AMD Radeon Vega 11 vs NVIDIA Tesla M2090 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded benchmark data draws a clear, though narrow, line between these two end-of-life parts. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 claims the only direct head-to-head victory, edging out the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 in Geekbench OpenCL by 2.4%. That win, combined with a higher average score across all recorded tests, positions the AMD part as the better all-round compute option for general-purpose workloads.

However, a deeper look at the data reveals that context matters heavily. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 achieves an average benchmark score of 14,352, which places it in the 56th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla M2090, with an average score of 13,075, sits just three percentile points lower at 53. The delta between their averages is roughly 9.8% in favor of AMD, but the nearest rival data shows both parts trading blows with cards from entirely different eras. The Vega 11 lands within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics. The Tesla M2090 sits 0.9% behind the GeForce GTX 950 and a mere 0.7% ahead of the GTX 1660 SUPER.

For the user picking between these two specifically, the choice hinges on platform and workload. The Vega 11 is an integrated graphics processor, drawing just 15 W and using system memory. It is the obvious pick for a compact, low-power build where the GPU must coexist with a CPU in a single package. The Tesla M2090 is a dual-slot add-in card with a 250 W TDP, requiring both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, and it offers no display outputs. That makes it a poor fit for a desktop workstation but a plausible option for a headless compute node where raw memory bandwidth matters. The data does not support a universal winner; it supports a conditional one.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 11 wins on compute versatility. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 13,392 beats the Tesla M2090's 13,075 by 2.4% in the only test both parts completed. The Vega 11 also shows strong showing in other APIs, with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,273 and a Geekbench Metal score of 17,392. Those additional data points demonstrate that the Vega 11 can accelerate workloads across multiple frameworks, not just OpenCL. Its 12 nm process node from GlobalFoundries, with 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, gives it a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter, a figure that dwarfs the older Tesla part.

The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 wins on memory bandwidth and memory capacity. It carries 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 11, by contrast, relies on system memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." For any workload that repeatedly streams large datasets, the Tesla M2090's fixed, high-bandwidth memory pool is a structural advantage that no integrated part can match. The Tesla also has more ROPs (48 versus 8) and more TMUs (64 versus 44), which translates to a higher pixel rate of 20.83 GPixel/s compared to the Vega 11's 11.20 GPixel/s. However, the Vega 11 counters with a higher texture rate of 61.60 GTexel/s versus the Tesla's 41.66 GTexel/s, and a higher FP32 throughput of 1.971 TFLOPS versus the Tesla's 1,332.2 GFLOPS.

In short: the Vega 11 wins on raw shader compute, API support, and efficiency. The Tesla M2090 wins on memory subsystem design, pixel fill, and the ability to operate without sharing host memory.

Architecture Differences

These two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies separated by roughly eight years of process evolution. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 uses the Picasso chip, built on GCN 5.0 architecture, and is classified as a Vega IGP from the Picasso generation. It is fabricated on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, packing 4,940 million transistors into a 210 mm² die. The transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter reflects a modern, dense design. The GPU has 704 shading units, 44 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. Clock speeds range from a 300 MHz base to a 1,400 MHz boost, and the memory system is entirely shared with the host CPU, using whatever system RAM is available.

The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 uses the GF110 chip, built on Fermi 2.0 architecture, and belongs to the Tesla Fermi generation. It is fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 3,000 million transistors on a much larger 520 mm² die. The transistor density is just 5.8 million per square millimeter. The chip has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Memory is dedicated: 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, running at an effective 3.7 Gbps to produce 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's memory clock is listed at 924 MHz.

The feature sets diverge significantly. The Vega 11 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Tesla M2090 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed in the database. The Vega 11 also has a 2:1 FP16 ratio, delivering 3.942 TFLOPS when operating in half-precision mode, while the Tesla M2090 has no FP16 capability recorded. The Tesla uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while the Vega 11 connects via the integrated graphics path with no bus interface beyond the motherboard. Power delivery reflects the gap: the Vega 11 is a 15 W IGP with no power connectors, while the Tesla M2090 is a 250 W dual-slot card requiring a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, with a suggested power supply of 600 W.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 11 has an average benchmark score of 14,352, placing it in the 56th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 has an average score of 13,075, placing it in the 53rd percentile.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon Vega 11 in the only shared benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Vega 11 scored 13,392 against the Tesla M2090's 13,075, a 2.4% advantage for AMD.

Q: Does the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 have any advantage in memory?

A: Yes. The Tesla M2090 has 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 11 uses system shared memory with bandwidth that depends on the host system.

Q: Can the Tesla M2090 be used for display output?

A: No. The database lists the Tesla M2090 with no display outputs. The Vega 11's display outputs are motherboard dependent, meaning they vary by the host board.

Q: What API support does the Tesla M2090 lack compared to the Vega 11?

A: The Tesla M2090 has no Vulkan support recorded, while the Vega 11 supports Vulkan 1.3. Both support DirectX 12 (with the Vega 11 at 12_1 and the Tesla at 11_0) and OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The Vega 11 has a TDP of 15 W with no power connectors. The Tesla M2090 has a TDP of 250 W, requires a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, and has a suggested power supply of 600 W.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct comparison between these two GPUs: the Geekbench OpenCL test. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 scored 13,392, while the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scored 13,075. The delta is 2.4% in favor of AMD. This is a modest margin, but it is consistent with the broader average score gap. The Vega 11's average of 14,352 is roughly 9.8% higher than the Tesla M2090's 13,075, and the percentile rankings (56th versus 53rd) reinforce the same ordering.

Look at the nearest rival data to contextualize each card's position. The Vega 11 sits between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (average 14,373, delta -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (average 14,385, delta -0.2%). It is also 0.3% ahead of the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (average 14,315) and 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M (average 14,404). This cluster shows that the Vega 11 is operating at a performance plateau shared by several mid-range parts from different vendors and generations.

The Tesla M2090, meanwhile, sits between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (average 13,189, delta -0.9%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (average 12,986, delta 0.7%). It is also 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (average 12,940) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 580 (average 12,928). The Tesla's position here is notable: despite being a 2011 compute card, it holds its own against much newer gaming GPUs in this specific OpenCL benchmark.

The single head-to-head result, however, does not tell the whole story. The Vega 11 has two additional benchmark records that the Tesla M2090 lacks: a Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,273 and a Geekbench Metal score of 17,392. The Metal score, in particular, is far above any OpenCL result for either card, suggesting that the Vega 11 is particularly strong in Apple's compute framework. The Vulkan score is lower than the OpenCL score but still demonstrates functional support for a modern API that the Tesla simply does not have.

In terms of raw throughput numbers, the Vega 11 leads in FP32 compute at 1.971 TFLOPS versus the Tesla's 1,332.2 GFLOPS, a gap of roughly 48%. The texture rate also favors AMD at 61.60 GTexel/s versus 41.66 GTexel/s, a 48% advantage as well. The Tesla, however, leads in pixel rate at 20.83 GPixel/s versus 11.20 GPixel/s, an 86% advantage for NVIDIA. The Tesla also has 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory versus the Vega's shared system memory, and it offers 177.4 GB/s of fixed bandwidth, which is a category the Vega cannot match with any consistency.

The conclusion from the recorded data is straightforward: the AMD Radeon Vega 11 is the faster and more feature-complete GPU in compute benchmarks, with a 2.4% OpenCL win and a broader API footprint. The NVIDIA Tesla M2090, however, retains a decisive edge in memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate, which makes it the better choice for bandwidth-bound streaming workloads. Neither part is a clear winner across all metrics; the selection depends entirely on whether the workload favors shader throughput and API coverage or memory capacity and fill rate.