AMD Radeon R7 M380 vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla M10 and AMD Radeon R7 M380 are both end-of-life graphics solutions from different eras and purposes, yet their benchmark data places them surprisingly close in overall compute capability. The Tesla M10 is a dual-slot, 225 W server accelerator built on Maxwell, while the R7 M380 is a mobile-oriented GCN 1.0 part with no published TDP. The only direct head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, where the differences are meaningful but not overwhelming. This analysis breaks down the numbers to determine which card holds the edge and for whom.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole direct comparison in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 10318 points, while the AMD Radeon R7 M380 scores 9313 points. That gives the Tesla M10 a 10.8% lead. This is a clear, single-test victory for NVIDIA, but the margin is modest—not a generational stomping, but a solid win.

Looking at the broader context, the Tesla M10’s average benchmark score is 9724, which places it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals tell a story of tight competition: the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 scores 9716 (a 0.1% delta), the GeForce GTX 1070 scores 9780 (a -0.6% delta), the Quadro P4000 scores 9665 (a 0.6% delta), and the Radeon Pro WX 2100 scores 9653 (a 0.7% delta). The M10 sits right in the middle of this pack, meaning it is essentially on par with a GTX 1070 in raw compute terms—an impressive feat for a card from 2016.

The R7 M380, by contrast, has an average score of 9313, placing it in the 46th percentile. Its nearest rivals are all within a hair: the GeForce GTX 850M scores 9302 (a 0.1% delta), the GeForce GTX 465 scores 9294 (a 0.2% delta), the GeForce GTX 960 scores 9273 (a 0.4% delta), and the Radeon Vega 8 scores 9221 (a 1% delta). The M380 is effectively tied with these cards, but it sits roughly 4.2% behind the Tesla M10 based on their average scores (9313 vs 9724).

In terms of raw throughput, the numbers reinforce the NVIDIA lead. The Tesla M10 delivers 1.672 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the R7 M380 delivers 1,171.2 GFLOPS (or 1.171 TFLOPS). That is a 42.8% advantage in theoretical floating-point performance for the Tesla. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: the M10 hits 20.90 GPixel/s and 52.24 GTexel/s, versus the M380’s 14.64 GPixel/s and 36.60 GTexel/s. These are substantial gaps, even if the OpenCL benchmark only shows a 10.8% difference—real-world workloads may not scale perfectly with theoretical rates.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins the only head-to-head benchmark and holds commanding leads in every raw throughput metric. If you are choosing purely on performance, the M10 is the stronger part. It is 10.8% ahead in OpenCL, 42.8% ahead in FP32, and 42.8% ahead in pixel rate (20.90 vs 14.64 GPixel/s). The texture rate gap is similar, with the M10 at 52.24 GTexel/s versus 36.60 GTexel/s.

However, the R7 M380 is not without a case. It is a much smaller chip—123 mm² die size versus 148 mm² for the Tesla—with fewer transistors (1,500 million vs 1,870 million). It also has no published TDP, no power connectors, and no slot width, suggesting it was designed for low-power mobile integration. If your constraint is power or physical footprint, the M380 may be the only viable option despite losing on performance.

Who should pick which? If you need a dedicated accelerator for compute tasks and can supply a 550 W PSU with a 1x 8-pin connector, the Tesla M10 is the clear choice. Its performance is on par with a GeForce GTX 1070 (-0.6% delta) and slightly ahead of a Quadro P4000 (0.6% delta). If you are constrained by a laptop chassis or a low-power slot, the R7 M380 is the only option, but you are giving up 10.8% to 42.8% of performance depending on the metric.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different architectures. The Tesla M10 uses NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture on the GM107 chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The R7 M380 uses AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture on the Tropo chip, also fabricated on 28 nm at TSMC. Both share the same process node and foundry, so the architectural differences are purely design choices.

The transistor counts differ: the Tesla packs 1,870 million transistors into a 148 mm² die, yielding a density of 12.6M / mm². The AMD chip has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, with a density of 12.2M / mm². The Maxwell chip is slightly denser, but both are similar in this regard.

Memory architecture is a major divergence. The Tesla M10 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 83.20 GB/s of bandwidth. The R7 M380 uses 4 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, delivering only 32.00 GB/s. That is a 2.6x bandwidth advantage for NVIDIA, which is critical for memory-bound workloads.

Feature support also differs. The Tesla supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R7 M380 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The AMD card has a slightly higher DirectX feature level, but NVIDIA’s Vulkan support is newer.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several key differences beyond performance. The Tesla M10 has a base clock of 1033 MHz and a boost clock of 1306 MHz, while the R7 M380 runs at a base of 900 MHz and a boost of 915 MHz. The NVIDIA card is clocked 14.8% higher at base and 42.7% higher at boost—a massive gap that explains much of the performance delta.

Memory is another clear split. The Tesla has 8 GB of GDDR5 at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), while the AMD has 4 GB of DDR3 at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The Tesla’s bandwidth of 83.20 GB/s dwarfs the M380’s 32.00 GB/s.

The Tesla M10 is a dual-slot card requiring a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 550 W suggested PSU. It has no display outputs, confirming its server/workstation role. The R7 M380 has no listed slot width, power connectors, PSU requirement, or display outputs—it is a bare chip, likely for mobile integration.

Both cards share the same shading unit count (640), TMU count (40), and ROP count (16). The Tesla M10 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches), while the R7 M380 has no listed dimensions.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 10318 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 10.8% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M380’s 9313.

Q: How does the Tesla M10 compare to a GeForce GTX 1070?

A: The Tesla M10’s average benchmark score of 9724 is -0.6% relative to the GTX 1070’s 9780, meaning they are effectively tied in performance.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The Tesla M10 delivers 83.20 GB/s using GDDR5, while the R7 M380 provides 32.00 GB/s with DDR3. That is a 2.6x advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Do both cards have the same number of shaders?

A: Yes, both have 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, but the Tesla runs at much higher clocks (1306 MHz boost vs 915 MHz boost).

Q: What power supply does the Tesla M10 need?

A: The suggested PSU is 550 W, and it requires a 1x 8-pin power connector. The R7 M380 has no listed PSU requirement.

Q: Which card has more VRAM?

A: The Tesla M10 has 8 GB, while the R7 M380 has 4 GB. Both use a 128-bit bus.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins in every measurable performance category. It dominates FP32 compute with 1.672 TFLOPS versus 1,171.2 GFLOPS, a 42.8% lead. Pixel throughput is 20.90 GPixel/s versus 14.64 GPixel/s, and texture throughput is 52.24 GTexel/s versus 36.60 GTexel/s. The OpenCL benchmark confirms this with a 10.8% victory. For any compute-heavy workload—server-side inference, rendering, or scientific simulation—the Tesla M10 is the superior choice, provided you can supply 550 W and have room for a 267 mm dual-slot card.

The AMD Radeon R7 M380 does not win a single benchmark in this comparison (wins: 0), but it holds advantages in portability and power envelope. It has no listed TDP, no power connectors, and no physical dimensions, implying it is a low-power mobile chip. If you need a GPU that can slot into a laptop or compact device without external power, the M380 is the only option. It also has a slightly higher DirectX feature level (12 (11_1) vs 12 (11_0)), which might matter for specific legacy applications.

In summary, the Tesla M10 is the performance king, sitting at the 47th percentile of all GPUs and matching a GTX 1070. The R7 M380 is a distant second, at the 46th percentile, and only makes sense when power and size constraints override raw performance. If you have the power budget and space, take the Tesla. If you are building a low-profile system, the M380 will suffice, but know that you are leaving significant performance on the table.