AMD Radeon RX 5600M vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two shared benchmark results between the NVIDIA Tesla P40 and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, and in both cases the Tesla P40 emerges ahead. The most decisive margin appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the Tesla P40 scores 68,172 against the RX 5600M’s 48,843. That is a 39.6% advantage, a substantial gap that suggests the Pascal-based card handles Vulkan workloads with considerably greater efficiency in this specific measurement. The OpenCL result is closer: the Tesla P40 scores 62,017 while the RX 5600M posts 59,589, a 4.1% lead for the NVIDIA part. While the delta is far smaller than the Vulkan gap, it still represents a consistent win direction across both API-level tests.

Looking at the broader database context, the Tesla P40’s average benchmark score is 65,095, which places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (average score 64,212, 1.4% behind), the AMD Radeon VII (average score 66,004, 1.4% ahead), the NVIDIA CMP 30HX (average score 63,842, 2% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP (average score 63,830, 2% behind). The RX 5600M, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 46,601, sitting in the 85th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A530M (average score 46,614, effectively tied at 0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6550M (average score 46,702, 0.2% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (average score 46,043, 1.2% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (average score 45,972, 1.4% behind). These percentile and rival comparisons show that the Tesla P40 operates in a substantially higher performance tier, roughly 40% above the RX 5600M’s average score.

The Vulkan result deserves particular attention. A 39.6% delta is not a marginal difference; it indicates that the Tesla P40’s architecture and driver stack deliver far stronger Vulkan performance in the database’s measurements. The OpenCL gap, at 4.1%, is much narrower, implying that the two cards are closer in compute-oriented OpenCL tasks, but the Tesla P40 still retains the edge. With two wins for the Tesla P40 and zero for the RX 5600M, the head-to-head record is unambiguous.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 wins both recorded tests. It leads by 4.1% in Geekbench OpenCL (62,017 vs 59,589) and by 39.6% in Geekbench Vulkan (68,172 vs 48,843).

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall average benchmark score?

A: The Tesla P40 has an average benchmark score of 65,095, while the RX 5600M averages 46,601. This places the Tesla P40 in the 89th percentile of all GPUs and the RX 5600M in the 85th percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card according to the database?

A: For the Tesla P40, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (1.4% behind), AMD Radeon VII (1.4% ahead), NVIDIA CMP 30HX (2% behind), and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP (2% behind). For the RX 5600M, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A530M (0% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6550M (0.2% ahead), NVIDIA RTX A2000 (1.2% behind), and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (1.4% behind).

Q: Does the RX 5600M win any benchmark test against the Tesla P40?

A: No. The RX 5600M has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison. The Tesla P40 wins both the OpenCL and Vulkan tests.

Q: How does the memory configuration differ between the two cards?

A: The Tesla P40 features 24 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 347.1 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600M has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the manufacturing process difference?

A: The Tesla P40 uses a 16 nm process node at TSMC, while the RX 5600M uses a 7 nm process node, also at TSMC. The RX 5600M’s die is 251 mm² versus 471 mm² for the Tesla P40.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different architectural generations. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 is built on the Pascal architecture, specifically the GP102 chip, and belongs to the Tesla Pascal (Pxx) generation. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M uses the RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip, falling under the Navi Mobile (RX 5000M) generation. These architectural lineages diverge in several key areas that explain the performance deltas observed in the database.

The process technology shows a clear generational shift. The Tesla P40 is fabricated on TSMC’s 16 nm node, while the RX 5600M uses TSMC’s 7 nm node. The transistor counts are comparable in raw terms: 11,800 million for the Tesla P40 versus 10,300 million for the RX 5600M. However, the die sizes differ dramatically, with the Tesla P40 measuring 471 mm² and the RX 5600M at 251 mm². This yields a transistor density of 25.1 million transistors per mm² for the Pascal card and 41.0 million per mm² for the RDNA part. The 7 nm process allows the RX 5600M to pack more transistors into a smaller area, a sign of architectural efficiency improvements despite the lower absolute transistor count.

Compute resources also differ significantly. The Tesla P40 has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. The RX 5600M has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. These counts directly influence pixel and texture throughput. The Tesla P40 posts a pixel rate of 147.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 367.4 GTexel/s, while the RX 5600M achieves 80.96 GPixel/s and 182.2 GTexel/s. The Tesla P40’s raw throughput advantages are substantial, roughly 82% higher in pixel rate and 102% higher in texture rate. This aligns with the overall benchmark gap, though the OpenCL test shows the RX 5600M can narrow the difference in certain workloads.

Floating-point performance reveals an interesting split. The Tesla P40 delivers 11.76 TFLOPS of FP32 compute but only 183.7 GFLOPS of FP16, reflecting a 1:64 FP16 ratio. The RX 5600M provides 5.829 TFLOPS of FP32 and 11.66 TFLOPS of FP16, using a 2:1 ratio. The RX 5600M is therefore far stronger in FP16 workloads, offering more than 60 times the FP16 throughput of the Tesla P40. This architectural choice reflects different design priorities: Pascal was optimized for FP32 compute in datacenter roles, while RDNA 1.0 was built with more balanced or FP16-friendly capabilities for gaming and consumer workloads.

The Tesla P40 has no display outputs, while the RX 5600M’s outputs are listed as portable device dependent. This reflects their intended use cases: the Tesla P40 is a compute-focused accelerator with no video connectivity, whereas the RX 5600M is a mobile GPU designed to drive laptop displays. The bus interfaces also differ, with the Tesla P40 using PCIe 3.0 x16 and the RX 5600M using PCIe 4.0 x16, though the impact of this difference is not directly quantified in the benchmark data.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge across nearly every measured specification. Clock speeds show the Tesla P40 running at a 1303 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost, while the RX 5600M has a 1035 MHz base, 1265 MHz boost, and a 1190 MHz game clock. The memory clocks also differ: the Tesla P40 uses 1808 MHz with 7.2 Gbps effective, and the RX 5600M uses 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective. Memory capacity and type are completely different as well: 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus versus 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth favors the Tesla P40 at 347.1 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s for the RX 5600M.

Power and physical characteristics are starkly different. The Tesla P40 has a 250 W TDP, a dual-slot form factor, an 8-pin EPS power connector, and a suggested PSU of 600 W. Its dimensions are 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The RX 5600M has a 150 W TDP, is listed as IGP (integrated graphics package) for slot width, requires no power connectors, and has no suggested PSU or dimensions listed. The Tesla P40 is a large, power-hungry accelerator card, while the RX 5600M is a mobile-oriented chip with lower power draw and no discrete card footprint.

API support is identical in both DirectX and OpenGL: both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, with Vulkan 1.4. Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The release dates are separated by several years, with the Tesla P40 launching on September 12, 2016, and the RX 5600M launching on July 6, 2020. Both are end-of-life products. The Tesla P40’s predecessor is Tesla Maxwell and its successor is Tesla Volta, while the RX 5600M’s predecessor is Polaris Mobile and it has no listed successor. The Tesla P40 has a launch MSRP of 5,699 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the RX 5600M.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on use case and workload priorities. For applications that rely on Vulkan performance, the NVIDIA Tesla P40 is the definitive choice. Its 39.6% lead over the RX 5600M in Geekbench Vulkan is the largest margin recorded in any shared test, and its average benchmark score of 65,095 places it in the 89th percentile, roughly 40% above the RX 5600M’s average of 46,601. The Tesla P40 also offers substantially higher memory capacity (24 GB versus 6 GB), greater bandwidth (347.1 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s), and far higher pixel and texture rates. These specifications make it suited for memory-intensive compute tasks, particularly those that do not require FP16 throughput.

The AMD Radeon RX 5600M, while behind in the recorded benchmarks, has its own strengths that the data cannot ignore. Its FP16 performance of 11.66 TFLOPS dwarfs the Tesla P40’s 183.7 GFLOPS, a difference of more than 60 times. For workloads that leverage FP16 arithmetic, the RX 5600M is the superior option despite its lower overall average score. Its 7 nm process and smaller die (251 mm² versus 471 mm²) also indicate greater power efficiency per transistor, and its 150 W TDP is 100 W lower than the Tesla P40’s 250 W. The RX 5600M’s nearest rivals in the database all sit within a narrow 1.4% band, suggesting it is a competitive mid-range mobile part, whereas the Tesla P40 competes in a higher tier against cards like the AMD Radeon VII and Radeon Pro WX 9100.

The verdict for a buyer depends on which metrics matter most. If the priority is raw compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan, the Tesla P40 wins decisively in both shared tests. If the priority is FP16 throughput, lower power draw, or a smaller physical footprint, the RX 5600M is the only option with meaningful advantages. The Tesla P40’s lack of display outputs also makes it unsuitable for any system requiring video output, while the RX 5600M is designed for portable devices with display support. The data does not show a single universal winner; it shows two GPUs optimized for different environments. The Tesla P40 is a datacenter-oriented accelerator with high FP32 throughput and large memory capacity, while the RX 5600M is a mobile GPU with exceptional FP16 capabilities and modern process efficiency. Users should select based on the specific workload profile and system constraints, not on aggregate scores alone.