AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

NVIDIA Tesla T4 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 are both end-of-life professional accelerators, yet they represent two fundamentally different design philosophies. The Tesla T4 is a low-power Turing-based server card aimed at inference and virtualized workloads, while the Pro Vega 56 is a high-bandwidth GCN-based workstation part targeting compute and content creation. The benchmark data shows a split decision: each card wins one of the two shared tests, with the T4 taking Vulkan and the Vega 56 taking OpenCL. Their average benchmark scores are close—the T4 sits at 66,733 against the Vega 56’s 63,693—but their architectural choices diverge sharply, making the choice between them highly workload-dependent.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins the OpenCL compute race. In the geekbench_opencl test, it scores 61,930 against the Tesla T4’s 61,276, a narrow 1.1% margin. This suggests that for raw, general-purpose GPU compute tasks that rely heavily on OpenCL—such as scientific simulation or certain rendering pipelines—the Vega 56’s higher FP32 throughput (8.960 TFLOPS vs 8.141 TFLOPS) and wider memory bus give it a slight edge. The data indicates a nearly dead heat, but the Vega 56’s shading unit advantage (3,584 vs 2,560) likely contributes to its win in this workload.

The NVIDIA Tesla T4 counters decisively in Vulkan. Its geekbench_vulkan score of 72,190 crushes the Vega 56’s 66,004, a 9.4% lead. This is a significant margin, suggesting the T4’s Turing architecture—with its dedicated RT cores and Tensor cores—handles Vulkan’s modern API features far more efficiently. The T4 also sits at the 90th percentile of all GPUs, just one point above the Vega 56’s 89th percentile, but its average score of 66,733 is 4.8% higher than the Vega 56’s 63,693. So while the Vega 56 wins on OpenCL, the T4 wins the overall average and the Vulkan test by a much larger margin.

Architecture Differences

The manufacturing processes starkly differ. The Tesla T4 is built on a 12 nm TSMC process, while the Radeon Pro Vega 56 uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries node. Despite this, the T4 packs 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, yielding a density of 25.0M transistors per mm². The Vega 56 has 12,500 million transistors on a smaller 495 mm² die, achieving a slightly higher density of 25.3M per mm²—a negligible difference that shows the node advantage is offset by Vega’s denser layout.

The memory subsystems are polar opposites. The T4 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a massive 2048-bit bus, delivering 402.4 GB/s—26% more bandwidth. This makes the Vega 56 better suited for memory-bandwidth-bound workloads, despite halving the capacity. The T4’s larger 16 GB frame buffer, however, allows it to hold larger models or datasets in VRAM, a critical factor for AI inference.

Compute resources diverge significantly. The Vega 56 has more shading units (3,584 vs 2,560), more TMUs (224 vs 160), but the same 64 ROPs. The T4 compensates with 40 RT cores and 320 Tensor cores, which the Vega 56 lacks entirely. The T4’s FP32 output is 8.141 TFLOPS, while the Vega 56 reaches 8.960 TFLOPS—a 10% advantage for AMD. Both cards double their FP16 rates to 16.28 and 17.92 TFLOPS respectively, but the T4’s Tensor cores are specifically optimized for AI workloads, whereas the Vega 56’s FP16 is more general-purpose.

Power and physical characteristics show the T4’s server DNA. The T4 draws just 70 W with no power connectors, running off the PCIe slot alone and requiring a 250 W PSU. The Vega 56 is a 210 W part, also with no external connectors, but it is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for Mac systems. The T4 is a single-slot, 168 mm card with no display outputs, while the Vega 56 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the T4 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), giving NVIDIA better future-proofing for newer API features.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The OpenCL result is remarkably tight. The Tesla T4 scores 61,276 versus the Vega 56’s 61,930, a difference of just 654 points, or 1.1%. This is within the margin of benchmark noise, but the data consistently favors AMD in this test. The Vega 56’s higher texture rate (280.0 GTexel/s vs 254.4 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (80.00 GPixel/s vs 101.8 GPixel/s—wait, the T4 actually wins pixel rate) suggest a mixed profile. The T4’s higher pixel rate of 101.8 GPixel/s versus 80.00 GPixel/s for the Vega 56 indicates better rasterization throughput, yet the OpenCL score still goes to AMD, likely due to the Vega 56’s superior memory bandwidth.

The Vulkan test tells a different story. The T4’s 72,190 score outpaces the Vega 56’s 66,004 by 6,186 points, a 9.4% victory. This is the largest delta in the head-to-head data. The T4’s advantage likely stems from its Turing architecture’s support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing (40 RT cores) and its Tensor cores, which can accelerate certain Vulkan compute operations. The Vega 56, lacking these dedicated units, falls behind despite having more raw shading power. The T4’s Vulkan score of 72,190 is also higher than its own OpenCL score of 61,276, a 17.8% improvement, whereas the Vega 56’s Vulkan score (66,004) is only 6.6% higher than its OpenCL score (61,930). This suggests the T4 scales much better with the Vulkan API.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla T4 has an average benchmark score of 66,733, which is 4.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56’s 63,693. The T4 also ranks at the 90th percentile of all GPUs, while the Vega 56 ranks at the 89th.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The Tesla T4 wins the geekbench_vulkan test with a score of 72,190, beating the Vega 56’s 66,004 by 9.4%. This is the T4’s strongest showing and highlights its modern architecture’s API efficiency.

Q: What is the memory capacity and bandwidth difference?

A: The Tesla T4 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, providing 402.4 GB/s bandwidth—26% higher bandwidth but half the capacity.

Q: Does either card support hardware ray tracing or Tensor cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA Tesla T4 includes 40 RT cores and 320 Tensor cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has neither, as it is based on GCN 5.0 without dedicated AI or ray-tracing hardware.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The Radeon Pro Vega 56 reaches 8.960 TFLOPS in FP32, which is 10% higher than the Tesla T4’s 8.141 TFLOPS. Both cards double their FP16 throughput to 17.92 and 16.28 TFLOPS respectively.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The Tesla T4 has a TDP of 70 W, making it extremely power-efficient, while the Radeon Pro Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W—three times higher. The T4 also requires only a 250 W suggested PSU, while the Vega 56 has no listed PSU requirement.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA Tesla T4 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 |

|-------|-----------------|------------------------|

| Architecture | Turing | GCN 5.0 |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 14 nm |

| Transistors | 13,600 million | 12,500 million |

| Die Size | 545 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Base Clock | 585 MHz | 1138 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1590 MHz | 1250 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 320.0 GB/s | 402.4 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective) | 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 160 | 224 |

| RT Cores | 40 | 0 |

| Tensor Cores | 320 | 0 |

| Pixel Rate | 101.8 GPixel/s | 80.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 254.4 GTexel/s | 280.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.141 TFLOPS | 8.960 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 16.28 TFLOPS (2:1) | 17.92 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 70 W | 210 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2018-09-12 | 2017-08-13 |

The Verdict

For Vulkan-based workloads or AI inference, the NVIDIA Tesla T4 is the clear choice. Its 9.4% Vulkan lead, 40 RT cores, 320 Tensor cores, and 16 GB VRAM make it superior for modern graphics APIs and neural network tasks. Its 70 W power draw is remarkable for the performance, making it ideal for dense server deployments where thermal and power budgets are tight.

For OpenCL-heavy compute tasks where raw memory bandwidth and FP32 throughput matter most, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins. Its 402.4 GB/s bandwidth, 8.960 TFLOPS FP32, and 3,584 shading units give it a slight edge in the OpenCL test (61,930 vs 61,276). It also offers display outputs, making it suitable for workstation use with monitors attached, unlike the headless T4.

The data suggests a philosophical split: the T4 is a specialized accelerator for the modern AI and ray-tracing era, while the Vega 56 is a broader-purpose compute card for traditional GPGPU tasks. The T4’s higher average score (66,733 vs 63,693) and better percentile ranking (90th vs 89th) indicate it is generally the stronger card, but only if your software leverages its Vulkan or Tensor core strengths. For pure OpenCL number-crunching, the Vega 56’s marginal win—just 1.1%—might not justify its threefold higher power consumption (210 W vs 70 W). Ultimately, the benchmark data points to the Tesla T4 as the better all-rounder, with the Vega 56 retaining a niche for bandwidth-hungry OpenCL workflows.