AMD Radeon Pro W5700X vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains two direct comparison points for these cards, and the results split the win count evenly at one apiece. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X posts a score of 43,810 against the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB's 37,439, giving AMD a 17% advantage. That is a substantial margin in a compute-oriented API, suggesting the newer architecture has a clear edge in general-purpose GPU workloads that leverage OpenCL. The raw score difference of 6,371 points places this firmly in AMD's favor, and the delta percentage confirms it is not a marginal gap but a decisive one.

However, the Vulkan result flips the narrative. The Tesla M40 24 GB scores 45,975, while the Radeon Pro W5700X trails slightly at 45,246. That is a 1.6% lead for NVIDIA, a narrow but measurable victory. The difference here is only 729 points, which falls within a range that could be attributed to driver optimization or workload-specific behavior in Vulkan. Still, the data shows the older Maxwell card is not obsolete in this API, and it can hold its own against a much younger RDNA 1.0 part.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores, the AMD card leads with 54,828 versus 41,707 for the Tesla M40. That is a 31.5% gap in aggregate performance, which aligns with the OpenCL result more closely than the Vulkan one. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the Radeon Pro W5700X sits at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, while the Tesla M40 sits at the 83rd. Both are above average, but AMD's card is positioned higher in the overall distribution. The nearest rivals for the AMD card include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (average score 54,247, delta 1.1%) and the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, delta 1.1%), meaning the W5700X trades blows with those modern flagship-class parts. For the Tesla M40, its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (41,187, delta 1.3%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870, delta 2%), showing it competes with cards from a much later generation.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two is vast, and the data quantifies it clearly. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB uses the GM200 chip based on Maxwell 2.0, on a 28 nm process also from TSMC. The process node difference alone, 7 nm versus 28 nm, explains a great deal about the performance per watt and density figures. The AMD chip packs 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The NVIDIA chip has fewer transistors, 8,000 million, but spreads them across a much larger 601 mm² die, resulting in just 13.3M per mm². That is a threefold difference in density, which translates into the AMD card's ability to fit more compute resources into a smaller physical footprint.

Memory architecture also diverges sharply. The AMD card uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla M40 offers more capacity at 24 GB, but uses older GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, providing only 288.4 GB/s. So despite having 50% more memory capacity, the Tesla M40 has 35.6% less bandwidth. That has direct implications for workloads that are bandwidth-sensitive, such as large dataset processing or high-resolution texture streaming. The AMD card's memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the Tesla M40's runs at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), further emphasizing the generational leap in memory technology.

Compute unit counts tell a nuanced story. The Tesla M40 has more shading units (3,072 versus 2,560), more texture mapping units (192 versus 160), and more render output units (96 versus 64). Yet the AMD card achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 130.6 GPixel/s versus 106.8 GPixel/s, and 326.4 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute throughput also favors AMD at 10.44 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS. The AMD card also supports FP16 at 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla M40 has no recorded FP16 capability. Clock speeds differ as well: the AMD card runs at a base of 1243 MHz and boosts to 2040 MHz, while the Tesla M40 sits at 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost. The boost clock difference of 928 MHz is enormous and explains much of the performance gap despite the NVIDIA card having more raw hardware units.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X has an average benchmark score of 54,828, which is 31.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB's 41,707. The AMD card also ranks at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, compared to the Tesla M40's 83rd percentile.

Q: Does the Tesla M40 24 GB win any benchmark comparison?

A: Yes, in the Geekbench Vulkan test, the Tesla M40 24 GB scores 45,975 against the Radeon Pro W5700X's 45,246, a 1.6% advantage. This is the only head-to-head benchmark where the NVIDIA card comes out ahead.

Q: How do the memory bandwidth figures compare?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X offers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The Tesla M40 24 GB provides 288.4 GB/s from 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The AMD card has 55.3% more bandwidth despite having less memory capacity.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is built on a 7 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB uses a 28 nm TSMC process. This results in transistor densities of 41.0M per mm² for AMD versus 13.3M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X boosts to 2040 MHz, while the Tesla M40 24 GB boosts to 1112 MHz. The AMD card's boost clock is 83.5% higher.

Q: Do both cards support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, the AMD card has additional benchmark results in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 75,427, while no Metal result is recorded for the Tesla M40.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X uses the Navi 10 chip on RDNA 1.0 architecture, while the Tesla M40 24 GB uses the GM200 chip on Maxwell 2.0. Process nodes are 7 nm versus 28 nm, both from TSMC. Transistor counts are 10,300 million versus 8,000 million, and die sizes are 251 mm² versus 601 mm², giving transistor densities of 41.0M per mm² versus 13.3M per mm². Clock speeds differ significantly: the AMD card has a base clock of 1243 MHz and a boost of 2040 MHz, while the NVIDIA card runs at 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for AMD versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Memory configuration differs: the AMD card has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla M40 has 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. Shading units are 2,560 versus 3,072, TMUs are 160 versus 192, and ROPs are 64 versus 96. Pixel rates are 130.6 GPixel/s versus 106.8 GPixel/s, texture rates are 326.4 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 10.44 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS. The AMD card supports FP16 at 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1), while the Tesla M40 has no recorded FP16 capability. TDP is 205 W versus 250 W, and the suggested PSU is 550 W versus 600 W. Slot widths are quad-slot for AMD versus dual-slot for NVIDIA. The AMD card uses an Apple MPX bus interface with display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt, while the Tesla M40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 with no display outputs. Physical lengths are 305 mm (12 inches) for AMD versus 267 mm (10.5 inches) for NVIDIA. The AMD card launched on 2019-12-10 with a launch MSRP of 999 USD, while the Tesla M40 launched on 2015-11-09 with no recorded MSRP. The Tesla M40 has a predecessor (Tesla Kepler) and successor (Tesla Pascal), while the AMD card has neither recorded.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X wins clearly in OpenCL compute performance, with a 17% lead over the Tesla M40 in the head-to-head Geekbench OpenCL test. Its higher FP32 throughput (10.44 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS) and substantially higher memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s) make it the better choice for compute-heavy workloads such as rendering, simulation, or data processing that rely on OpenCL. The FP16 support at 20.89 TFLOPS further extends its reach into workloads that can leverage reduced precision for acceleration, a capability the Tesla M40 entirely lacks. The AMD card's higher pixel and texture rates, 130.6 GPixel/s and 326.4 GTexel/s respectively, also make it more suitable for graphics-intensive tasks that push fill rates.

The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB wins in the Vulkan benchmark, edging out the AMD card by 1.6%. This suggests that for applications that use Vulkan, the older Maxwell architecture can still deliver competitive or slightly better performance in certain scenarios. The Tesla M40 also offers more memory capacity at 24 GB versus 16 GB, which could be an advantage for workloads that require holding very large datasets in VRAM, such as machine learning inference with large models or massive texture atlases. Its lower TDP of 250 W versus 205 W is actually higher, but its dual-slot design versus quad-slot makes it easier to physically install in standard chassis. The Tesla M40's lack of display outputs positions it as a pure compute accelerator, which may be preferred in server environments where display functionality is unnecessary.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear overall winner for most use cases: the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. Its average benchmark score of 54,828 versus 41,707, a 31.5% advantage, combined with a higher percentile ranking (87th versus 83rd), positions it as the stronger performer in the aggregate. The OpenCL result, where AMD leads by 17%, reinforces this for compute workloads. The AMD card also brings modern features like FP16 support, higher memory bandwidth, and a dramatically smaller die on a newer process node, which suggests better efficiency and longevity. For users who prioritize compute performance in OpenCL or need a card that can also drive displays (with HDMI and Thunderbolt outputs), the W5700X is the data-backed choice.

However, the Tesla M40 24 GB is not without its merits. Its Vulkan win, albeit narrow, shows that for Vulkan-specific applications, it can match or slightly exceed the AMD card. The 24 GB of VRAM is a significant advantage for memory-bound workloads, and the dual-slot form factor with a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface makes it more versatile in terms of system compatibility. For users who need maximum memory capacity and primarily run Vulkan workloads, or who require a compute card without display outputs in a server context, the Tesla M40 remains a viable option. The database records show a tie in head-to-head wins, but the magnitude of AMD's OpenCL victory and its overall average score advantage make the W5700X the recommended pick for general-purpose performance, with the Tesla M40 reserved for specific niche scenarios where its unique strengths apply.