NVIDIA CMP 70HX vs NVIDIA Tesla M60 Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla M60 and NVIDIA CMP 70HX are both end-of-life, dual-slot, no-output accelerator cards, but they represent radically different generations and design philosophies. The Tesla M60 is a Maxwell-based compute card from 2015, while the CMP 70HX is an Ampere-based mining GPU. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the Tesla M60 at 30490 and the CMP 70HX at 30476, a difference of just 0.05%. However, the Geekbench subtests reveal a stark split in performance character, with each card dominating a different workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear split: the Tesla M60 wins the OpenCL test, while the CMP 70HX wins the Vulkan test. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla M60 scores 29506 against the CMP 70HX's 25135, giving the M60 a decisive 17.4% lead. This is a substantial margin, indicating that in compute workloads leveraging OpenCL, the older Maxwell architecture holds a distinct advantage. The M60's higher FP32 throughput per clock and mature driver optimizations likely contribute to this result, though the data only shows the final scores.

The tables turn completely in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Here, the CMP 70HX scores 35817, while the Tesla M60 trails at 31473. The deltaPct is -12.1%, meaning the CMP 70HX is 12.1% faster than the M60 in this scenario. This is a significant reversal. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can better exploit newer hardware features, and the CMP 70HX's Ampere architecture appears to benefit substantially from this. The result demonstrates that the CMP 70HX is not merely a mining card; its graphics capabilities, while lacking display outputs, are potent in modern API workloads.

When looking at the average benchmark score, the two cards are effectively tied. The Tesla M60 averages 30490, and the CMP 70HX averages 30476, a delta of 0%. This places both cards in the 75th percentile of all GPUs, meaning they outperform roughly three-quarters of the database. Their nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (avg score 30433, 0.2% slower than the M60) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (avg score 30095, 1.3% slower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is also close, with an average score of 29945, putting it 1.8% behind the M60. This tight clustering shows that both cards sit in a competitive performance tier, despite their architectural differences.

The wins are split evenly: one win for the Tesla M60 and one for the CMP 70HX. This makes a simple "which is better" verdict impossible based on aggregate scores alone. The choice hinges entirely on the target application's API preference. For OpenCL-centric tasks, the M60 is the clear winner; for Vulkan-centric tasks, the CMP 70HX is superior. The data suggests that neither card is universally dominant, and the user's specific workload will determine the correct pick.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M60 has an average benchmark score of 30490, while the NVIDIA CMP 70HX has an average score of 30476. The difference is a 0% deltaPct, making them statistically tied in overall performance.

Q: How does the Tesla M60 perform in OpenCL compared to the CMP 70HX?

A: The Tesla M60 scores 29506 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 17.4% higher than the CMP 70HX's score of 25135. This makes the M60 the definitive winner in OpenCL workloads.

Q: Is the CMP 70HX better at Vulkan than the Tesla M60?

A: Yes. The CMP 70HX scores 35817 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the Tesla M60 scores 31473. The CMP 70HX is 12.1% faster in this test, showing a clear advantage in Vulkan-based applications.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to these cards in the benchmark database?

A: The nearest rival to both cards is the AMD Radeon RX 6700, with an average score of 30433 (0.2% behind the M60 and 0.1% behind the CMP 70HX). The AMD Radeon RX 6800 (score 30095) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (score 29945) are also close, trailing by 1.3% and 1.8% respectively.

Q: Do both cards occupy the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and the NVIDIA CMP 70HX are in the 75th percentile versus all GPUs. This indicates they outperform 75% of the GPUs in the database.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 70HX has 3840 shading units, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 has 2048. This is a significant difference, yet it does not translate into a higher average score for the CMP 70HX.

The Verdict

The data paints a picture of two cards that are equal in aggregate but polar opposites in specific workloads. The Tesla M60 is the pick for anyone running OpenCL-based applications. Its 17.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is a commanding advantage that cannot be ignored. If a user's software stack relies on OpenCL, the M60 will deliver measurably better performance, making it the logical choice despite its older architecture.

The CMP 70HX, conversely, is the superior option for Vulkan-centric tasks. Its 12.1% lead in Geekbench Vulkan demonstrates that the Ampere architecture's newer features are well-utilized by this API. For users working with Vulkan-based renderers, game engines, or compute frameworks, the CMP 70HX offers a clear performance edge. The fact that it has no display outputs is irrelevant in a headless compute scenario.

For a general-purpose decision based purely on average scores, the choice is a toss-up. The 0% deltaPct between the two cards means that neither offers a statistical advantage across a broad mix of workloads. Users who require a balanced card for mixed API usage will find either option satisfactory. However, the benchmark results indicate that specialization is the key differentiator: pick the Tesla M60 for OpenCL, and pick the CMP 70HX for Vulkan. The 75th percentile standing of both cards confirms they are competent performers, but their strengths are clearly segmented by API.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ significantly in their core specifications. The Tesla M60 is built on a 28 nm process with a die size of 398 mm² and 5,200 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 13.1M per mm². The CMP 70HX uses an 8 nm process, with a slightly smaller die at 392 mm², but packs 17,400 million transistors, giving it a much higher density of 44.4M per mm². This reflects the generational leap in manufacturing technology.

Clock speeds also diverge. The Tesla M60 has a base clock of 557 MHz and a boost clock of 1178 MHz, while the CMP 70HX runs at a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1395 MHz. The memory configurations are notably different in type and speed: the M60 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) with a 256-bit bus, yielding 160.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The CMP 70HX also has 8 GB, but uses GDDR6X at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus, delivering 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth — nearly four times the bandwidth of the M60.

The compute resources show the CMP 70HX's advantage in raw ALU count: 3840 shading units versus 2048, 120 TMUs versus 128, and 64 ROPs on both. The CMP 70HX also features 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, which the M60 lacks entirely. Pixel and texture rates favor the CMP 70HX, with 89.28 GPixel/s and 167.4 GTexel/s versus the M60's 75.39 GPixel/s and 150.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 10.71 TFLOPS on the CMP 70HX, more than double the M60's 4.825 TFLOPS. The CMP 70HX also supports FP16 at 10.71 TFLOPS (1:1), while the M60 has no listed FP16 capability.

Power and interface specs differ as well. The Tesla M60 has a TDP of 300 W and uses a 1x 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 700 W. The CMP 70HX has no listed TDP but uses a 1x 12-pin connector and a suggested PSU of only 200 W. The bus interface is another major divergence: the M60 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the CMP 70HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a much slower interface. Physically, the M60 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches), and the CMP 70HX matches that length but also has a listed height of 112 mm (4.4 inches).

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The Tesla M60 is based on the GM204 chip using the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, part of the Tesla Maxwell generation (Mxx). It is fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm node. The CMP 70HX uses the GA104 chip with the Ampere architecture, belonging to the "Mining GPUs" generation. It is manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. This generational difference explains the transistor count disparity: 5,200 million for the M60 versus 17,400 million for the CMP 70HX.

The memory subsystems reflect different design goals. The M60's GDDR5 memory at 160.4 GB/s was standard for its era, but the CMP 70HX's GDDR6X at 608.3 GB/s is a massive upgrade, likely aimed at memory-bandwidth-intensive mining workloads. The CMP 70HX's inclusion of 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores is a hallmark of the Ampere architecture, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI processing, features entirely absent from the Maxwell-based M60. This explains the CMP 70HX's superior Vulkan performance, as modern APIs can leverage these dedicated cores.

The compute capabilities are also fundamentally different. The CMP 70HX's FP32 throughput of 10.71 TFLOPS is more than double the M60's 4.825 TFLOPS, and its FP16 support at a 1:1 ratio suggests a design optimized for mixed-precision workloads. The M60, lacking FP16 support, is limited to FP32 compute. The pixel and texture rates follow suit, with the CMP 70HX being faster in both. The PCIe interface difference is notable: the M60's PCIe 3.0 x16 offers far more bandwidth than the CMP 70HX's PCIe 1.0 x4, which could bottleneck data transfer in some applications, though for compute tasks the on-card memory might mitigate this. The API support also differs, with the M60 supporting DirectX 12 (12_1) and the CMP 70HX supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), reflecting the newer hardware's compliance with the latest graphics standards.