AMD Radeon RX 7700S vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a split decision between these two very different GPUs, with each taking one of the two shared benchmark tests. The AMD Radeon RX 7700S wins decisively in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 62,983 against the NVIDIA Tesla M40's 39,192. That is a 37.8% advantage for the AMD part, a substantial margin that reflects the much higher raw compute throughput of the RDNA 3.0 architecture in this particular workload. The Tesla M40's Maxwell 2.0 architecture, while strong in its era, simply cannot match the modern shader engine efficiency in this test.

The NVIDIA Tesla M40 strikes back in Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 44,602 compared to the RX 7700S's 36,380. This gives the Tesla a 22.6% lead, a significant reversal from the OpenCL result. The Vulkan test appears to favor the Tesla's driver optimization and compute scheduling in this specific API, even though the AMD part has a much higher theoretical FP32 throughput. The data suggests that raw TFLOPS do not directly translate to Vulkan performance here, as the M40's 6.832 TFLOPS FP32 is far lower than the RX 7700S's 20.48 TFLOPS, yet the Tesla still wins this benchmark.

Looking at the broader database context, the Tesla M40 sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,897. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (average score 41,707, delta 0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (41,187, delta 1.7%), and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42,723, delta -1.9%). This places the Tesla M40 in a competitive position against much newer consumer cards, with the data showing it is within 2% of the RTX 3080 Ti's average score. The AMD Radeon RX 7700S, by contrast, holds the 78th percentile with an average score of 33,849. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7950 (33,951, delta -0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 480 (33,997, delta -0.4%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB (33,694, delta 0.5%). The RX 7700S is essentially tied with these older cards in average score, despite being a modern mobile part.

The average benchmark score difference is substantial: the Tesla M40 averages 41,897, while the RX 7700S averages 33,849. That is a 23.8% gap in favor of the Tesla when considering all recorded tests. However, the head-to-head data complicates this picture, as each card wins one test. The OpenCL result is the larger margin (37.8%), while the Vulkan result is narrower (22.6%). The wins are evenly split at one apiece, but the magnitudes matter: the AMD victory in OpenCL is more decisive than the NVIDIA victory in Vulkan.

The Verdict

The data points to different users for each card, strictly based on recorded measurements. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 is the stronger overall performer in the benchmark database, with a higher average score (41,897 vs. 33,849) and a higher percentile ranking (83rd vs. 78th). Its Vulkan score of 44,602 is particularly impressive, given that it exceeds the RX 7700S by 22.6% in that test. The Tesla also holds its own against much newer rivals, coming within 1.7% of the RTX 3080 Ti's average score. This card is suited for workloads that favor Vulkan compute and for users who need a dual-slot, PCIe 3.0 x16 solution with 12 GB of GDDR5 memory and 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 250 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU reflect a desktop-oriented, power-hungry design, but the benchmark data shows it still delivers competitive compute performance.

The AMD Radeon RX 7700S, on the other hand, is the choice for OpenCL-heavy applications. Its 62,983 OpenCL score is a standout result, and the 37.8% lead over the Tesla in that test is the largest margin recorded in either direction. The RX 7700S also brings modern features that the Tesla lacks, including 32 ray accelerators, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and a 6 nm process node. Its 100 W TDP and IGP form factor make it a mobile-oriented part, with no power connectors required and portable-device-dependent display outputs. For users running OpenCL compute workloads on a laptop, the RX 7700S is clearly the better option based on the data. However, its average score is dragged down by the Vulkan result, and its nearest rivals include older cards like the Radeon HD 7950 and RX 480, indicating that its overall standing is not as strong as the Tesla's.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M40 has an average benchmark score of 41,897, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700S averages 33,849, giving the Tesla a 23.8% advantage.

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

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 44,602 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 22.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700S's score of 36,380.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon RX 7700S scores 62,983 versus the Tesla M40's 39,192, a 37.8% difference.

Q: Which GPU has better ray tracing support?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700S includes 32 ray accelerators, while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 has no ray accelerator cores listed. The RX 7700S also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, whereas the Tesla only supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: How does the Tesla M40 compare to the RTX 3080 Ti in the database?

A: The Tesla M40's average score of 41,897 is 1.7% higher than the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti's average of 41,187.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The Tesla M40 has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 7700S has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 uses a 28 nm process node, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700S uses a 6 nm node, both from TSMC. Transistor counts differ significantly: the Tesla has 8,000 million transistors on a 601 mm² die, while the RX 7700S has 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 13.3M per mm² for the Tesla and 65.2M per mm² for the RX 7700S.

Clock speeds also diverge. The Tesla M40 runs at a base clock of 948 MHz and a boost clock of 1112 MHz, while the RX 7700S runs at 1500 MHz base and 2500 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2200 MHz. Memory clocks differ as well: the Tesla uses 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) GDDR5, while the RX 7700S uses 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) GDDR6.

The memory subsystem is otherwise similar in bandwidth but different in capacity and bus width. The Tesla M40 has 12 GB of memory with a 384-bit bus, while the RX 7700S has 8 GB with a 128-bit bus. Both achieve near-identical bandwidth: 288.4 GB/s for the Tesla and 288.0 GB/s for the RX 7700S.

Compute resources differ in count and type. The Tesla M40 has 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. The RX 7700S has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but adds 32 ray accelerators. The Tesla has no ray accelerators or tensor cores, and the RX 7700S also has no tensor cores listed.

Pixel and texture rates favor the RX 7700S: it achieves 160.0 GPixel/s and 320.0 GTexel/s, versus the Tesla's 106.8 GPixel/s and 213.5 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput also heavily favors the RX 7700S at 20.48 TFLOPS, compared to the Tesla's 6.832 TFLOPS. The RX 7700S additionally has FP16 capability at 40.96 TFLOPS (2:1), while the Tesla has no listed FP16 rate.

Power and form factor differences are stark. The Tesla M40 has a 250 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses an 8-pin EPS power connector, and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX 7700S has a 100 W TDP, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor), uses no power connectors, and has no suggested PSU listed. The Tesla is 267 mm long (10.5 inches), while the RX 7700S has no listed dimensions.

Bus interfaces differ: the Tesla uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 7700S uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the Tesla has no outputs, while the RX 7700S has portable-device-dependent outputs. Production status and release dates also differ: the Tesla is end-of-life and was released on 2015-11-09, while the RX 7700S is active and was released on 2023-01-03.

Architecture Differences

The architecture gap between these two GPUs is generational. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 is built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, using the GM200 chip. Its generation is labeled "Tesla Maxwell (Mxx)", and its predecessor is Tesla Kepler, with Tesla Pascal as its successor. The AMD Radeon RX 7700S uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on the Navi 33 chip, with the codename "Hotpink Bonefish". Its generation is "Navi Mobile (RX 7000M)", and its predecessor is Polaris Mobile.

The process technology difference is significant: 28 nm for the Tesla versus 6 nm for the RX 7700S. This explains the transistor density disparity, with the RX 7700S packing 65.2M transistors per mm² versus the Tesla's 13.3M per mm². The die size also reflects this: the Tesla is a large 601 mm² chip, while the RX 7700S is a compact 204 mm² design.

API support differs in DirectX version. The Tesla M40 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 7700S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7700S's DirectX 12 Ultimate support aligns with its ray accelerator hardware, which the Tesla lacks entirely.

The RX 7700S's 32 ray accelerators are a major architectural addition, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing that the Maxwell 2.0 architecture does not provide. The Tesla M40 was designed for compute workloads in a server/datacenter context, as evidenced by its lack of display outputs and its EPS power connector. The RX 7700S, by contrast, is designed for mobile gaming and portable devices, with its IGP form factor and no external power requirements.

Shader architecture differs fundamentally: Maxwell 2.0 uses a traditional scalar design with 3072 CUDA cores, while RDNA 3.0 uses a wave32/wave64 execution model with 2048 stream processors. The higher FP32 throughput of the RX 7700S (20.48 TFLOPS) relative to its lower shader count (2048 vs. 3072) indicates a much higher per-shader efficiency, likely due to the 2.25x higher boost clock (2500 MHz vs. 1112 MHz). The FP16 support on the RX 7700S (40.96 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio) is another architectural advantage, as the Tesla has no listed FP16 capability.