NVIDIA CMP 50HX vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly in favor of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX. Across the two head-to-head tests, the CMP 50HX takes both wins, giving it a 2-0 record against the Tesla M40. The largest margin appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the CMP 50HX scores 56,135 versus the Tesla M40's 39,192, a 43.2% advantage. That is a decisive gap in raw compute throughput, which points toward workloads that stress general-purpose parallel execution, such as rendering, simulation, or data processing.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap narrows considerably. The CMP 50HX scores 47,445 against 44,602 for the Tesla M40, a 6.4% lead. Vulkan is a lower-level graphics API, and the closer margin suggests that the two cards are more comparable in graphics-oriented tasks than in pure compute. Still, the CMP 50HX remains ahead in every measured category, so there is no scenario in the recorded data where the Tesla M40 pulls ahead.

The Tesla M40's role is more specialized. Its 12 GB memory capacity exceeds the CMP 50HX's 10 GB, which matters for datasets that must reside in VRAM. However, the benchmark scores do not reflect any test that specifically measures memory-bound workloads. Based on the recorded data alone, the CMP 50HX is the stronger performer in both OpenCL and Vulkan, and the Tesla M40 offers no benchmark win to counterbalance that.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The CMP 50HX uses the TU102 chip on NVIDIA's Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die. The Tesla M40 uses the GM200 chip on Maxwell 2.0, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 8,000 million transistors on a 601 mm² die. The transistor density reflects this: 24.7M per mm² for the CMP 50HX versus 13.3M per mm² for the Tesla M40.

Core counts differ as well. The CMP 50HX has 3,584 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The Tesla M40 has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The CMP 50HX has more shaders but fewer ROPs. The CMP 50HX also includes 56 RT cores and 448 tensor cores, features that the Tesla M40 lacks entirely; the Tesla M40's data shows null for both RT and tensor cores. This makes the CMP 50HX capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations, while the Tesla M40 relies purely on traditional shader compute.

Clock speeds also favor the CMP 50HX. Its base clock is 1350 MHz with a boost of 1545 MHz, versus 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost for the Tesla M40. Memory technology diverges as well: the CMP 50HX uses 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus with 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective) and 560.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla M40 uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 1502 MHz memory clock (6 Gbps effective) and 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. So the CMP 50HX has roughly double the memory bandwidth, while the Tesla M40 has 2 GB more capacity.

API support differs. The CMP 50HX lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla M40 lists DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The CMP 50HX supports a more recent DirectX feature level. The bus interface also differs: the CMP 50HX is listed as PCIe 1.0 x4, while the Tesla M40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. That is an unusual limitation for the CMP 50HX, potentially bottlenecking data transfers despite its faster on-board memory. Both cards draw the same 250 W TDP and suggest a 600 W power supply, and both are dual-slot with no display outputs. The CMP 50HX uses 2x 8-pin power connectors, while the Tesla M40 uses an 8-pin EPS connector.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL result is the standout. The CMP 50HX posts 56,135 points, while the Tesla M40 manages 39,192. That is a 43.2% delta in favor of the CMP 50HX. In practical terms, this suggests that OpenCL-heavy workloads, which often scale with shader count, clock speed, and memory bandwidth, will execute noticeably faster on the CMP 50HX. The Tesla M40's lower base clock, older architecture, and narrower bandwidth all contribute to this outcome. The CMP 50HX's FP32 throughput of 11.07 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS for the Tesla M40 aligns with this result, as does the texture rate of 296.6 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s.

The Vulkan test is closer. The CMP 50HX scores 47,445, and the Tesla M40 scores 44,602, a 6.4% difference. Vulkan's lower-level nature can expose driver overhead and architectural quirks, but the recorded data shows the CMP 50HX still leads. The Tesla M40's pixel rate of 106.8 GPixel/s is close to the CMP 50HX's 123.6 GPixel/s, which may explain why the graphics-oriented Vulkan test narrows the gap. Still, the CMP 50HX wins outright, and the delta is positive in both tests.

Looking at the broader database context, the CMP 50HX sits at the 86th percentile across all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51,790. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 50,951 (1.6% behind), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 at 50,001 (3.6% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 49,957 (3.7% behind), and the Intel Arc A550M at 49,737 (4.1% behind). The Tesla M40, by contrast, sits at the 83rd percentile, with an average score of 41,897. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB at 41,707 (0.5% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti at 41,187 (1.7% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE at 42,723 (1.9% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40,870 (2.5% behind). The CMP 50HX's average score is roughly 23.6% higher than the Tesla M40's average, consistent with the head-to-head results.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The CMP 50HX. Its FP32 performance is 11.07 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS for the Tesla M40, and its Geekbench OpenCL score is 56,135 versus 39,192, a 43.2% lead.

Q: Does the Tesla M40 have any advantage in memory capacity?

A: Yes. The Tesla M40 has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the CMP 50HX has 10 GB of GDDR6. The Tesla M40 also has a wider 384-bit bus, but the CMP 50HX's bandwidth is higher at 560.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s.

Q: Does the CMP 50HX support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The CMP 50HX includes 56 RT cores and 448 tensor cores. The Tesla M40 has no RT cores or tensor cores listed; those fields are null in the database.

Q: Which card is more recent?

A: The CMP 50HX. Its release date is 2021-06-23, while the Tesla M40's release date is 2015-11-09. The CMP 50HX is also built on a 12 nm process, versus 28 nm for the Tesla M40.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life in the database. The CMP 50HX is part of the Mining GPUs generation, and the Tesla M40 is part of the Tesla Maxwell (Mxx) generation.

Q: What is the bus interface difference?

A: The CMP 50HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, while the Tesla M40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. This is a notable limitation for the CMP 50HX, as its data transfer interface is far older and narrower than the Tesla M40's.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for compute-heavy workloads: the NVIDIA CMP 50HX. It wins both recorded benchmarks, with a 43.2% lead in OpenCL and a 6.4% lead in Vulkan. Its newer Turing architecture, higher clock speeds, double the memory bandwidth, and inclusion of RT and tensor cores make it the more capable accelerator in almost every measurable dimension. The 86th percentile ranking versus the Tesla M40's 83rd percentile reinforces this.

The Tesla M40's only advantage is memory capacity: 12 GB versus 10 GB. That could matter for specific workloads that fit entirely within VRAM, but the database does not include a benchmark that isolates that scenario. For general compute and graphics tasks, the CMP 50HX is faster, and the margin is substantial enough that the Tesla M40 cannot compensate with its extra 2 GB. The Tesla M40 also has a more practical PCIe 3.0 x16 interface versus the CMP 50HX's PCIe 1.0 x4, which could affect data transfer in real systems, but this does not show up in the recorded scores.

If the choice is between these two for a new deployment, the CMP 50HX is the stronger pick based on benchmark outcomes. The Tesla M40 is acceptable only when its larger memory pool is a hard requirement and the performance gap is acceptable. Otherwise, the CMP 50HX is the superior accelerator in every test the database records.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA CMP 50HX | NVIDIA Tesla M40 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Turing | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 18,600 million | 8,000 million |

| Die Size | 754 mm² | 601 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.7M / mm² | 13.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1350 MHz | 948 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1545 MHz | 1112 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective | 1502 MHz, 6 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 10 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 320 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 560.0 GB/s | 288.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 3072 |

| ROPs | 80 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 56 | null |

| Tensor Cores | 448 | null |

| Pixel Rate | 123.6 GPixel/s | 106.8 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 296.6 GTexel/s | 213.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.07 TFLOPS | 6.832 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.15 TFLOPS (2:1) | null |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 8-pin EPS |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 1.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Release Date | 2021-06-23 | 2015-11-09 |

| Predecessor | null | Tesla Kepler |

| Successor | null | Tesla Pascal |