AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II records an average benchmark score of 109,617, while the NVIDIA Tesla T4 records 66,733. The AMD card sits at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 90th percentile for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How large is the gap in OpenCL performance?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II scores 99,048, which is 61.6% higher than the Tesla T4's 61,276. This is the largest delta in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The AMD card features 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card offers 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s. The AMD card has both double the capacity and 2.6 times the bandwidth.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has a TDP of 475 W and a suggested PSU of 850 W. The NVIDIA Tesla T4 has a TDP of 70 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The AMD card draws significantly more power and occupies a quad-slot form factor, while the Tesla is single-slot with no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA Tesla T4 includes dedicated hardware: 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II lists no RT or tensor cores. However, the AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the Tesla supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: What is the release timeline for both products?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II was released on June 2, 2019, and the NVIDIA Tesla T4 was released on September 12, 2018. Both are now classified as end-of-life products.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II in raw compute performance. Across the two shared benchmarks, AMD wins both: 61.6% ahead in OpenCL and 38% ahead in Vulkan. Its average score of 109,617 places it 64.2% above the Tesla T4's 66,733. For workloads that depend on raw shader throughput, memory bandwidth, or large frame buffers, the AMD card is the definitive choice.

The NVIDIA Tesla T4, however, serves a completely different role. Its 70 W TDP, single-slot design, and lack of display outputs indicate a server-optimized accelerator. The presence of 320 tensor cores and 40 RT cores means it carries specialized hardware for inference and ray tracing, capabilities the AMD card lacks entirely. For users who need those specific features in a low-power, compact form factor, the Tesla T4 is the only option between these two.

The verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins on every measured benchmark and specification advantage (memory, bandwidth, compute rates, pixel rate, texture rate). The NVIDIA Tesla T4 wins on power efficiency, physical footprint, and feature set. A buyer prioritizing raw performance should pick AMD. A buyer prioritizing power draw, server density, or tensor/RT functionality should pick NVIDIA.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes two direct comparisons. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II scores 99,048 against the Tesla T4's 61,276. That is a 61.6% advantage. The delta is substantial and consistent with the underlying hardware: the AMD card has 4096 shading units versus 2560, and its FP32 throughput is 14.09 TFLOPS versus 8.141 TFLOPS.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD card scores 99,621, while the Tesla T4 scores 72,190. The 38% lead is slightly smaller than the OpenCL gap, but still decisive. The AMD card's Vulkan score is nearly identical to its OpenCL score, suggesting consistent cross-API performance. The Tesla T4's Vulkan score is 17.8% higher than its OpenCL score, indicating a more favorable result under Vulkan, yet it remains well behind.

The average benchmark score reinforces the trend. AMD's 109,617 average is 64.2% above NVIDIA's 66,733. In the nearest rival comparisons, the AMD card sits within 3.8% of the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile (which scores 113,944) and 1% below the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 (110,725). The Tesla T4's closest rival is the AMD Radeon VII at 66,004, with a delta of only 1.1%. This places each card in a different performance tier: the AMD card competes with high-end workstation GPUs, while the Tesla T4 trades blows with mid-range cards.

The head-to-head record stands at 2 wins for AMD and 0 for NVIDIA. No benchmark in the database shows the Tesla T4 ahead.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every fundamental specification. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II uses a Vega 20 chip on a 7 nm process, while the NVIDIA Tesla T4 uses a TU104 chip on a 12 nm process. Transistor counts are close: 13,230 million for AMD versus 13,600 million for NVIDIA. However, the die sizes diverge sharply: AMD's die is 331 mm², NVIDIA's is 545 mm². This yields a transistor density of 40.0M per mm² for AMD versus 25.0M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock behavior differs significantly. The AMD card's base clock is 1574 MHz with a boost of 1720 MHz. The Tesla T4 has a much lower base clock of 585 MHz but boosts to 1590 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: AMD runs at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective), while NVIDIA runs at 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective).

Memory specifications are among the largest gaps. AMD provides 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, yielding 825.3 GB/s. NVIDIA provides 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 320.0 GB/s. AMD has double the capacity and 2.6 times the bandwidth.

Compute units differ as well. AMD has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. NVIDIA has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Pixel rates are close: 110.1 GPixel/s for AMD versus 101.8 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. Texture rates favor AMD more clearly: 440.3 GTexel/s versus 254.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 14.09 TFLOPS for AMD versus 8.141 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 performance is 28.18 TFLOPS for AMD versus 16.28 TFLOPS for NVIDIA, both at a 2:1 ratio.

Power and physical design are opposites. AMD's TDP is 475 W with a quad-slot form factor and a suggested PSU of 850 W. NVIDIA's TDP is 70 W, single-slot, with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The bus interfaces differ: AMD uses Apple MPX, NVIDIA uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: AMD has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt, while NVIDIA has no outputs. The Tesla T4 measures 168 mm in length; the AMD card's dimensions are not recorded.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split is fundamental. AMD uses GCN 5.1, a mature design tailored for raw compute throughput. NVIDIA uses Turing, which introduces dedicated hardware units absent in AMD's architecture: 40 RT cores for ray tracing and 320 tensor cores for AI workloads. The AMD card has no equivalent hardware.

The process nodes differ: AMD is on TSMC's 7 nm process, NVIDIA on TSMC's 12 nm process. This explains the transistor density gap: AMD packs 40.0M transistors per mm² versus 25.0M for NVIDIA, despite similar total transistor counts. The smaller process gives AMD a die size advantage (331 mm² versus 545 mm²) and likely contributes to its higher clock speeds.

The memory architectures are also distinct. AMD uses HBM2, which provides a massive 4096-bit bus width. NVIDIA uses GDDR6, which relies on a narrower 256-bit bus but compensates with higher effective clock speeds. The result is a bandwidth disparity of 825.3 GB/s versus 320.0 GB/s, a 2.6 times advantage for AMD.

API support differs in one key area: AMD lists DirectX 12 (12_1), while NVIDIA lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but NVIDIA's Vulkan support is 1.4 versus AMD's 1.3. NVIDIA's architecture enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations, which are not present in AMD's GCN 5.1 design. The Tesla T4's generation is listed as "Tesla Turing (Txx)" with a predecessor of "Tesla Volta" and a successor of "Server Ampere", while AMD's generation is "Radeon Pro Mac (Vega Series)" with no predecessor or successor recorded.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins in all measured compute benchmarks. Its OpenCL score of 99,048 and Vulkan score of 99,621 are both far ahead of the Tesla T4. The 61.6% OpenCL lead and 38% Vulkan lead reflect the AMD card's higher shading unit count, higher clocks, and vastly superior memory bandwidth. For applications that stress FP32 or FP16 throughput, texture filtering, or memory-bound workloads, the AMD card is the clear winner. Its 32 GB frame buffer also allows larger datasets or higher-resolution textures than the Tesla T4's 16 GB.

The NVIDIA Tesla T4 wins in power efficiency and physical design. At 70 W TDP versus 475 W, it consumes 85.3% less power. Its single-slot form factor with no power connectors enables dense server deployments, while the AMD card's quad-slot design limits installation options. The Tesla T4 also wins in specialized workloads: its 320 tensor cores accelerate inference tasks, and its 40 RT cores handle ray tracing. The AMD card cannot execute these operations in dedicated hardware.

The use-case split is clear. For rendering, compute, or any workload requiring maximum throughput, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II dominates. For low-power inference, ray tracing acceleration, or compact server installations, the NVIDIA Tesla T4 is the appropriate choice. The data shows no overlap: AMD wins raw performance, NVIDIA wins efficiency and specialized features.