AMD Radeon Pro W6600X vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents two very different products with no direct head-to-head benchmark overlap. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X holds a single Geekbench Metal score of 107342, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has two recorded scores: 62017 in Geekbench OpenCL and 68172 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average of 65095, placing it in the 89th percentile. Because these cards were tested through different benchmark APIs, the database does not contain a direct comparison score between the two units.

For users working within Apple's Mac ecosystem and relying on Metal-accelerated applications, the Radeon Pro W6600X is the clear choice from the data. Its nearest rival data reinforces this: it sits only 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, and it leads the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 5.4%. The Tesla P40, by contrast, targets compute and inference workloads typical of Tesla Pascal generation hardware, with its OpenCL result of 62017 landing 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 and 2% ahead of both the NVIDIA CMP 30HX and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP.

For raw compute density per watt, the architecture data favors the Radeon Pro W6600X, which carries a 120 W TDP against the Tesla P40's 250 W TDP. For memory capacity, the Tesla P40 offers 24 GB versus 8 GB, and it provides higher memory bandwidth at 347.1 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s. The verdict depends entirely on the workload: Metal-accelerated Mac workflows point to the Radeon Pro W6600X, while large memory footprint compute tasks with OpenCL or Vulkan support point to the Tesla P40.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon Pro W6600X uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It integrates 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7M per mm². The Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip on Pascal architecture, built on TSMC's 16 nm process, with 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, yielding a density of 25.1M per mm². The Radeon Pro W6600X achieves more than double the transistor density of the Tesla P40, a direct consequence of the newer process node.

The Radeon Pro W6600X has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. It also includes 32 ray tracing cores, a feature that the Tesla P40 does not have. The Tesla P40 has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The raw shading unit count is higher on the Tesla P40, but the Radeon Pro W6600X compensates with significantly higher clock speeds: a 2068 MHz base and 2479 MHz boost against the Tesla P40's 1303 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The Radeon Pro W6600X uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 2000 MHz memory clock and 16 Gbps effective speed, producing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P40 uses 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with 1808 MHz memory clock and 7.2 Gbps effective speed, producing 347.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P40 has more capacity and more bandwidth, but the Radeon Pro W6600X has the faster memory type.

The API support also differs. The Radeon Pro W6600X supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla P40 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interfaces are different as well: Apple MPX for the Radeon Pro W6600X and PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Tesla P40. Both cards are dual-slot, have no display outputs, and are end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro W6600X wins in Metal-based performance, as demonstrated by its Geekbench Metal score of 107342. Its nearest rival data shows it is competitive with the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (2.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 (3.1% behind), while leading the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo by 0.6% and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 5.4%. This positions it as a strong performer in the high-end workstation segment, particularly for Metal applications.

The Radeon Pro W6600X also wins on efficiency. Its 120 W TDP is less than half the Tesla P40's 250 W TDP, and its suggested PSU of 300 W is half the Tesla P40's 600 W requirement. It achieves these results with a smaller die (237 mm² versus 471 mm²) and higher transistor density (46.7M per mm² versus 25.1M per mm²).

The Tesla P40 wins on memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 24 GB GDDR5 configuration with 384-bit bus and 347.1 GB/s bandwidth is more than double the capacity of the Radeon Pro W6600X and offers 35.6% more bandwidth. For workloads that require large datasets to stay resident in GPU memory, such as certain inference or simulation tasks, this is a decisive advantage.

The Tesla P40 also has higher raw compute throughput in FP32 at 11.76 TFLOPS against 10.15 TFLOPS, and higher texture rate at 367.4 GTexel/s against 317.3 GTexel/s. The pixel rates are close: 147.0 GPixel/s for the Tesla P40 versus 158.7 GPixel/s for the Radeon Pro W6600X, which is 7.4% higher on the Radeon side.

In the database's percentile rankings, the Radeon Pro W6600X sits at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla P40 sits at the 89th percentile. This gap reflects the different benchmark suites used for each card, not necessarily a direct performance comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher Geekbench score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X records 107342 in Geekbench Metal, while the NVIDIA Tesla P40 records 62017 in Geekbench OpenCL and 68172 in Geekbench Vulkan. These use different API tests and are not directly comparable as a single head-to-head metric.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X compare to its rivals in the database?

A: The Radeon Pro W6600X scores 0.6% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, 2.1% below the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II, 3.1% below the AMD Radeon PRO W7900, and 5.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000.

Q: How does the NVIDIA Tesla P40 compare to its rivals in the database?

A: The Tesla P40 has an average score of 65095. It is 1.4% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100, 2% above the NVIDIA CMP 30HX, 2% above the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP, and 1.4% below the AMD Radeon VII.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has 24 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 384-bit bus and 347.1 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X includes 32 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has a TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X and the NVIDIA Tesla P40. The cards were evaluated through different test suites: the Radeon Pro W6600X through Geekbench Metal, and the Tesla P40 through Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. This means the recorded scores cannot be directly subtracted from one another to produce a single win margin.

Instead, the closest comparison available comes through each card's nearest rivals. The Radeon Pro W6600X at 107342 Metal score sits 5.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 at 101872. The Tesla P40 at an average of 65095 sits 1.4% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 at 64212. This places each card in a different performance stratum of the database, with the Radeon Pro W6600X landing in the 94th percentile versus the Tesla P40's 89th.

The FP32 compute rates show a meaningful gap: the Tesla P40 delivers 11.76 TFLOPS against the Radeon Pro W6600X's 10.15 TFLOPS, a 15.9% advantage. The texture rate favors the Tesla P40 as well, at 367.4 GTexel/s versus 317.3 GTexel/s, a 15.8% advantage. Pixel rate favors the Radeon Pro W6600X at 158.7 GPixel/s versus 147.0 GPixel/s, a 7.9% advantage.

The largest per-card win in the database belongs to the Radeon Pro W6600X in the Metal benchmark, where its 107342 score is far above anything recorded for the Tesla P40. The Tesla P40's Vulkan result of 68172 is its best recorded score, but it still falls below the Radeon Pro W6600X's Metal result. The Radeon Pro W6600X also maintains a significant lead in FP16 throughput at 20.31 TFLOPS against the Tesla P40's 183.7 GFLOPS, a factor of over 110 times when accounting for the 2:1 versus 1:64 ratios.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every specification field. The process node is 7 nm for the Radeon Pro W6600X versus 16 nm for the Tesla P40. Transistor count is close (11,060 million versus 11,800 million), but die size differs sharply: 237 mm² versus 471 mm². Transistor density is 46.7M per mm² versus 25.1M per mm².

Clock speeds differ: base 2068 MHz versus 1303 MHz, boost 2068 MHz versus 2479 MHz for the Radeon Pro W6600X, and 1303 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost for the Tesla P40. Memory clock is 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective on the Radeon Pro W6600X, versus 1808 MHz with 7.2 Gbps effective on the Tesla P40.

Memory size is 8 GB GDDR6 versus 24 GB GDDR5. Bus width is 128-bit versus 384-bit. Bandwidth is 256.0 GB/s versus 347.1 GB/s. Shading units are 2048 shading units with 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs versus 3840 shading units with 240 TMUs and 96 ROPs. The Radeon Pro W6600X adds 32 ray tracing cores; the Tesla P40 has none.

FP32 is 10.15 TFLOPS versus 11.76 TFLOPS. FP16 is 20.31 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64). Pixel rate is 158.7 GPixel/s versus 147.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 317.3 GTexel/s versus 367.4 GTexel/s. TDP is 120 W versus 250 W. Suggested PSU is 300 W versus 600 W. The Tesla P40 uses an 8-pin EPS power connector; the Radeon Pro W6600X lists no power connector. The bus interface is Apple MPX versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Both are dual-slot, both have no display outputs, and both are end-of-life. The Tesla P40 measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The Radeon Pro W6600X launch MSRP is 699 USD; the Tesla P40 launch MSRP is 5,699 USD.