Intel Arc B570 vs NVIDIA Tesla K40m Comparison

The Intel Arc B570 and NVIDIA Tesla K40m represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data confirms a generational chasm in raw compute capability, even when accounting for their respective market positions. The Arc B570 is a modern, feature-rich graphics card aimed at consumers, while the Tesla K40m is a legacy compute accelerator from the Kepler era. The data shows a clear, decisive winner in every measurable category, but the nature of their differences reveals more than just a speed gap; it highlights a fundamental shift in GPU architecture and purpose.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single available head-to-head benchmark paints a stark picture of performance disparity. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Intel Arc B570 scores an impressive 83514, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m manages only 19885. This results in a delta of 320% in favor of the Intel GPU. To put this in perspective, the Arc B570 is not just faster; it is more than four times as performant in this compute-heavy workload. This is a colossal margin that speaks to the massive advances in shader efficiency, clock speeds, and memory bandwidth over the decade separating these two products.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the story is consistent. The Arc B570 holds an average score of 20556, placing it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 (a negligible 0.1% difference), and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582 (a -0.1% difference). This places the B570 in a competitive mid-range tier, trading blows with other modern mainstream parts. In contrast, the Tesla K40m’s average score is 19885, also at the 65th percentile, but its nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W7000 at 19905, a -0.1% difference. While both sit at the same percentile, the K40m’s score is lower in absolute terms, and its competition consists of older workstation parts. The data suggests that while the K40m was a top-tier compute card in its day, its absolute performance has been eclipsed by modern consumer hardware. The Arc B570, despite being a lower-tier product in its own generation, utterly outclasses the older Tesla in this direct comparison.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is immense. The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically the BMG-G21 chip, and is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This allows for a staggering 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, yielding a density of 72.1M / mm². The NVIDIA Tesla K40m, in contrast, uses the ancient Kepler architecture with the GK110B chip, built on a much older 28 nm process. It houses 7,080 million transistors on a significantly larger 561 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 12.6M / mm². The manufacturing advantage alone explains a large part of the performance difference, enabling the Intel chip to pack nearly three times the transistors into half the space.

Core configuration further widens the gap. The Arc B570 features 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, alongside 18 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Tesla K40m has more raw shading units at 2880, along with 240 TMUs, but only 48 ROPs and no ray tracing hardware whatsoever. This is a key philosophical difference: the K40m was designed for compute, with a high count of simple cores, while the Arc B570 is a modern graphics card with fixed-function hardware for real-time rendering effects like ray tracing. The clock speeds are also telling. The Arc B570 operates at a consistent 2500 MHz, while the Tesla K40m’s base clock is just 745 MHz with a boost of 876 MHz. This massive clock advantage, combined with the newer architecture, results in the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the Tesla’s 5.046 TFLOPS. The Intel card is also capable of 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla, which has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory technology and configuration also differ drastically. The Arc B570 uses 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K40m counters with 12 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 384-bit bus, but its bandwidth is lower at 288.4 GB/s. While the Tesla has more memory capacity, the Intel card’s newer, faster memory and superior bandwidth prove more effective in the OpenCL benchmark. The Tesla’s memory clock is also much lower, running at 1502 MHz compared to the Arc B570’s 2375 MHz. Furthermore, the Tesla K40m is a compute-only accelerator with No outputs, meaning it cannot drive a display, whereas the Arc B570 is a full-fledged graphics card with 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1 outputs. The bus interface also differs, with the Intel card using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the Tesla using the older PCIe 3.0 x16. Finally, the Tesla’s API support is more limited, offering DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the Arc B570 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Intel Arc B570 is the superior product. In the only shared benchmark, it is 320% faster. Its average benchmark score of 20556 is significantly higher than the Tesla K40m’s 19885. The Arc B570 also brings modern features like ray tracing, a display engine, and significantly lower power consumption at 150 W versus the Tesla’s 245 W. The Tesla K40m is an end-of-life product with no modern driver optimizations or feature support. While it holds a memory capacity advantage of 12 GB over 10 GB, this does not compensate for its massive performance deficit. For any workload, from gaming to general compute, the Arc B570 is the only rational choice based on this data.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the Intel Arc B570 than the NVIDIA Tesla K40m in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Intel Arc B570 scores 83514 versus the Tesla K40m’s 19885, making it 320% faster in that specific benchmark.

Q: Does the NVIDIA Tesla K40m have more memory than the Intel Arc B570?

A: Yes, the Tesla K40m has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the Intel Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6. However, the Intel card has higher bandwidth at 380.0 GB/s compared to 288.4 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has a transistor density of 72.1M / mm², which is significantly higher than the NVIDIA Tesla K40m’s 12.6M / mm².

Q: Can the NVIDIA Tesla K40m be used to output video to a monitor?

A: No. The Tesla K40m has No outputs, making it a compute-only accelerator. The Intel Arc B570 has display outputs including 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1.

Q: What is the difference in their average benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m has an average score of 19885.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: The Intel Arc B570 includes 18 ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40m has no ray tracing hardware at all.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the Intel Arc B570 wins in every measurable category. There is only one head-to-head benchmark, and it is a decisive victory for the Intel card. The B570’s wins are comprehensive: it has a higher average benchmark score (20556 vs 19885), a massive lead in compute performance (320% in OpenCL), and superior modern features. The Tesla K40m’s only theoretical advantage is its larger memory pool of 12 GB versus 10 GB. However, this advantage is not reflected in any performance metric within the fact pack. The Tesla’s higher shading unit count (2880 vs 2304) does not translate into real-world performance due to its drastically lower clock speeds and older architecture. Therefore, there is no workload category where the data suggests the Tesla K40m would be the preferred choice. The Arc B570 is the definitive winner for all tasks, from gaming to compute.

Specification Differences

The following are the key specifications where the two GPUs differ. The Intel Arc B570 is built on a 5 nm process, while the Tesla K40m uses 28 nm. The B570’s chip is BMG-G21 with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, compared to the K40m’s GK110B with 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die. The B570 has a base/boost clock of 2500 MHz, whereas the K40m has a base clock of 745 MHz and a boost of 876 MHz. The B570 features 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, 80 ROPs, and 18 RT cores, while the K40m has 2880 shading units, 240 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and no RT cores. The B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the K40m has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The B570’s FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is 23.04 TFLOPS; the K40m’s FP32 is 5.046 TFLOPS with no FP16. The B570 has a TDP of 150 W, while the K40m has a TDP of 245 W. They also differ in bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x8 vs PCIe 3.0 x16), display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 vs No outputs), and API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4 vs DirectX 12 (11_1), Vulkan 1.2.175).