrastructures, supporting virtualization and multi-node configurations. Organizations can deploy hundreds of A40 GPUs across a distributed compute cluster to accelerate diverse workloads simultaneously. This scalability enables companies to adapt quickly to evolving project demands, whether for AI model training, rendering pipelines, or data visualization tasks.

With Nvidia’s data center management tools such as DCGM (Data Center GPU Manager), administrators can monitor GPU utilization, temperature, and performance in real-time, optimizing system health and workload allocation. This ensures maximum productivity and operational transparency across large-scale deployments.

Comparative Advantages Over Previous Generations

The Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 GPU outperforms its predecessors such as the Turing-based Quadro RTX series by delivering significantly enhanced compute throughput, memory capacity, and efficiency. Its Ampere architecture doubles the FP32 performance and improves tensor core utilization, resulting in superior performance in AI and deep learning tasks. The larger 48GB GDDR6 memory ensures that more complex datasets can be processed concurrently without memory bottlenecks, significantly improving productivity for large-scale projects.

Moreover, the transition to PCIe 4.0 connectivity further boosts data transfer rates, offering faster communication channels between CPU and GPU, thereby reducing latency in time-sensitive applications. These advancements collectively establish the A40 as a next-generation solution for professionals seeking to balance computational precision, scalability, and energy efficiency.

Thermal Stability and Server Compatibility

With its passive cooling design, the Dell 490-BGKE A40 GPU is optimized for server environments with high-efficiency airflow systems. The thermal structure is built to maintain consistent GPU clock speeds without throttling, ensuring sustained performance in continuous 24/7 data center operations. It seamlessly integrates with Dell PowerEdge servers and other enterprise-grade chassis, ensuring straightforward installation and compatibility with modern rack systems.

The A40’s efficient thermal dynamics and power control mechanisms also allow higher GPU density per rack unit, increasing the computational capacity of data centers without significant increases in power draw or cooling costs. This makes it an ideal solution for enterprises scaling up their AI and visualization infrastructures efficiently.

Longevity and Return on Investment

The Dell 490-BGKE Nvidia A40 GPU is designed with a long lifecycle, ensuring extended usability and support for evolving software stacks. Its combination of high memory capacity, powerful core performance, and energy-efficient architecture provides excellent long-term value for enterprises investing in data center acceleration. The ability to handle both compute and rendering workloads ensures versatility, reducing the need for multiple specialized hardware units and optimizing the total cost of ownership.

With ongoing Nvidia driver and software updates, the A40 GPU remains aligned with the latest frameworks, APIs, and AI libraries. This ensures compatibility with future applications, extending its usefulness and reliability over time.

Professional-Grade Flexibility and Deployment

The Dell 490-BGKE A40 GPU’s versatility allows it to operate seamlessly across various deployment scenarios, from single-user workstations to high-density data center clusters. It supports both bare-metal and virtualized setups, allowing system integrators to customize configurations for different workflow demands. This flexibility ensures that the same GPU can be leveraged across diverse departments—AI research, engineering simulation, content production, and data analytics—without the need for separate GPU architectures.

Organizations deploying hybrid cloud or on-premises solutions benefit from the A40’s interoperability with leading platforms such as VMware vSphere, Red Hat OpenShift, and Kubernetes environments. These integrations enable efficient resource scheduling, containerized GPU workloads, and cloud-to-edge GPU allocation, maximizing operational efficiency across infrastructure tiers.