AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs NVIDIA Tesla K40m Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one directly comparable benchmark between these two cards, and it is a decisive result. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 29,668 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m scores 19,885 points. That is a 49.2% advantage for the AMD card, a massive margin in a compute-oriented workload. The RX 580 2048SP wins the only head-to-head test recorded, giving it a 1-0 record over the Tesla K40m.

This OpenCL result is particularly relevant because both cards are frequently used in general-purpose compute scenarios, not just gaming. The AMD card's 49.2% lead in this test indicates that its architecture handles OpenCL workloads far more efficiently than the older Kepler design. The gap is so large that it is unlikely to be explained by driver optimizations alone; it reflects fundamental architectural improvements that arrived between the two products.

Looking at broader database averages, the RX 580 2048SP carries an average benchmark score of 23,061, while the Tesla K40m averages 19,885. The RX 580 2048SP sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, while the Tesla K40m sits at the 65th percentile. The percentile difference is smaller than the raw score difference, which suggests the Tesla K40m benefits from a relatively sparse competitive field in its segment. Still, the RX 580 2048SP ranks higher overall.

The nearest rivals for each card put these scores into context. The RX 580 2048SP is essentially tied with the Intel Arc B580, which scores 23,021 and trails by just 0.2%. It is also within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which scores 22,895, and it trails the NVIDIA P106-100 by only 0.8% (23,249) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 by 0.5% (23,172). These are all modern or recent cards, which means the RX 580 2048SP is competitive with hardware released years after it.

The Tesla K40m, by contrast, has nearest rivals that are mostly workstation or older cards. It trails the AMD FirePro W7000 by 0.1% (19,905), beats the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT by 0.6% (19,765), the AMD FirePro D300 by 1.3% (19,637), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 by 1.4% (19,602). The RX 6650 XT being in this list is notable, as it is a much newer gaming card, yet the Tesla K40m edges it out in average score. That reflects the Tesla K40m's compute capabilities despite its age.

The RX 580 2048SP also has additional benchmark data that the Tesla K40m lacks. It scores 849 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 38,666 in Geekbench Vulkan. The Tesla K40m has no recorded results in either of those tests, which limits direct comparison but also highlights where the AMD card is more versatile. The Vulkan score of 38,666 is particularly strong, suggesting the GCN 4.0 architecture handles modern graphics APIs well.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is significantly faster. It scores 29,668 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 19,885 for the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, a 49.2% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall database ranking?

A: The RX 580 2048SP has an average benchmark score of 23,061 and sits at the 68th percentile, while the Tesla K40m averages 19,885 and sits at the 65th percentile.

Q: What is the closest rival to each card?

A: The RX 580 2048SP's closest rival is the Intel Arc B580, which is just 0.2% behind. The Tesla K40m's closest rival is the AMD FirePro W7000, which is 0.1% behind.

Q: Does the Tesla K40m have any recorded DX12 or Vulkan benchmarks?

A: No. The Tesla K40m only has a Geekbench OpenCL score in the database. The RX 580 2048SP has scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K40m has a higher pixel rate at 52.56 GPixel/s, compared to 41.09 GPixel/s for the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP.

Q: How do the cards compare in texture throughput?

A: The Tesla K40m has a higher texture rate at 210.2 GTexel/s, while the RX 580 2048SP delivers 164.4 GTexel/s. The Tesla K40m leads in both fill rate metrics despite losing heavily in OpenCL.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is built on GCN 4.0 with the Polaris 20 chip, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA Tesla K40m uses the Kepler architecture with the GK110B chip, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference is substantial: 14 nm versus 28 nm. That explains much of the efficiency gap between them.

Transistor counts tell an interesting story. The Tesla K40m packs 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 580 2048SP has fewer transistors at 5,700 million, but they are packed onto a much smaller 232 mm² die, yielding a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD card achieves nearly double the transistor density, which is a direct consequence of the more advanced 14 nm process.

Shader configuration differs significantly. The Tesla K40m has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The RX 580 2048SP has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite having fewer of every execution unit type, the AMD card still wins the OpenCL benchmark, which shows that raw unit counts do not tell the whole story. Clock speeds are a major factor here. The RX 580 2048SP runs at a base clock of 1168 MHz and boosts to 1284 MHz. The Tesla K40m operates at just 745 MHz base and 876 MHz boost. The AMD card's much higher clocks compensate for its lower unit counts.

Floating-point performance is close, which is remarkable given the architectural gap. The RX 580 2048SP delivers 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Tesla K40m delivers 5.046 TFLOPS. The AMD card also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, also rated at 5.259 TFLOPS. The Tesla K40m has no recorded FP16 capability, which is a significant limitation for workloads that can use reduced precision.

The Tesla K40m supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RX 580 2048SP supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6. For Vulkan, the RX 580 2048SP supports version 1.3, while the Tesla K40m supports 1.2.175. The AMD card also has display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the Tesla K40m has no display outputs at all, as it is a compute-focused accelerator.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystems differ in both capacity and configuration. The RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The Tesla K40m has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 288.4 GB/s at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The Tesla K40m has three times the memory capacity and about 29% more bandwidth.

Power draw is another major difference. The RX 580 2048SP is rated at 150 W TDP, while the Tesla K40m is rated at 245 W TDP. The suggested power supply for the AMD card is 450 W, while the Tesla K40m suggests 550 W. The RX 580 2048SP uses a single 8-pin power connector, while the Tesla K40m has no listed power connector, which is typical for a card designed for server installations.

Physical dimensions differ as well. The RX 580 2048SP measures 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length, while the Tesla K40m is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches). Both are dual-slot cards. The RX 580 2048SP uses the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, as does the Tesla K40m.

The AMD card has a lower base clock at 1168 MHz versus 745 MHz, but the Tesla K40m has more shading units, TMUs, and ROPs. The RX 580 2048SP has higher FP32 throughput at 5.259 TFLOPS versus 5.046 TFLOPS. The Tesla K40m has a higher pixel rate at 52.56 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate at 210.2 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s. The two cards have different release dates, with the RX 580 2048SP launching later. Both are end-of-life products. The Tesla K40m had a launch MSRP of 7,699 USD.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for most use cases. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 49.2% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla K40m in Geekbench OpenCL, the only directly comparable benchmark. It also has a higher average benchmark score (23,061 versus 19,885) and a higher percentile rank (68th versus 65th). Anyone choosing between these two for general compute tasks should look at the RX 580 2048SP first.

However, the Tesla K40m has advantages that matter in specific contexts. Its 12 GB of memory is triple the RX 580 2048SP's 4 GB. For workloads that require large datasets to reside on the GPU, that capacity advantage is decisive. The Tesla K40m also has higher memory bandwidth at 288.4 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s, along with faster pixel and texture rates. If the workload is memory-bound or fill-rate-bound, the Tesla K40m could be the better choice.

The RX 580 2048SP wins on efficiency. It has a lower TDP at 150 W versus 245 W, requires a smaller power supply at 450 W versus 550 W, and delivers higher FP32 performance at 5.259 TFLOPS versus 5.046 TFLOPS. It also supports FP16, which the Tesla K40m does not, and it has newer API support including DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 580 2048SP can also output to displays, while the Tesla K40m cannot.

For a general-purpose GPU that can handle gaming, compute, and modern APIs, the RX 580 2048SP is the clear pick. For a dedicated compute accelerator with massive memory capacity in a server environment, the Tesla K40m has a specific role that the AMD card cannot fill. The verdict depends entirely on whether memory capacity or compute throughput matters more.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 580 2048SP wins in raw compute performance. Its OpenCL score is 49.2% higher, its average benchmark score is 15.9% higher, and its FP32 throughput is 4.2% higher. It wins on power efficiency with a 150 W TDP versus 245 W, and it wins on modern feature support with DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and FP16 capability. It is also the only one of the two that can drive displays, making it suitable for a desktop workstation where the GPU must also output video.

The Tesla K40m wins in memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 12 GB frame buffer is three times larger than the RX 580 2048SP's 4 GB, and its 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth beats the AMD card by about 29%. It also wins on pixel rate (52.56 GPixel/s versus 41.09 GPixel/s) and texture rate (210.2 GTexel/s versus 164.4 GTexel/s). Its higher TDP of 245 W is a disadvantage, but that power budget buys higher fill rates.

The Tesla K40m also holds its own in the competitive landscape. Despite being an older card, it edges out the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT by 0.6% in average score, and it beats the AMD FirePro D300 by 1.3% and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 by 1.4%. The RX 580 2048SP, meanwhile, trades blows with much newer cards like the Intel Arc B580, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, all within less than 1% of its average score.

The practical split is clear. If the workload is machine learning inference or data processing that needs to hold large models or datasets in GPU memory, the Tesla K40m's 12 GB capacity is the deciding factor. If the workload is general compute, gaming, or any task that benefits from modern API support and higher clock speeds, the RX 580 2048SP is the better card. The 49.2% OpenCL lead is too large to ignore, and it comes with lower power consumption and a smaller physical footprint.