AMD Radeon Pro VII vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro VII and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB are both end-of-life workstation accelerators, but they represent very different design philosophies and eras. The data available for direct comparison is limited to a single OpenCL benchmark, yet the specifications and performance percentiles reveal a clear narrative about generational efficiency and raw compute capability. The AMD Radeon Pro VII, built on a 7 nm process, delivers a 13.5% higher Geekbench OpenCL score than the older, 16 nm-based Tesla P100, while also offering double the memory capacity and significantly higher bandwidth.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

In the only directly comparable workload, Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon Pro VII scores 90,148 points against the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB’s 79,396 points. This represents a decisive 13.5% victory for the AMD card, making it the sole winner in the head-to-head comparison with a 1-0 record. This margin is substantial in the context of workstation performance, indicating that the Radeon Pro VII offers a tangible compute advantage in OpenCL-based applications.

The delta becomes more interesting when contextualized within each card's nearest competitors. The Radeon Pro VII's average benchmark score of 97,131 places it 5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 and 6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A4500, while sitting just 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900M and 4.7% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000. The Tesla P100, with an average score of 79,396, is nearly identical to its direct successor, the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 79,605 (a -0.3% delta). It also trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.9% but edges out the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 0.6%. The performance gulf between the two cards is stark when considering that the Radeon Pro VII's OpenCL score is 13.5% higher than the Tesla's overall average, suggesting a generational leap in compute efficiency.

The percentile rankings reinforce this separation. The Radeon Pro VII sits in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla P100 is just one point lower at the 92nd percentile. While seemingly close, the absolute difference in average benchmark scores—97,131 versus 79,396—represents a 22.3% gap in overall performance. This shows that while both are high-end accelerators, the Radeon Pro VII operates in a distinctly higher performance tier, likely due to its more modern architecture and faster memory subsystem.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is profound, stemming from a four-year gap in release dates and a fundamental shift in manufacturing technology. The AMD Radeon Pro VII, released on 2020-05-12, utilizes the Vega 20 chip based on the GCN 5.1 architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process. In contrast, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, released on 2016-06-19, uses the GP100 chip based on the older Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process. This process difference is the single most important factor, as the 7 nm node allows AMD to pack 13,230 million transistors into a 331 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.0M per mm². NVIDIA’s larger 610 mm² die contains 15,300 million transistors but at a much lower density of 25.1M per mm².

These physical differences translate directly into clock speed and compute capability. The Radeon Pro VII operates at a base clock of 1400 MHz and boosts to 1700 MHz, significantly higher than the Tesla P100’s 1190 MHz base and 1329 MHz boost. Consequently, the AMD card achieves 13.06 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 26.11 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1), while the Tesla P100 delivers 9.526 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.05 TFLOPS FP16. In terms of raw shading power, the Radeon Pro VII has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, compared to the Tesla’s 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The higher ROP count on the Pascal card gives it a slight edge in pixel fill rate (127.6 GPixel/s vs 108.8 GPixel/s), but the AMD card dominates in texture rate (408.0 GTexel/s vs 297.7 GTexel/s) due to its higher clock speeds.

Memory architecture is another major differentiator. The Radeon Pro VII features 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering a massive 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is equipped with 12 GB of HBM2 on a narrower 3072-bit bus, yielding 549.1 GB/s. This 86% bandwidth advantage for the AMD card is critical for memory-bound compute workloads. Furthermore, the Radeon Pro VII supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Tesla P100 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16, halving the potential host-to-device transfer speed. The cards also differ in their output capabilities: the Radeon Pro VII provides six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it a functional workstation card for visualization, whereas the Tesla P100 has no display outputs whatsoever, being designed purely for compute servers.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon Pro VII is the clear winner for raw OpenCL compute performance. The 13.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with a higher average benchmark score and 93rd percentile ranking, establishes it as the more capable accelerator. Its 16 GB of memory and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth also provide substantial headroom for large datasets that would exceed the Tesla P100's 12 GB capacity. For any user running OpenCL-based scientific simulations, machine learning inference, or rendering tasks, the data shows the Radeon Pro VII delivers superior performance in a more modern package.

However, the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is not without merit. While it loses the compute comparison, it maintains a higher pixel fill rate (127.6 GPixel/s vs 108.8 GPixel/s) and a 96 ROP count, which could theoretically benefit certain rasterization-heavy tasks. Its smaller physical footprint (267 mm vs 305 mm) and single 8-pin power connector make it easier to integrate into dense server configurations. For users with legacy infrastructure built around PCIe 3.0 and who do not require display outputs, the Tesla P100 remains a viable compute node, but the performance data indicates it is a generation behind the Radeon Pro VII. The verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon Pro VII is the superior choice for modern compute workloads, while the Tesla P100 is a legacy part that only makes sense if the specific workload favors its pixel throughput or if the system cannot support PCIe 4.0.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro VII scores 90,148, which is 13.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB’s score of 79,396.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card offer?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro VII offers 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB provides 549.1 GB/s.

Q: Do these cards support the same PCIe interface?

A: No. The AMD Radeon Pro VII uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16 standard.

Q: What are the FP32 compute performance figures for both cards?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro VII delivers 13.06 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, whereas the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB achieves 9.526 TFLOPS.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB has a higher pixel fill rate at 127.6 GPixel/s, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro VII’s 108.8 GPixel/s.

Q: Can the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB be used for display output?

A: No, it has no display outputs, whereas the AMD Radeon Pro VII includes six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a connectors.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro VII wins decisively in the compute-centric realm. Its 13.5% OpenCL advantage, 22.3% higher average benchmark score, and 86% greater memory bandwidth make it the go-to choice for OpenCL-accelerated applications, large-scale data processing, and any workload that benefits from the 16 GB frame buffer. The higher transistor density (40.0M / mm²) and 7 nm process also suggest better power efficiency per unit of work, though the TDP is identical at 250 W. The presence of display outputs and PCIe 4.0 support makes it a versatile workstation accelerator that can drive multiple monitors while handling heavy compute tasks.

The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB wins in niche scenarios related to pixel processing. Its 96 ROPs and 127.6 GPixel/s pixel fill rate exceed the Radeon Pro VII's 64 ROPs and 108.8 GPixel/s, potentially offering better performance in tasks that are heavily rasterization-bound, such as certain types of 2D rendering or early-stage graphics workloads. Its shorter physical length (267 mm vs 305 mm) and simpler power requirement (1x 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin) make it easier to install in compact or legacy server chassis. For users who already own this card and have optimized their software stack for Pascal's specific characteristics, the 0.6% edge over the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT shows it can still hold its own against more modern parts in certain contexts, but the data is clear that the AMD Radeon Pro VII is the stronger overall performer.