AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT scores 48,289, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 10,318. This gives AMD a 368% advantage.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap between these two cards?

A: The RX 6500 XT records 54,724 points versus the Tesla M10's 9,130 points, a lead of 499.4% for AMD.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RX 6500 XT has an average benchmark score of 11,842, while the Tesla M10 averages 9,724. The AMD card sits at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, the NVIDIA card at the 47th.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RX 6500 XT achieves 90.08 GPixel/s, far exceeding the Tesla M10's 20.90 GPixel/s.

Q: What interface does each card use to connect to the motherboard?

A: The RX 6500 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the Tesla M10 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Q: Does the Tesla M10 support display outputs?

A: No, the Tesla M10 has no display outputs, whereas the RX 6500 XT provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The two cards belong to completely different design eras and philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using the Navi 24 chip, manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It packs 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 50.5M per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA Tesla M10 uses the older Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 1,870 million transistors on a larger 148 mm² die, resulting in a much lower density of 12.6M per mm².

The RX 6500 XT is a gaming-oriented part from the Radeon RX 6000 series, featuring 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 16 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla M10. The Tesla M10, part of the Tesla Maxwell generation, has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. It has no ray tracing hardware and no tensor cores, just like the AMD card.

Clock speeds reveal another major architectural gap. The RX 6500 XT runs at a base clock of 2310 MHz, a game clock of 2610 MHz, and a boost clock of 2815 MHz. The Tesla M10 operates at a base of 1033 MHz and a boost of 1306 MHz. The AMD card's much higher frequencies, combined with its newer architecture, drive substantial performance differences.

Memory architecture also differs. The RX 6500 XT uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 143.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla M10 features 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, but only achieves 83.20 GB/s. Despite having double the VRAM capacity, the NVIDIA card's older memory type and lower effective speed (5.2 Gbps versus 18 Gbps) hold it back.

API support shows another divergence. The RX 6500 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla M10 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the AMD card's newer feature set includes hardware ray tracing, which the Maxwell-based Tesla cannot handle.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT wins both recorded head-to-head tests. The Tesla M10 does not win a single benchmark in the comparison. However, the two cards serve different purposes, and the data suggests distinct use cases.

The RX 6500 XT is clearly designed for client-side graphics work, gaming, and any workload that requires display output. Its 1x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs make it suitable for direct connection to monitors. Its high clock speeds and modern RDNA 2.0 architecture give it massive advantages in compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL and Vulkan.

The Tesla M10, with no display outputs, is a server or datacenter accelerator. Its 8 GB of VRAM, double that of the RX 6500 XT, suggests it was intended for workloads that need larger memory pools, such as virtual desktop infrastructure or GPU-accelerated compute in virtualized environments. The 128-bit bus and larger frame buffer may help in scenarios where memory capacity matters more than raw speed.

In terms of benchmark percentiles, the RX 6500 XT ranks at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M10 ranks at the 47th. This places both cards in the mid-range of the overall GPU landscape, but the AMD card holds a clear edge in raw performance metrics.

For users who need a display-connected GPU with modern features like ray tracing, the RX 6500 XT is the obvious choice. For those running headless server deployments where memory capacity and lower power draw per virtual machine might be prioritized, the Tesla M10's 8 GB could be more suitable, despite its slower compute performance.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT | NVIDIA Tesla M10 |

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

| Process Node | 6 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 5,400 million | 1,870 million |

| Die Size | 107 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2310 MHz | 1033 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2815 MHz | 1306 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 143.9 GB/s | 83.20 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 640 |

| TMUs | 64 | 40 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 16 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 90.08 GPixel/s | 20.90 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 180.2 GTexel/s | 52.24 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.765 TFLOPS | 1.672 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 107 W | 225 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Release Date | 2022-01-18 | 2016-05-17 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows two benchmark comparisons, both won decisively by the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6500 XT scores 48,289 points. The Tesla M10 manages only 10,318 points. This translates to a delta of 368%, meaning the AMD card delivers nearly four times the OpenCL compute performance. The gap is so large that it suggests fundamental architectural superiority rather than incremental improvement. The RX 6500 XT's 5.765 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput versus the Tesla M10's 1.672 TFLOPS aligns with this result.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin widens further. The RX 6500 XT records 54,724 points, while the Tesla M10 scores 9,130. The delta here is 499.4%, meaning the AMD card outperforms the NVIDIA card by a factor of roughly six. Vulkan is a modern low-level API, and the Maxwell architecture's lack of support for newer features like ray tracing likely contributes to this massive shortfall.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The RX 6500 XT averages 11,842 across all recorded tests, while the Tesla M10 averages 9,724. Interestingly, the nearest rivals for each card provide context for their relative positioning. The RX 6500 XT is within 1% of the GeForce GTX 1080's average score of 11,960, and within 1.3% of the GTX 960A's 11,998. It actually edges ahead of the GTX 1660 (11,680) by 1.4% and the RX 7800 XT (11,627) by 1.9%. The Tesla M10 sits within 0.1% of the Tesla C2070 (9,716), within 0.6% of the GTX 1070 (9,780), within 0.6% of the Quadro P4000 (9,665), and within 0.7% of the Radeon Pro WX 2100 (9,653).

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner in raw performance: the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT dominates the NVIDIA Tesla M10 in every recorded benchmark. The 368% OpenCL lead and the 499.4% Vulkan lead are not close calls; they represent different performance tiers entirely.

The RX 6500 XT is the appropriate choice for anyone needing a client-side GPU with display outputs, modern API support including DirectX 12 Ultimate, and hardware ray tracing. Its 6 nm process, 5.765 TFLOPS FP32 performance, and 90.08 GPixel/s pixel rate make it suitable for gaming and general graphics workloads. Its 107 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU also make it far more power-efficient than the Tesla M10's 225 W TDP and 550 W PSU requirement.

The Tesla M10, despite losing every benchmark, serves a different niche. Its 8 GB of VRAM, double the RX 6500 XT's 4 GB, could be advantageous in server environments where memory capacity per GPU is more important than compute speed. Its 128-bit memory bus and 83.20 GB/s bandwidth, while slower, may still handle certain virtualized workloads. However, the data shows that even in compute-oriented tests like OpenCL, the RX 6500 XT is vastly superior.

For most users, the RX 6500 XT is the better purchase. Its launch MSRP of 199 USD positions it as an entry-level option that outperforms a professional server card from 2016. The Tesla M10's only advantages are memory capacity and a longer physical length of 267 mm (10.5 inches), which matters only in specific server chassis. The recorded data leaves little room for debate: the AMD card wins on performance, efficiency, and modern feature support.