NVIDIA CMP 50HX vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark comparison between the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is decisively one-sided. In the only shared test recorded in the database, Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB posts a score of 79,605, while the CMP 50HX manages 56,135. That works out to a 41.8% advantage for the Tesla P100, a commanding lead that places the two cards in different performance tiers entirely.

The Tesla P100's OpenCL result is not merely better, it is in a different class. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 79,605, and it sits at the 92nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. The CMP 50HX, by contrast, has an average score of 51,790 across two tests, placing it at the 86th percentile. The gap in average scores is substantial, with the P100 leading by roughly 27,815 points.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is bracketed by the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (a 0.3% deficit for the 12 GB variant), the GeForce RTX 5090 at 79,842 (0.3% ahead of the P100), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (0.8% behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at 80,959 (1.7% ahead). This clustering shows the P100 is operating in a tight band of high-end performance.

The CMP 50HX's nearest rivals tell a different story. It sits ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 1.6%, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 by 3.6%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 3.7%, and the Intel Arc A550M by 4.1%. These are modest margins against a mix of gaming and mobile GPUs, contrasting sharply with the P100's proximity to flagship-class accelerators.

The CMP 50HX does have a Vulkan score of 47,445 recorded in the database, but the Tesla P100 has no Vulkan result, so no direct comparison is possible. The CMP 50HX's OpenCL score of 56,135 is its stronger result, yet it still trails the P100's OpenCL number by a wide margin. The head-to-head data records a single win for the Tesla P100 and no wins for the CMP 50HX.

Where Each One Wins

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB wins the only benchmark where both cards were measured, and it wins by a wide margin. The 41.8% delta in OpenCL performance is the defining characteristic of this comparison. The P100's average score of 79,605 places it at the 92nd percentile, a strong indicator that it belongs with top-tier accelerators.

The CMP 50HX's strengths lie elsewhere. Its Vulkan score of 47,445 shows it has a functional Vulkan implementation, something the P100 cannot demonstrate in this database. The CMP 50HX also holds a theoretical FP32 throughput of 11.07 TFLOPS, which is higher than the P100's 9.526 TFLOPS, and an FP16 figure of 22.15 TFLOPS versus 19.05 TFLOPS for the P100. These raw compute numbers suggest the CMP 50HX could excel in workloads that scale with floating-point throughput rather than the specific optimizations captured by the OpenCL test.

The P100 counters with a memory bandwidth advantage. Its HBM2 memory delivers 732.2 GB/s across a 4096-bit bus, while the CMP 50HX's GDDR6 memory provides 560.0 GB/s over a 320-bit interface. That 172.2 GB/s bandwidth advantage favors the P100 in memory-bound workloads.

The CMP 50HX brings Turing-era features that the Pascal-based P100 lacks. It includes 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, while the P100 has none of either. For workloads that can use tensor operations or ray tracing, the CMP 50HX has dedicated hardware, and the P100 does not.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations. The Tesla P100 uses the GP100 chip on the Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process at TSMC. The CMP 50HX uses the TU102 chip on the Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC.

Transistor counts differ notably. The CMP 50HX packs 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die, while the P100 has 15,300 million on a 610 mm² die. The P100's smaller die has a slightly higher transistor density at 25.1 million transistors per square millimeter, versus 24.7 million for the CMP 50HX.

Both cards have 3,584 shading units, but the rest of the core configuration diverges. The P100 has 224 texture mapping units and 96 render output units, while the CMP 50HX has 192 TMUs and 80 ROPs. The CMP 50HX's pixel rate is 123.6 GPixel/s, close to the P100's 127.6 GPixel/s. Texture rates are nearly identical, with the P100 at 297.7 GTexel/s and the CMP 50HX at 296.6 GTexel/s.

Clock speeds favor the CMP 50HX. Its base clock is 1350 MHz and boost clock is 1545 MHz, versus 1190 MHz base and 1329 MHz boost for the P100. The CMP 50HX's memory runs at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective, while the P100's memory is rated at 715 MHz, or 1430 Mbps effective.

Memory configurations are fundamentally different. The P100 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, yielding 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The CMP 50HX has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, yielding 560.0 GB/s. The P100 has 6 GB more capacity and 172.2 GB/s more bandwidth.

The CMP 50HX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, with Vulkan support at 1.3 for the P100 and 1.4 for the CMP 50HX.

The bus interfaces also differ dramatically. The P100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the CMP 50HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a much narrower and older interface that could bottleneck data transfer in some workloads.

Both cards are dual-slot designs with 250 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU. The P100 uses a single 8-pin power connector, while the CMP 50HX requires two 8-pin connectors. Both are 267 mm long, with the CMP 50HX also measuring 116 mm in height and 35 mm in width. Neither card has display outputs.

The P100 was released in 2016, while the CMP 50HX arrived in 2021. The P100 has a predecessor in Tesla Maxwell and a successor in Tesla Volta, while the CMP 50HX has neither recorded. Both are end-of-life products.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for general compute performance. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is 41.8% ahead of the CMP 50HX in the only head-to-head benchmark, and its 92nd percentile ranking versus the CMP 50HX's 86th percentile underscores the gap. The P100 also offers 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth, versus 10 GB of GDDR6 at 560.0 GB/s, and a wider PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

The CMP 50HX is not without arguments. It has higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, 56 ray tracing cores, 448 tensor cores, newer DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and a higher Vulkan version. Its 12 nm Turing architecture is newer than the 16 nm Pascal design.

The choice depends on workload. For OpenCL compute tasks that match the benchmark data, the Tesla P100 is the stronger card by a wide margin. For workloads that can leverage tensor cores, ray tracing, or the higher raw FP32 figure, the CMP 50HX has dedicated hardware the P100 simply does not possess. The P100's memory bandwidth and capacity make it better suited for memory-intensive tasks, while the CMP 50HX's narrower PCIe 1.0 x4 interface could hinder data-heavy workflows.

The recorded data favors the Tesla P100 for measured performance. The CMP 50HX's advantages are architectural and theoretical, not reflected in the benchmark results available. Users whose workloads match the OpenCL test should choose the P100. Users who need tensor cores or ray tracing capabilities should consider the CMP 50HX, with the caveat that its measured OpenCL performance is significantly lower.

FAQ

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

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, which is 41.8% higher than the NVIDIA CMP 50HX's score of 56,135.

Q: How does the Tesla P100 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is 0.3% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, 0.3% behind the GeForce RTX 5090, 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, and 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X.

Q: What memory configurations do the two cards have?

A: The Tesla P100 has 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus with 732.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CMP 50HX has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus with 560.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the CMP 50HX have any features the Tesla P100 lacks?

A: Yes, the CMP 50HX has 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, while the Tesla P100 has none. The CMP 50HX also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What are the raw compute throughput figures for each card?

A: The Tesla P100 has 9.526 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.05 TFLOPS FP16. The CMP 50HX has 11.07 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.15 TFLOPS FP16.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The Tesla P100 has an average score of 79,605, placing it at the 92nd percentile. The CMP 50HX has an average score of 51,790, placing it at the 86th percentile.