NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database shows a decisive outcome: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 wins both recorded head-to-head tests, making it the clear performance choice for compute-heavy tasks. The GTX 1080 delivers a 396.3% higher score in Geekbench OpenCL and a 232.9% higher score in Geekbench Vulkan. For anyone choosing between these two, the data points squarely at the GTX 1080, which also holds a higher average benchmark score of 11960 compared to the Tesla M10's 9724. The Tesla M10, with its Maxwell architecture and lower compute capacity, is positioned for different workloads, but in raw performance metrics, it trails significantly.

The GTX 1080 is the pick for users who need a general-purpose GPU with strong compute and graphics capability, given its 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs and its much larger shading unit count. The Tesla M10, falling at the 47th percentile, has a narrower appeal; its lack of display outputs and lower compute scores suggest it is intended for server-side acceleration where graphics output is not required. Data-driven analysis favors the GTX 1080 for almost every measurable workload, so unless the specific use case demands a passive, output-less compute card, the GTX 1080 is the superior choice.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different NVIDIA generations and foundry processes. The GTX 1080 uses the GP104 chip on the Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process at TSMC, while the Tesla M10 uses the GM107 chip on the Maxwell architecture, built on the older 28 nm process. This process gap is substantial: the GTX 1080 packs 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.9M per mm², whereas the Tesla M10 contains 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die with a density of 12.6M per mm². The Pascal card therefore has nearly four times the transistor count and roughly double the density per area.

Core resources diverge sharply. The GTX 1080 has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Tesla M10 has only 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. That is a 4x difference in shading units and a 4x difference in ROPs, which directly explains the large compute performance gap. Clock speeds also favor the GTX 1080: it runs at a base of 1607 MHz and boosts to 1733 MHz, while the Tesla M10 operates at 1033 MHz base and 1306 MHz boost. Memory architecture is another differentiator: the GTX 1080 uses 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus for 320.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla M10 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding only 83.20 GB/s. The effective memory speed is 10 Gbps for the GTX 1080 versus 5.2 Gbps for the Tesla M10.

Feature support also differs. The GTX 1080 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the Tesla M10 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 1080 has display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the Tesla M10 has no outputs at all, confirming its compute-only design. The GTX 1080 also has a lower TDP of 180 W compared to the Tesla M10's 225 W, meaning it delivers far higher performance while drawing less power.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 has an average benchmark score of 11960, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 has an average benchmark score of 9724, a difference of about 22.9% in favor of the GTX 1080.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1080 in OpenCL compute?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 1080 scores 51204 versus the Tesla M10's 10318, a 396.3% advantage for the GTX 1080.

Q: Does the Tesla M10 have any display outputs?

A: No. The Tesla M10 has no display outputs, whereas the GTX 1080 includes 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1080 has 320.3 GB/s bandwidth using GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, while the Tesla M10 has 83.20 GB/s using GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 1080's bandwidth is roughly 3.85 times higher.

Q: Which architecture is newer?

A: The GTX 1080 uses the Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process, while the Tesla M10 uses the Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process. Pascal is the newer generation, as the Tesla M10's successor is listed as Tesla Pascal.

Q: What is the TDP of each card?

A: The GTX 1080 has a TDP of 180 W, and the Tesla M10 has a TDP of 225 W. The higher-power Tesla card still delivers much lower performance.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The GTX 1080's chip is GP104 with Pascal architecture on 16 nm, while the Tesla M10 uses GM107 with Maxwell on 28 nm. Transistor counts are 7,200 million versus 1,870 million, and die sizes are 314 mm² versus 148 mm². Transistor density is 22.9M per mm² for the GTX 1080 and 12.6M per mm² for the Tesla M10.

Clock speeds: the GTX 1080 runs at 1607 MHz base and 1733 MHz boost; the Tesla M10 runs at 1033 MHz base and 1306 MHz boost. Memory speed is 10 Gbps effective for the GTX 1080 and 5.2 Gbps for the Tesla M10. Memory type is GDDR5X versus GDDR5, with bus widths of 256 bit versus 128 bit and bandwidth of 320.3 GB/s versus 83.20 GB/s. Shading units are 2560 versus 640, TMUs are 160 versus 40, and ROPs are 64 versus 16. Pixel rates are 110.9 GPixel/s versus 20.90 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 277.3 GTexel/s versus 52.24 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 8.873 TFLOPS versus 1.672 TFLOPS. The GTX 1080 has FP16 capability at 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64), while the Tesla M10 has no recorded FP16 figure. TDP is 180 W versus 225 W, and the suggested PSU is 450 W versus 550 W. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 (11_0). The GTX 1080 has display outputs; the Tesla M10 has none. The GTX 1080 has dimensions of 267 mm length, 112 mm height, and 40 mm width, while the Tesla M10 lists only a 267 mm length with no height or width recorded. Release dates are 2016-05-26 for the GTX 1080 and 2016-05-17 for the Tesla M10, nine days apart.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two head-to-head tests, both won by the GTX 1080. The first is Geekbench OpenCL, where the GTX 1080 scores 51204 and the Tesla M10 scores 10318. The delta is 396.3%, meaning the GTX 1080 is nearly five times faster in this compute workload. The second is Geekbench Vulkan, where the GTX 1080 achieves 30398 versus the Tesla M10's 9130, a 232.9% advantage. These are not marginal wins; they are dominant margins that reflect the underlying hardware disparity: four times the shading units, nearly four times the memory bandwidth, and a newer architecture with higher clocks.

In the broader benchmark suite, the GTX 1080 has additional recorded scores beyond the head-to-head tests. It scores 1560 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 23824 in Geekbench Metal, 93 in PassMark DirectX 10, 124 in PassMark DirectX 11, 55 in PassMark DirectX 12, 211 in PassMark DirectX 9, 888 in PassMark G2D, 15586 in PassMark G3D, and 7614 in PassMark GPU Compute. The Tesla M10 has no recorded scores for these tests, so no comparison is possible there. The only shared tests are the two Geekbench workloads, and the GTX 1080 wins both decisively.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1080 wins in every measured category. Its strengths are most pronounced in compute-heavy workloads: the 396.3% OpenCL lead and 232.9% Vulkan lead make it the obvious choice for GPU-accelerated compute tasks like rendering, scientific simulation, or machine learning inference. Its 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 320.3 GB/s bandwidth, and 2560 shading units provide the raw throughput needed for demanding applications. It also has display outputs, so it can drive monitors directly, making it suitable for workstations where the same GPU handles both compute and visualization.

The Tesla M10 has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data. Its only advantages are indirect: it is built on the Maxwell architecture, which may have different driver or software compatibility profiles, and it has no display outputs, which could be preferable in a headless server environment where power for display circuitry is unnecessary. Its lower transistor density (12.6M per mm²) and older 28 nm process suggest it may have been designed for density-oriented server deployments, but the database shows no performance metric where it outperforms the GTX 1080. The Tesla M10's average score of 9724 places it near the GTX 1070 (9780, a -0.6% delta) and Quadro P4000 (9665, a 0.6% delta), but that is still far below the GTX 1080's 11960 average. For any workload measured in this database, the GTX 1080 is the superior part. The Tesla M10's role is limited to scenarios where its specific form factor, power profile, or lack of display outputs is a requirement, but on pure benchmark performance, it loses every comparison.