NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 vs NVIDIA Tesla M4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains a single direct comparison between these two GPUs: the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. In this test, the NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16,932 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15,283 points. This represents a 10.8% victory for the Tesla M4, making it the clear winner in the only head-to-head measurement available.

This 10.8% gap is meaningful when placed in context. The Tesla M4 sits at the 60th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 580 sits at the 58th percentile. The difference of two percentile points may seem small, but the benchmark delta shows a consistent advantage for the newer card.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card helps clarify what these scores mean. The Tesla M4's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon HD 7970M, which scores 17,019 points, a mere 0.5% ahead. The NVIDIA T400 4 GB trails by 0.8%, scoring 16,792. The GTX 580, by contrast, finds itself nearly tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, which scores 15,290, a 0% delta. This is notable: a 2010-era card matches a modern RTX card in this particular OpenCL workload.

The Tesla M4 also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 by 0.6% (17,037 points) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT by 0.9% (17,083 points). These deltas are small, but they indicate that the Tesla M4 is competitively positioned against a wide range of hardware. The GTX 580, meanwhile, is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 680M (15,270 points) and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15,199 points), showing it still holds its own against integrated and entry-level solutions.

The win count confirms the outcome: the Tesla M4 takes 1 win, the GTX 580 takes 0. The data does not show any benchmark where the GTX 580 pulls ahead. The 10.8% margin is not overwhelming, but it is consistent across the recorded measurement.

Architecture Differences

These two GPUs come from very different eras of NVIDIA's design philosophy. The Tesla M4 is built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, using the GM206 chip. The GTX 580 uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF110 chip. The process node tells a significant story: the Tesla M4 is manufactured on a 28 nm process, while the GTX 580 uses a 40 nm process. Both are fabricated by TSMC, but the newer node allows for much higher transistor density.

The numbers bear this out. The Tesla M4 contains 2,940 million transistors on a die size of 228 mm², yielding a density of 12.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The GTX 580 has 3,000 million transistors on a much larger die of 520 mm², giving a density of only 5.8 million per square millimeter. The Tesla M4 achieves nearly the same transistor count in less than half the die area.

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The Tesla M4 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 88.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580 has 1,536 MB (1.5 GB) of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 192.4 GB/s. The GTX 580 offers more than double the bandwidth, but the Tesla M4 offers nearly three times the capacity. The clock speeds reflect this: the Tesla M4 runs memory at 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective), while the GTX 580 runs at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective).

Compute resources also differ. The Tesla M4 has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The GTX 580 has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The Tesla M4 doubles the shading unit count but has fewer ROPs. The pixel rate and texture rate reflect this split: the Tesla M4 hits 34.30 GPixel/s and 68.61 GTexel/s, while the GTX 580 manages 24.70 GPixel/s and 49.41 GTexel/s.

Floating-point performance follows the shading unit count. The Tesla M4 delivers 2.195 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the GTX 580 delivers 1.581 TFLOPS. Neither card supports FP16 operations in the recorded data. The Tesla M4's base clock is 872 MHz with a boost of 1072 MHz, while the GTX 580's clocks are not listed in the database.

Power and physical characteristics diverge sharply. The Tesla M4 has a TDP of 50 W and requires a 250 W suggested power supply. The GTX 580 has a TDP of 244 W and requires a 550 W suggested power supply. The Tesla M4 is a single-slot card with no power connectors listed, while the GTX 580 is a dual-slot card with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors. The GTX 580 is also physically larger: 267 mm long and 111 mm tall, whereas the Tesla M4 has no dimensions listed. The Tesla M4 has no display outputs, while the GTX 580 offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

Bus interfaces differ as well: the Tesla M4 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 580 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. API support is mixed. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6. The Tesla M4 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 580 has no Vulkan support listed. The Tesla M4's DirectX feature level is 12_1, while the GTX 580's is 11_0.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16,932 points, which is 10.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580's score of 15,283 points.

Q: How do these cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 580 has significantly higher bandwidth at 192.4 GB/s, due to its 384-bit bus, while the Tesla M4 provides 88.00 GB/s over a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more memory capacity?

A: The Tesla M4 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is more than double the GTX 580's 1,536 MB (1.5 GB) of GDDR5 memory.

Q: What are the TDP requirements for each card?

A: The Tesla M4 has a TDP of 50 W and a suggested power supply of 250 W. The GTX 580 has a TDP of 244 W and a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but with different feature levels. The Tesla M4 supports 12_1, while the GTX 580 supports 11_0. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but only the Tesla M4 supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The Tesla M4 has 1,024 shading units, exactly double the GTX 580's 512 shading units. This contributes to its higher FP32 throughput of 2.195 TFLOPS versus 1.581 TFLOPS.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs in the database:

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla M4 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 |

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

| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Chip | GM206 | GF110 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 2,940 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 228 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.9M / mm² | 5.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 872 MHz | Not listed |

| Boost Clock | 1072 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps) | 1002 MHz (4 Gbps) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 1536 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 88.00 GB/s | 192.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 512 |

| ROPs | 32 | 48 |

| Pixel Rate | 34.30 GPixel/s | 24.70 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 68.61 GTexel/s | 49.41 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.195 TFLOPS | 1.581 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 50 W | 244 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI |

| DirectX Feature Level | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | Not listed |

| Dimensions | Not listed | 267 mm x 111 mm |

| Release Date | 2015-11-09 | 2010-11-08 |

The Verdict

The data points decisively toward the NVIDIA Tesla M4 as the stronger performer in the recorded benchmark. It wins the only head-to-head test by 10.8%, and its percentile ranking (60th vs. 58th) confirms a slight but real advantage over the GTX 580.

The Tesla M4's architecture advantages are clear: it uses a much denser 28 nm process, doubles the shading units, and delivers 38.8% more FP32 compute (2.195 TFLOPS vs. 1.581 TFLOPS). It also offers 4 GB of memory, which is essential for modern workloads, and it does all this at 50 W TDP compared to 244 W.

The GTX 580 is not without merit. Its 192.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is more than double the Tesla M4's, and its 384-bit bus gives it a raw data throughput advantage. It also has more ROPs (48 vs. 32) and offers display outputs, making it usable in a standard desktop setup. The GTX 580's nearest rival comparisons show it nearly matching the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in OpenCL, which is a strong showing for a card released in 2010.

For compute-focused tasks, the Tesla M4 is the superior choice based on the data. It wins the benchmark, uses far less power, and has more memory. For tasks that require high memory bandwidth or display output, the GTX 580 has characteristics that could be preferable, but the benchmark data does not show it winning any test. The verdict from the database is clear: the Tesla M4 is the stronger GPU.

Where Each One Wins

The Tesla M4 wins in the recorded benchmark, but the analysis reveals distinct strengths for each card depending on the workload.

NVIDIA Tesla M4 wins on:

• OpenCL performance: 16,932 vs. 15,283, a 10.8% margin.
• Compute density: 2.195 TFLOPS FP32 vs. 1.581 TFLOPS.
• Memory capacity: 4 GB vs. 1.5 GB, enabling larger datasets.
• Power efficiency: 50 W TDP vs. 244 W, and a 250 W suggested PSU vs. 550 W.
• Modern features: PCIe 3.0, Vulkan 1.4, and DirectX 12_1 support.
• Physical footprint: single-slot vs. dual-slot, with no power connectors required.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 wins on:

• Memory bandwidth: 192.4 GB/s vs. 88.00 GB/s, a 119% advantage.
• Memory bus width: 384-bit vs. 128-bit.
• ROP count: 48 vs. 32, which can benefit certain pixel-heavy operations.
• Display outputs: 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI vs. no outputs on the Tesla M4.
• PCIe compatibility: works with older PCIe 2.0 motherboards without issue.

The GTX 580's bandwidth advantage could matter for workloads that stream large amounts of data, such as certain scientific or visualization tasks. However, the Tesla M4's higher compute throughput and larger memory pool make it more versatile for general-purpose compute. The database records only one benchmark, and the Tesla M4 wins it. Users prioritizing raw bandwidth or needing display connectivity would favor the GTX 580, while those needing compute performance, efficiency, or memory capacity would lean toward the Tesla M4.