NVIDIA GB10 vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

NVIDIA’s GB10 and Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB represent two distinct eras of accelerated computing. The GB10, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, is a modern powerhouse that decisively outperforms the older Pascal-based Tesla P100 in every recorded benchmark. The data shows a single head-to-head comparison, the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the GB10 scores 120,137 against the P100’s 79,605. This translates to a 50.9% advantage for the GB10, a massive generational leap that defines the entire comparison. While the P100 was a formidable compute card in its day, the GB10’s architectural advancements and newer process node render it obsolete for peak performance, though the P100 retains relevance in specific legacy or high-bandwidth scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The GB10 is the clear winner in raw compute performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 120,137 places it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla P100’s score of 79,605 sits in the 92nd percentile. The 50.9% delta in the head-to-head test is not a marginal improvement; it is a dominant victory that underscores the GB10’s superiority in general-purpose compute workloads. The GB10 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 114,648, a test the P100 was not recorded in, further cementing its position as the more capable and versatile processor for modern applications.

The Tesla P100’s only area of technical superiority lies in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput. It offers 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth compared to the GB10’s 273.2 GB/s, a 2.7x difference in favor of the older card. Its pixel rate of 127.6 GPixel/s also edges out the GB10’s 116.1 GPixel/s. These figures suggest that in highly specialized workloads that are bandwidth-bound or require maximal pixel fill, the P100 could theoretically hold an advantage. However, in the recorded benchmark data, this advantage does not translate into any computational win. The P100’s high bandwidth is a legacy feature, but the GB10’s architecture compensates with sheer processing power, making the P100 a niche choice for specific memory-intensive tasks rather than a general competitor.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The GB10 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The Tesla P100 uses the older Pascal architecture and a 16 nm process, also from TSMC. This process node difference is a primary driver of the performance disparity, allowing the GB10 to pack more efficiency and higher clock speeds into a smaller die. The GB10’s die size is 382 mm², while the P100’s is significantly larger at 610 mm². The P100 compensates with a massive transistor count of 15,300 million, whereas the GB10’s transistor count is unknown, but the newer node allows for far greater density and performance per watt.

The core configurations differ dramatically. The GB10 features 6,144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It also includes 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the P100. The P100, by contrast, has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with no RT or tensor core support. This means the GB10 is equipped for modern ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads, while the P100 is a pure compute card from an era before these technologies became standard. The memory subsystems are also fundamentally different: the GB10 uses 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, while the P100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The P100’s wider bus and HBM2 memory deliver higher bandwidth, but the GB10’s larger capacity and newer memory type offer more flexibility for large datasets.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head benchmark is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The GB10 scores 120,137, while the Tesla P100 scores 79,605. This results in a 50.9% delta in favor of the GB10, a decisive and unambiguous win. In the context of their nearest rivals, the GB10’s average benchmark score is 117,393, which is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation (117,088) and 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 (118,976). It also sits 2.6% above the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB (114,395) and 3% above the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile (113,944). These figures place the GB10 in the upper echelon of workstation and server GPUs, just shy of the very top but well ahead of its immediate competition.

The Tesla P100’s average benchmark score is 79,605, which is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396) and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 by 0.3% (79,842) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.7% (80,959). These narrow margins show that the P100, despite its age, is still competitive with a specific cohort of GPUs, but that cohort is far below the performance tier occupied by the GB10. The 50.9% delta between the two reviewed cards is nearly identical to the gap between the P100 and the RTX 5090, demonstrating that the GB10 is operating in a different performance class entirely.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal stark contrasts. The GB10 has a base clock of 1665 MHz and a boost clock of 2418 MHz, while the P100 operates at 1190 MHz base and 1329 MHz boost. The GB10’s FP32 compute is rated at 29.71 TFLOPS, more than three times the P100’s 9.526 TFLOPS. In FP16, the GB10 achieves 29.71 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the P100 reaches 19.05 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning the GB10 is still ahead even before accounting for the P100’s reduced precision efficiency. The GB10’s texture rate is 928.5 GTexel/s versus the P100’s 297.7 GTexel/s, a 3.1x advantage. The pixel rates are closer, with the GB10 at 116.1 GPixel/s and the P100 at 127.6 GPixel/s, the only specification where the P100 is superior.

Power consumption and physical design also differ. The GB10 has a TDP of 140 W and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The P100 is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP, a single 8-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The GB10 is compact at 150 mm in length, while the P100 is a full-length card at 267 mm. The GB10 uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the P100 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The GB10 also has a single HDMI display output, whereas the P100 has no display outputs, making it a strictly compute-focused accelerator. The GB10 supports no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan APIs, while the P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, a notable difference for any software relying on those graphics APIs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GB10 is significantly faster. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 120,137 compared to the Tesla P100’s 79,605, a 50.9% advantage.

Q: What are the key architectural differences?

A: The GB10 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process with 6,144 shading units, 48 RT cores, and 384 tensor cores. The Tesla P100 uses the Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process with 3,584 shading units and no RT or tensor cores.

Q: How does memory capacity and bandwidth compare?

A: The GB10 has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla P100 has 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 732.2 GB/s bandwidth, giving the P100 a bandwidth advantage but far less capacity.

Q: Which card has higher compute power?

A: The GB10’s FP32 performance is 29.71 TFLOPS, while the P100’s is 9.526 TFLOPS. The GB10 also leads in FP16 with 29.71 TFLOPS (1:1) versus the P100’s 19.05 TFLOPS (2:1).

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The GB10 has a 140 W TDP and requires a 300 W PSU. The Tesla P100 has a 250 W TDP and requires a 600 W PSU.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The Tesla P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GB10 lists no API support in the database for DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The GB10’s average score is 117,393, placing it 0.3% above the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation and 1.3% below the Radeon PRO W7700. The P100’s average score is 79,605, placing it 0.3% above the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 0.3% below the GeForce RTX 5090.

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GB10 is the definitive choice for anyone seeking maximum compute performance in the recorded benchmarks. Its 50.9% lead over the Tesla P100 in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with its higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, makes it the superior processor for modern workloads. Its 95th percentile ranking versus the P100’s 92nd percentile reinforces this conclusion. The GB10 also offers a Vulkan score of 114,648, a capability the P100 lacks entirely. For AI, ray tracing, or general-purpose compute, the GB10 is the clear winner.

The Tesla P100 retains a narrow set of advantages. Its 732.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 127.6 GPixel/s pixel rate exceed the GB10’s 273.2 GB/s and 116.1 GPixel/s, respectively. This makes it a potential option for legacy applications that are heavily memory-bandwidth dependent or require maximum pixel fill rates. Its support for DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3 also gives it a software compatibility edge, as the GB10 lists no API support. However, these benefits do not overcome the massive performance deficit. The P100 is an end-of-life product, while the GB10 is active and built for the future. For nearly all use cases, the data points to the GB10 as the better investment in performance and capability.