AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs NVIDIA Tesla K40m Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m are two very different GPUs that nonetheless land close together in aggregate benchmark scores. The Tesla K40m edges out a narrow victory in the only shared benchmark, while the Vega M GL offers a more modern feature set and significantly lower power consumption. The data shows a classic clash between an older, high-performance compute card and a newer, efficient mobile part.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results indicate a single point of comparison: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this specific workload, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m wins, posting a score of 19,885 against the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL’s 19,549. This represents a 1.7% lead for the NVIDIA card. While this is a slim margin, it is a definitive win for the older Tesla part in raw compute throughput as measured by this test.

However, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has its own distinct advantages that do not appear in the head-to-head benchmark. It is the only one of the two with a Vulkan score, achieving 22,757 in the Geekbench Vulkan test. This indicates a clear capability in modern graphics APIs that the Tesla K40m cannot match, as it lacks any Vulkan benchmark data. For workloads leveraging Vulkan, the AMD part is categorically superior.

Beyond raw performance, the AMD card wins decisively on efficiency and practicality. Its 65 W TDP is a fraction of the Tesla K40m’s 245 W. This makes the Vega M GL suitable for integrated graphics platforms (IGP), as its bus interface and slot width are listed as "IGP". In contrast, the Tesla K40m is a dual-slot card requiring a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and a 550 W suggested power supply. The AMD solution is therefore the winner for any system where power draw, physical space, or thermal output are primary constraints.

The Tesla K40m, on the other hand, wins on memory capacity and bandwidth. It comes with 12 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega M GL offers only 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, resulting in 179.2 GB/s. For datasets that exceed 4 GB, the Tesla K40m is the only viable option between the two, and its higher bandwidth is advantageous for memory-bound workloads.

The Verdict

The choice between these two GPUs hinges entirely on the user’s priorities. For pure compute performance in a traditional desktop or server environment, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m is the pick. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark, offers triple the memory capacity, and provides higher memory bandwidth. Its 65th percentile ranking versus the Vega M GL’s 66th is effectively a tie in overall standing, but the Tesla’s victory in the shared test gives it the performance edge.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is the clear choice for modern, power-constrained systems. Its 65 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for compact laptops or integrated solutions where the Tesla K40m is physically and electrically impossible to use. Furthermore, the Vega M GL’s support for Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0) makes it a more future-proof option for contemporary software, despite its lower raw compute numbers.

Strictly from the data, the Tesla K40m wins on performance and memory capacity, while the Vega M GL wins on efficiency, modern API support, and physical integration. The user who needs a powerful compute card for large datasets should choose the Tesla K40m. The user who needs a capable GPU that fits in a slim chassis with minimal power draw should choose the AMD Vega M GL.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole direct comparison between the two GPUs is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The NVIDIA Tesla K40m achieves a score of 19,885, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 19,549. This gives the Tesla K40m a 1.7% advantage, which is a narrow but measurable lead. This result is consistent with their overall average benchmark scores, with the Tesla K40m averaging 19,885 and the Vega M GL averaging 21,153 across all its tested workloads.

The Vega M GL’s higher average is largely attributable to its strong Vulkan showing of 22,757, a test the Tesla K40m does not have. This suggests the AMD part has a significant strength in Vulkan-based applications, potentially outperforming the Tesla K40m by a wide margin in such scenarios, even though it loses in OpenCL.

Looking at the nearest rivals for context, the Tesla K40m’s OpenCL score of 19,885 places it 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (19,765) and 1.3% ahead of the AMD FirePro D300 (19,637). The Vega M GL’s average of 21,153 puts it 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713) and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (21,035). This shows both cards are competitive with much newer mainstream parts, despite their age.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K40m is faster, scoring 19,885 compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL’s 19,549, a 1.7% difference.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL support any modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. It also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 22,757.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has 4 GB of HBM2 memory, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has a 65 W TDP, whereas the NVIDIA Tesla K40m has a 245 W TDP and requires a 550 W suggested power supply.

Q: Which GPU is designed for integration into a portable device?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, as its slot width is "IGP" and its bus interface is also "IGP", indicating it is meant for integrated graphics platforms.

Q: What are the manufacturing process nodes for these GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is built on a 14 nm process, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m uses a 28 nm process.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different architectural eras and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture, using a chip codenamed Polaris 22. It is manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, containing 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 24.0M / mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m uses the older Kepler architecture, with a GK110B chip built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,080 million transistors onto a much larger 561 mm² die, yielding a lower transistor density of 12.6M / mm².

The compute configurations differ significantly. The Tesla K40m has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 48 render output units (ROPs). This allows it to achieve a peak FP32 performance of 5.046 TFLOPS. The Vega M GL has fewer resources, with 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, resulting in a lower FP32 throughput of 2.588 TFLOPS. Interestingly, the Vega M GL also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, whereas the Tesla K40m has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture is another major differentiator. The AMD card uses 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, which is a hallmark of its integrated design, providing 179.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, offering a higher 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K40m’s memory clock is 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the Vega M GL’s memory runs at 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective). The Tesla K40m also has higher pixel and texture rates at 52.56 GPixel/s and 210.2 GTexel/s, respectively, compared to the Vega M GL’s 32.35 GPixel/s and 80.88 GTexel/s.

The feature sets also diverge. The Vega M GL supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, making it compatible with modern gaming and compute APIs. The Tesla K40m only supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Tesla K40m is a compute-focused card with no display outputs, while the Vega M GL’s display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent". The Tesla K40m was released in 2013 with a launch MSRP of 7,699 USD, while the Vega M GL is a newer 2018 part. Both are now end-of-life products.