AMD Radeon Pro W5700X vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear pattern in the two shared benchmark tests: the NVIDIA Tesla P40 outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla P40 scores 62,017 against the Radeon Pro W5700X’s 43,810, a delta of 41.6% in favor of the NVIDIA part. That is not a narrow lead; it is a dominant showing across a compute-oriented API that stresses raw throughput and memory bandwidth. The Vulkan result is even more lopsided: the Tesla P40 posts 68,172, while the Radeon Pro W5700X manages 45,246, a 50.7% advantage for NVIDIA. In both cases, the winner is consistent, and the AMD card never takes a single head-to-head victory in the database’s matched tests.

These scores align with the broader percentile rankings. The Tesla P40 sits at the 89th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 65,095. The Radeon Pro W5700X lands at the 87th percentile, with an average of 54,828. The percentile gap, though only two points, understates the raw performance difference because the Tesla P40’s average is 18.7% higher than the AMD card’s average. Looking at the nearest rivals for each product provides context. The Tesla P40’s closest competitors include the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (avg score 64,212, delta 1.4% in favor of the P40), the AMD Radeon VII (avg 66,004, delta -1.4% against the P40), the NVIDIA CMP 30HX (avg 63,842, delta 2%), and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP (avg 63,830, delta 2%). The P40 sits within a tight band of high-end cards, trading blows with the Radeon VII and clearly edging out the others. The Radeon Pro W5700X, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (avg 54,247, delta 1.1% in favor of the W5700X) and the RTX 4080 SUPER (avg 54,209, delta 1.1%), while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (avg 55,698, delta -1.6%) and the AMD Radeon 8060S (avg 55,757, delta -1.7%). The W5700X is a mid-to-upper-tier part, but it is not in the same performance class as the Tesla P40 according to these measurements.

The margin in Vulkan is particularly telling. A 50.7% lead suggests that the Tesla P40’s architecture is far better suited to the low-level, driver-overhead-reduced workload that Vulkan represents. The OpenCL gap, while smaller at 41.6%, still indicates a fundamental throughput advantage for the NVIDIA part. The Radeon Pro W5700X does have a Geekbench Metal score of 75,427, but the Tesla P40 has no corresponding Metal result in the database, so that test cannot be compared directly. For any cross-platform or compute-centric evaluation where both OpenCL and Vulkan are relevant, the data points unambiguously to the Tesla P40.

The Verdict

From the recorded benchmark results, the choice is straightforward for raw compute performance: the NVIDIA Tesla P40 wins both matched tests and holds a higher average benchmark score (65,095 versus 54,828). If a workload relies on OpenCL or Vulkan, the Tesla P40 is the stronger pick by a wide margin, 41.6% and 50.7% respectively. That kind of lead is not marginal; it changes the feasibility of certain tasks, especially those that are throughput-bound. The P40’s 89th percentile ranking versus the W5700X’s 87th percentile reinforces this, though the percentile difference alone does not capture the scale of the performance gap.

However, the Radeon Pro W5700X is not without its own merits in the data. It consumes 205 W versus the Tesla P40’s 250 W, a 45 W difference that could matter in power-constrained systems. It also offers display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt), whereas the Tesla P40 has no outputs at all. For a workstation that needs to drive monitors, the W5700X is the only viable option between the two. The Tesla P40 is a compute accelerator, not a display adapter, and the database reflects that with its lack of display outputs. The W5700X also uses a more modern process node (7 nm versus 16 nm) and a newer architecture (RDNA 1.0 versus Pascal), which explains its lower power draw despite a higher boost clock of 2040 MHz versus the P40’s 1531 MHz.

Who should pick which? A user or integrator building a headless compute node, a server, or an AI inference box that prioritizes OpenCL and Vulkan throughput should choose the NVIDIA Tesla P40. Its 24 GB of GDDR5 memory, 384-bit bus, and 347.1 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for large datasets, and its 11.76 TFLOPS FP32 performance outstrips the W5700X’s 10.44 TFLOPS. A user who needs a Mac Pro-compatible card with display output, lower power consumption, and a smaller physical footprint (305 mm length versus 267 mm, but the W5700X is quad-slot versus dual-slot) should choose the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. The W5700X’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is actually higher than the P40’s, but its raw compute scores lag significantly. In short, the Tesla P40 is the performance winner, the W5700X is the feature winner for display-capable systems.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 11,800 million transistors on a die size of 471 mm², yielding a transistor density of 25.1 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X uses the Navi 10 chip on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 7 nm process. It contains 10,300 million transistors on a much smaller die of 251 mm², giving a significantly higher transistor density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. The smaller die and newer process allow the W5700X to achieve a higher boost clock (2040 MHz) while drawing less power (205 W versus 250 W), but the Tesla P40 compensates with a larger chip and more execution resources.

The shader and texture configurations differ markedly. The Tesla P40 has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units. The W5700X has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This means the P40 has 50% more shading units and 50% more TMUs, plus 50% more ROPs. Despite the W5700X’s higher clock speed, the P40’s raw resource count drives its higher pixel rate (147.0 GPixel/s versus 130.6 GPixel/s) and texture rate (367.4 GTexel/s versus 326.4 GTexel/s). Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, so both rely on traditional shader-based compute.

Memory architecture is another key divider. The Tesla P40 uses 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1808 MHz (7.2 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 347.1 GB/s. The W5700X uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GDDR6’s higher data rate per pin allows the W5700X to achieve greater bandwidth with a narrower bus, but the P40 offers 8 GB more capacity. For memory-capacity-bound workloads, the P40 has the advantage; for bandwidth-bound workloads, the W5700X is ahead. FP16 compute also differs: the P40 delivers only 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), while the W5700X delivers 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), a massive difference that makes the AMD card far more capable for half-precision workloads.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two products in the database:

• Architecture: NVIDIA Tesla P40 is Pascal; AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is RDNA 1.0.
• Process node: P40 is 16 nm; W5700X is 7 nm.
• Transistors: P40 has 11,800 million; W5700X has 10,300 million.
• Die size: P40 is 471 mm²; W5700X is 251 mm².
• Transistor density: P40 is 25.1M / mm²; W5700X is 41.0M / mm².
• Base clock: P40 is 1303 MHz; W5700X is 1243 MHz.
• Boost clock: P40 is 1531 MHz; W5700X is 2040 MHz.
• Memory clock: P40 is 1808 MHz (7.2 Gbps effective); W5700X is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).
• Memory size: P40 is 24 GB; W5700X is 16 GB.
• Memory type: P40 is GDDR5; W5700X is GDDR6.
• Memory bus width: P40 is 384 bit; W5700X is 256 bit.
• Memory bandwidth: P40 is 347.1 GB/s; W5700X is 448.0 GB/s.
• Shading units: P40 has 3,840; W5700X has 2,560.
• TMUs: P40 has 240; W5700X has 160.
• ROPs: P40 has 96; W5700X has 64.
• Pixel rate: P40 is 147.0 GPixel/s; W5700X is 130.6 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: P40 is 367.4 GTexel/s; W5700X is 326.4 GTexel/s.
• FP32 performance: P40 is 11.76 TFLOPS; W5700X is 10.44 TFLOPS.
• FP16 performance: P40 is 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64); W5700X is 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: P40 is 250 W; W5700X is 205 W.
• Slot width: P40 is dual-slot; W5700X is quad-slot.
• Power connectors: P40 uses 8-pin EPS; W5700X has none listed.
• Suggested PSU: P40 is 600 W; W5700X is 550 W.
• Bus interface: P40 is PCIe 3.0 x16; W5700X is Apple MPX.
• Display outputs: P40 has no outputs; W5700X has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt.
• Dimensions: P40 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches) and 111 mm tall (4.4 inches); W5700X is 305 mm long (12 inches) with no height listed.
• Release date: P40 was released on 2016-09-12; W5700X on 2019-12-10.
• Launch MSRP: The Tesla P40 launched at 5,699 USD; the Radeon Pro W5700X at 999 USD. (Stated once per database policy.)

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40, with an average score of 65,095, versus 54,828 for the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X.

Q: How much faster is the Tesla P40 in Vulkan?

A: The Tesla P40 scores 68,172 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 50.7% higher than the W5700X’s 45,246.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro W5700X have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: Yes, the W5700X delivers 448.0 GB/s over a 256-bit GDDR6 interface, while the Tesla P40 provides 347.1 GB/s over a 384-bit GDDR5 interface.

Q: Can the Tesla P40 output video to a display?

A: No, the Tesla P40 has no display outputs. The Radeon Pro W5700X offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt.

Q: What is the difference in FP16 compute capability?

A: The W5700X supports 20.89 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla P40 manages only 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), making the AMD card vastly superior for half-precision tasks.

Q: Which card sits at a higher percentile among all GPUs?

A: The Tesla P40 is at the 89th percentile, while the Radeon Pro W5700X is at the 87th percentile.