NVIDIA A10M vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single recorded benchmark in the database, Geekbench OpenCL, shows a decisive advantage for the NVIDIA A10M. The A10M scores 135230, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605. This represents a 69.9% delta, meaning the A10M is roughly 70% ahead of the P100 in this compute-oriented workload. The result is not close, and the margin is substantial enough to classify the A10M as the clear winner in raw OpenCL performance.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces this gap. The A10M sits at the 96th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the P100 sits at the 92nd percentile. On the A10M side, its closest competitors are the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135218, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135396, delta -0.1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135774, delta -0.4%). These are essentially statistical ties, with deltas under 1%. The A10M is therefore positioned in a cluster of modern workstation cards where performance differences are negligible. On the P100 side, the nearest rivals include the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, delta 0.3%), the GeForce RTX 5090 (79842, delta -0.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, delta 0.8%). The P100 is also within a narrow band of its peers, but that band sits far below the A10M's band. The data shows a generational chasm: the A10M outperforms the P100 by a margin that dwarfs the intra-tier variations on either side.

The benchmark delta of 69.9% is the single most important number in this comparison. It tells a clear story: the A10M delivers more than one and a half times the OpenCL throughput of the P100. For any workload that relies on OpenCL compute, the A10M is the superior choice, and the margin is large enough to justify a hardware upgrade even when factoring in platform compatibility. The P100, despite its high-bandwidth memory and HPC pedigree, cannot close this gap in the recorded test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras. The A10M uses the GA102 chip based on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The P100 uses the GP100 chip based on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. This process difference is significant: the A10M packs 28,300 million transistors onto a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². The P100 has 15,300 million transistors on a 610 mm² die, for a density of 25.1 million per mm². The A10M nearly doubles the transistor count on a similar die area, which explains a large part of its performance advantage.

The compute resources differ sharply. The A10M has 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The P100 has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The A10M has twice the shader count, the same TMU count, and fewer ROPs. The A10M also includes 56 ray tracing cores and 224 tensor cores, features that are entirely absent from the P100. The P100 has no RT cores and no tensor cores, reflecting its Pascal-era design. This means the A10M supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations, while the P100 does not.

Clock speeds also differ. The A10M runs at a base clock of 975 MHz and boosts to 1635 MHz. The P100 runs at a base of 1190 MHz and boosts to 1329 MHz. The P100 has a higher base clock, but the A10M has a significantly higher boost clock. The memory clocks tell a different story: the A10M uses 1563 MHz memory with 12.5 Gbps effective, while the P100 uses 715 MHz with 1430 Mbps effective. The P100's memory is slower per pin but uses a vastly wider bus.

The API support reflects the newer architecture. The A10M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The A10M has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. Both cards have no display outputs, which is consistent with their server-oriented positioning.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB has a bandwidth of 732.2 GB/s, which is higher than the A10M's 500.2 GB/s. The P100 achieves this with HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, while the A10M uses GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus.

Q: Does the A10M support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The A10M includes 56 ray tracing cores, a feature that the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB lacks entirely. The P100 has no RT cores.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The A10M has a TDP of 150 W, while the P100 has a TDP of 250 W. The A10M also requires a lower suggested PSU rating of 450 W compared to the P100's 600 W.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The A10M has 7168 shading units, exactly double the P100's 3584 shading units. This is a major factor in the A10M's higher FP32 throughput of 23.44 TFLOPS versus the P100's 9.526 TFLOPS.

Q: Are both cards single-slot?

A: No. The A10M is a single-slot card with an 8-pin EPS power connector. The P100 is a dual-slot card with a single 8-pin connector.

Q: What is the transistor count difference?

A: The A10M has 28,300 million transistors, while the P100 has 15,300 million. The A10M packs nearly twice as many transistors onto a slightly larger die (628 mm² versus 610 mm²).

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: GA102 (A10M) versus GP100 (P100)
• Architecture: Ampere versus Pascal
• Process Node: 8 nm Samsung versus 16 nm TSMC
• Transistors: 28,300 million versus 15,300 million
• Transistor Density: 45.1M / mm² versus 25.1M / mm²
• Base Clock: 975 MHz versus 1190 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1635 MHz versus 1329 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) versus 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective)
• Memory Size: 20 GB versus 16 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 versus HBM2
• Memory Bus Width: 320 bit versus 4096 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 500.2 GB/s versus 732.2 GB/s
• Shading Units: 7168 versus 3584
• ROPs: 80 versus 96
• RT Cores: 56 versus none
• Tensor Cores: 224 versus none
• Pixel Rate: 130.8 GPixel/s versus 127.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 366.2 GTexel/s versus 297.7 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 23.44 TFLOPS versus 9.526 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 23.44 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 19.05 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 150 W versus 250 W
• Slot Width: Single-slot versus Dual-slot
• Power Connectors: 8-pin EPS versus 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 450 W versus 600 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16
• DirectX Support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1)
• Vulkan Support: 1.4 versus 1.3
• Dimensions: 267 mm x 112 mm (A10M) versus 267 mm length (P100, height not recorded)
• Release Date: Not recorded versus 2016-06-19
• Launch MSRP: Not recorded versus 5,699 USD
• Predecessor: Tesla Turing versus Tesla Maxwell
• Successor: Server Ada versus Tesla Volta

The Verdict

The data points to a clear recommendation for most users: the NVIDIA A10M is the stronger GPU. Its OpenCL score of 135230 versus 79605 represents a 69.9% advantage, and it holds the 96th percentile rank versus the P100's 92nd. The A10M doubles the shading units, offers 23.44 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 9.526 TFLOPS, and adds RT and tensor cores that the P100 does not have. It also draws less power (150 W versus 250 W), requires a smaller PSU (450 W versus 600 W), and occupies only one slot. For any compute workload that can leverage OpenCL, the A10M is the better choice.

The P100 retains one advantage: memory bandwidth. At 732.2 GB/s, it exceeds the A10M's 500.2 GB/s by a substantial margin, thanks to HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. For workloads that are extremely bandwidth-sensitive and cannot use the A10M's extra shader throughput, the P100 could theoretically hold an edge, but the recorded OpenCL benchmark does not reflect that. The P100 also has a higher base clock (1190 MHz versus 975 MHz), but its boost clock is lower, and its overall compute output is far behind.

The P100's dual-slot form factor and higher power draw make it more demanding physically. The A10M's single-slot design and 150 W TDP are easier to integrate into dense server configurations. The P100 was launched in 2016 with an MSRP of 5,699 USD, while the A10M's launch price is not recorded. Both cards are end-of-life, but the A10M is the more modern design.

For users with modern PCIe 4.0 platforms, the A10M is the clear pick. For users with older PCIe 3.0 servers that specifically require HBM2 bandwidth and can tolerate higher power draw, the P100 may still serve a niche role. However, the benchmark data shows no scenario where the P100 wins. The A10M wins the only recorded test, and its architectural advantages in shader count, tensor cores, RT cores, and process node make it the superior investment for compute-heavy tasks. The verdict from the database is unambiguous: the A10M is the faster, more efficient, and more feature-rich GPU.