AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data splits these two cards almost perfectly down the middle, with each taking one decisive victory in the two recorded tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM edges out the NVIDIA Tesla P40 by a razor-thin margin, scoring 62,427 against 62,017. That is a delta of just -0.7% from the Tesla's perspective, which is effectively a statistical tie in raw compute workloads. The real story emerges in Geekbench Vulkan, where the Tesla P40 delivers a crushing 68,172 versus the RX 5600 OEM's 53,743. That works out to a 26.8% advantage for NVIDIA, a massive gap that shows the Tesla P40 is dramatically stronger in graphics API workloads that leverage Vulkan's low-level access.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the Tesla P40's average benchmark score sits at 65,095, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The RX 5600 OEM, by contrast, averages 58,085 and lands in the 87th percentile. While both are strong performers relative to the entire GPU market, the Tesla P40's higher average score reflects its Vulkan dominance pulling the overall figure upward. The OpenCL result is worth examining more closely: a 0.7% delta is within noise, but it does suggest that in pure compute tasks without graphics API overhead, the two cards are nearly interchangeable. The Vulkan result, however, is not close. A 26.8% lead in any benchmark is substantial, and it indicates the Tesla P40's architecture extracts far more performance from Vulkan's explicit multi-threading and command buffer model.

The nearest rival data adds context to each card's standing. The Tesla P40 sits between the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (64,212 average, 1.4% behind) and the AMD Radeon VII (66,004 average, 1.4% ahead). Its average of 65,095 is also 2% ahead of both the NVIDIA CMP 30HX and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP. The RX 5600 OEM, meanwhile, is tightly clustered with mid-range competitors: it trails the Intel Arc A570M by 0.3% and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT by 0.5%, while leading the Intel Arc A580 by 0.6% and the NVIDIA P102-100 by 0.8%. This clustering shows the RX 5600 OEM is a solidly mid-pack performer, while the Tesla P40's nearest rivals are all higher-tier cards, reflecting its superior average score.

Where Each One Wins

The use-case split is starkly defined by the benchmark results. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 is the clear winner for any workload that relies on Vulkan, whether that is gaming under Linux, Vulkan-based compute applications, or GPU-accelerated rendering pipelines that target this API. Its 26.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is not a marginal advantage; it is a category-defining one. For professionals running Vulkan-centric workloads, the Tesla P40's 24 GB of GDDR5 memory also provides a massive capacity advantage over the RX 5600 OEM's 6 GB, which matters for large datasets, high-resolution textures, or multi-model inference batches that exceed 6 GB. The Tesla P40's pixel rate of 147.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 367.4 GTexel/s further support its dominance in fill-rate-bound graphics tasks.

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM wins in OpenCL compute, albeit by a small margin. Its 62,427 OpenCL score against 62,017 shows it can hold its own in general-purpose compute that uses OpenCL rather than Vulkan. The RX 5600 OEM also has a massive advantage in power efficiency: its 125 W TDP is exactly half of the Tesla P40's 250 W. For systems where power draw, cooling, or PSU headroom are constraints, the RX 5600 OEM is the only rational choice. Its 300 W suggested PSU versus the Tesla P40's 600 W requirement means the AMD card can slot into far more modest builds without upgrades. The RX 5600 OEM also brings display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the Tesla P40 has no outputs at all — making the AMD card suitable for direct display use, whereas the Tesla requires a separate GPU or headless operation.

Architecture Differences

These two cards come from completely different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip on the Pascal architecture, built on TSMC's 16 nm process. It packs 11,800 million transistors into a 471 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.1M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM uses the Navi 10 chip on RDNA 1.0, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm node. It contains 10,300 million transistors in a much smaller 251 mm² die, achieving a significantly higher density of 41.0M per mm². The 7 nm process gives AMD a clear manufacturing advantage, allowing more transistors per area and the efficiency gains that come with a newer node.

The compute configurations diverge sharply. The Tesla P40 has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The RX 5600 OEM has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This gives the Tesla P40 roughly 87.5% more shading units and 87.5% more TMUs, explaining its higher theoretical throughput: 11.76 TFLOPS FP32 versus 6.390 TFLOPS for the AMD card. The RX 5600 OEM, however, has a massive FP16 advantage with 12.78 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus the Tesla P40's 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio). This makes the AMD card far better suited for workloads that leverage FP16 precision, such as certain AI inference or image processing tasks.

Memory configurations are equally different. The Tesla P40 uses 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 347.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 5600 OEM uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s. While the Tesla's bandwidth is 20.5% higher, the AMD card's GDDR6 memory operates at 12 Gbps effective versus the Tesla's 7.2 Gbps — though the wider bus on the Tesla compensates. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the Tesla has a base clock of 1303 MHz and boost of 1531 MHz, while the RX 5600 OEM runs at 1130 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1375 MHz. The AMD card boosts slightly higher, but the Tesla's larger configuration does the heavy lifting.

Feature differences are notable. The Tesla P40 has no display outputs, uses an 8-pin EPS power connector, and supports PCIe 3.0 x16. The RX 5600 OEM has full display outputs, uses a standard 1x 8-pin connector, and supports PCIe 4.0 x16. The PCIe 4.0 interface doubles the bandwidth available to the AMD card, which can matter for data transfers between GPU and system memory. The Tesla P40 was released in September 2016 with a launch MSRP of 5,699 USD, while the RX 5600 OEM came in January 2020 with no MSRP listed. Both are end-of-life products, but the Tesla's Pascal generation predates the AMD card's RDNA 1.0 by over three years.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split decision based on workload. If your priority is Vulkan performance, the NVIDIA Tesla P40 is the definitive choice. Its 26.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan, combined with 24 GB of memory and higher pixel/texture rates, makes it unbeatable for graphics-heavy Vulkan workloads. The Tesla P40 also has the higher average benchmark score (65,095 vs 58,085) and sits in a higher percentile (89th vs 87th), indicating it is the more powerful card overall.

If your priority is OpenCL compute, power efficiency, or direct display output, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM wins. Its OpenCL score is essentially tied with the Tesla, making it the better value in that specific domain when you factor in the 125 W TDP versus 250 W — though we cannot discuss value in monetary terms. The RX 5600 OEM's FP16 throughput (12.78 TFLOPS) is dramatically higher than the Tesla's (183.7 GFLOPS), making it the only sensible choice for FP16-centric compute tasks. Its display outputs make it usable as a primary GPU, something the Tesla P40 cannot do. The RX 5600 OEM's PCIe 4.0 support and smaller physical footprint (no length specified, but the Tesla is 267 mm) also make it easier to integrate into modern systems.

For most builders, the RX 5600 OEM is the more practical daily driver: it consumes half the power, outputs to displays, and handles OpenCL compute admirably. The Tesla P40 is a specialist tool for Vulkan workloads or scenarios requiring massive memory capacity. The 24 GB frame buffer alone justifies its existence for large-model inference or high-resolution texture-heavy applications, provided the system can supply 250 W and a 600 W PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 wins decisively with a score of 68,172 versus the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM's 53,743, a 26.8% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM scores 62,427, narrowly beating the NVIDIA Tesla P40's 62,017. The delta is only 0.7%, making it effectively a tie.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has 24 GB of GDDR5, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6. The Tesla offers four times the capacity.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute power?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 delivers 11.76 TFLOPS FP32, versus 6.390 TFLOPS for the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM. The Tesla is roughly 84% higher.

Q: Can either card output to a display?

A: Only the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a). The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has no outputs.

Q: What are the TDP requirements?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has a 250 W TDP and suggests a 600 W PSU. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has a 125 W TDP and suggests a 300 W PSU.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla P40 | AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Pascal | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 11,800 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 471 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1303 MHz | 1130 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1531 MHz | 1560 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 1375 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 347.1 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 7.2 Gbps effective | 12 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 240 | 128 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| FP32 Performance | 11.76 TFLOPS | 6.390 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64) | 12.78 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 147.0 GPixel/s | 99.84 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 367.4 GTexel/s | 199.7 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 250 W | 125 W |

| Power Connectors | 8-pin EPS | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2016-09-12 | 2020-01-20 |

| Launch MSRP | 5,699 USD | Not listed |

| Predecessor | Tesla Maxwell | Vega |

| Successor | Tesla Volta | Navi II |