AMD Radeon 680M vs NVIDIA Tesla M4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single recorded head-to-head benchmark between the NVIDIA Tesla M4 and the AMD Radeon 680M is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 23,468 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16,932 points. This represents a 27.9% advantage for the AMD part, a substantial margin in raw compute throughput.

The database records only one head-to-head test, so the win tally stands at 0 for the Tesla M4 and 1 for the Radeon 680M. While the Tesla M4 does not win any recorded comparison, its average benchmark score of 16,932 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Radeon 680M, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 15,270 across its three recorded tests (Geekbench OpenCL, Geekbench Vulkan, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12), which places it in the 57th percentile. This is a curious inversion: the Radeon 680M wins the head-to-head OpenCL test, yet its average score across all tests is lower than the Tesla M4's average, because the Tesla M4 has only the one high-scoring benchmark recorded.

Contextualizing within the nearest rivals, the Tesla M4's OpenCL score sits within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083) and within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037). It edges out the NVIDIA T400 4 GB (16,792) by 0.8%. This places the Tesla M4 in a performance band near several desktop gaming and workstation parts from later generations.

The Radeon 680M's OpenCL score of 23,468 is far above any of its nearest rivals' average scores. Its nearest rival by average score is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15,283), which trails by 0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (15,290) also trails by 0.1%. The gap between the Radeon 680M's OpenCL result and those averages is enormous, but it is important to note that the nearest rivals are ranked by average benchmark score, not by the specific OpenCL test. The Radeon 680M's Vulkan score of 21,965 and its Steel Nomad DX12 score of 378 show that its performance varies significantly across APIs and workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the recorded OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon 680M wins decisively. It scores 23,468 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 27.9% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M4's 16,932.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall database percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M4 sits in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon 680M sits in the 57th percentile. This is based on average benchmark scores, not the single head-to-head test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each product?

A: The Tesla M4 has an average benchmark score of 16,932, based on its single OpenCL result. The Radeon 680M has an average of 15,270, which includes its OpenCL, Vulkan, and 3DMark Steel Nomad scores.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon 680M has a much higher transistor density at 63.0 million transistors per square millimeter, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla M4's 12.9 million per square millimeter. This is due to the Radeon's 6 nm process versus the Tesla's 28 nm process.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The AMD Radeon 680M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the NVIDIA Tesla M4 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The Radeon also has 12 ray tracing cores, while the Tesla M4 has none.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M4 is end-of-life, having been released in November 2015. The AMD Radeon 680M is active, with a release date of January 2023.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational and fundamental. The NVIDIA Tesla M4 is built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, using the GM206 chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon 680M uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture, with the Rembrandt+ chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC. This process node difference alone accounts for a massive disparity in transistor density: the Tesla M4 packs 2,940 million transistors into a 228 mm² die, yielding 12.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The Radeon 680M integrates 13,100 million transistors into a slightly smaller 208 mm² die, yielding 63.0 million transistors per square millimeter, a density nearly five times higher.

The Tesla M4 is a discrete, single-slot PCIe card with a 128-bit GDDR5 memory bus and 4 GB of dedicated VRAM. It has no display outputs, no ray tracing cores, and no tensor cores. Its shading array consists of 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The Radeon 680M, by contrast, is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) designed for mobile Rembrandt platforms. It uses system shared memory, so its memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all system dependent. It has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but it compensates with 12 dedicated ray tracing cores, which the Tesla lacks entirely.

Clock behavior diverges sharply as well. The Tesla M4 operates at a base clock of 872 MHz and boosts to 1,072 MHz, with memory clocked at 1,375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The Radeon 680M runs at a 2,000 MHz base clock and boosts to 2,200 MHz. The Radeon's higher clocks, combined with its RDNA 2.0 architecture, produce a pixel rate of 70.40 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 105.6 GTexel/s, both roughly double the Tesla M4's 34.30 GPixel/s and 68.61 GTexel/s. In floating-point throughput, the Radeon 680M delivers 3.379 TFLOPS FP32 and 6.758 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla M4 delivers 2.195 TFLOPS FP32 and no recorded FP16 capability.

API support also differs. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the Radeon 680M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) with its ray tracing cores, whereas the Tesla M4 tops out at DirectX 12 (12_1) without ray tracing.

Specification Differences

The most conspicuous differences are in process node, memory architecture, and feature set. The Tesla M4 uses a 28 nm process, while the Radeon 680M uses 6 nm. Transistor counts are 2,940 million versus 13,100 million, and die sizes are 228 mm² versus 208 mm². The Tesla M4 has a 128-bit memory bus with 88.00 GB/s bandwidth on 4 GB GDDR5, while the Radeon 680M has system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth, meaning no fixed figures exist.

Clock speeds differ substantially: the Tesla M4's base is 872 MHz and boost is 1,072 MHz, while the Radeon 680M's base is 2,000 MHz and boost is 2,200 MHz. Shading unit counts are 1,024 for the Tesla versus 768 for the Radeon, but the Radeon has 12 ray tracing cores to the Tesla's zero. Pixel rate is 34.30 GPixel/s for the Tesla versus 70.40 GPixel/s for the Radeon, and texture rate is 68.61 GTexel/s versus 105.6 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 2.195 TFLOPS versus 3.379 TFLOPS, and only the Radeon has a recorded FP16 figure (6.758 TFLOPS).

Both GPUs have a 50 W TDP, which is notable given the architectural chasm. The Tesla M4 is a single-slot discrete card with a suggested PSU of 250 W and no power connectors listed, while the Radeon 680M is an IGP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Tesla, PCIe 4.0 x8 for the Radeon. Display outputs are absent on the Tesla, while the Radeon's outputs are portable device dependent. Production status flips from end-of-life (Tesla, released November 2015) to active (Radeon, released January 2023). The Tesla's generation is "Tesla Maxwell (Mxx)" and its predecessor/successor are Tesla Kepler and Tesla Pascal. The Radeon's generation is "Navi II IGP (Rembrandt Mobile)" with predecessor Vega II IGP and successor Navi III IGP.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 680M wins the only recorded head-to-head benchmark, and it does so by a wide 27.9% margin in OpenCL compute. Its architectural advantages are numerous: a 6 nm process, ray tracing cores, higher clocks, double the pixel and texture rates, and higher FP32 and FP16 throughput. For any workload that relies on raw compute throughput, modern API features, or ray tracing, the data points squarely to the Radeon 680M. Its Vulkan score of 21,965 further reinforces its strength in modern graphics APIs.

The NVIDIA Tesla M4, despite losing the head-to-head, holds a higher average benchmark score (16,932 versus 15,270) and a higher percentile rank (60th versus 57th). This is because the Tesla's single recorded OpenCL score is high, and the Radeon's average is dragged down by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 378, a low number that reflects a demanding modern test rather than a weak part. The Tesla M4 also has a dedicated 4 GB GDDR5 memory pool with fixed 88.00 GB/s bandwidth, which can be an advantage in scenarios where system shared memory bandwidth is constrained or unpredictable. Its 1,024 shading units are more than the Radeon's 768, which may help in certain compute patterns that scale with shader count rather than clock speed.

The Tesla M4's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (within 0.5%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (within 0.6%), suggesting its performance profile is comparable to mid-range desktop parts from the early 2010s. The Radeon 680M's nearest rivals by average score are the GeForce GTX 580, RTX 2060, RTX 3050 OEM, and Radeon RX 7600, all within 0.7%, but its OpenCL score vastly exceeds all of them.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear, if lopsided, conclusion. The AMD Radeon 680M is the superior compute part in the recorded head-to-head test, winning the OpenCL benchmark by 27.9%. Its modern 6 nm RDNA 2.0 architecture delivers higher clocks, higher pixel and texture rates, higher FP32 throughput, and the only ray tracing support in this comparison. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, compared to the Tesla M4's DirectX 12 (12_1). For anyone choosing between these two based on benchmark results, the Radeon 680M is the pick for compute-heavy or modern-API workloads.

The NVIDIA Tesla M4 remains relevant only in narrow contexts. Its higher average benchmark score and percentile ranking come from a single favorable OpenCL result, and its dedicated 4 GB GDDR5 memory with fixed bandwidth may be preferable in systems where shared memory is a bottleneck. Its 1,024 shading units exceed the Radeon's 768, and its end-of-life status means it is a legacy part, but the data does not show it winning any recorded test. For a system builder needing a low-power (50 W) discrete card with no display outputs, the Tesla M4 has a niche, but the Radeon 680M's raw performance and feature set make it the stronger choice in every measured benchmark comparison. The verdict is unambiguous: the Radeon 680M wins the head-to-head, and the Tesla M4's only advantages are its dedicated memory and its higher percentile standing, which do not translate into a single recorded benchmark victory.