NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla P4 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and NVIDIA Tesla P4 are two very different GPUs from different eras, serving different purposes. The data shows a dominant performance gap in the two shared benchmarks, but the underlying architecture, power envelope, and feature sets tell a story of specialized versus general-purpose design. This analysis walks through the benchmark results, architectural differences, and use-case scenarios based strictly on the provided data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains two tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the RTX 3080 Ti wins decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3080 Ti scores 170,037 against the Tesla P4’s 34,947. This is a delta of 386.6% in favor of the RTX 3080 Ti. To put that in context, the RTX 3080 Ti’s average benchmark score across all its tests is 41,187, while the Tesla P4’s average is 37,628. The OpenCL result for the RTX 3080 Ti is more than four times higher than the Tesla P4’s score, indicating a massive compute advantage in this API.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin is similar but slightly smaller. The RTX 3080 Ti scores 192,697, while the Tesla P4 scores 40,309. The delta is 378% in favor of the RTX 3080 Ti. Notably, the RTX 3080 Ti’s Vulkan score is higher than its OpenCL score, whereas the Tesla P4’s Vulkan score is also higher than its OpenCL score but by a smaller absolute margin. This suggests the RTX 3080 Ti scales better with Vulkan’s lower-level overhead.

The RTX 3080 Ti wins 2 head-to-head tests; the Tesla P4 wins 0. There is no benchmark in the data where the Tesla P4 comes out ahead. The average benchmark score reinforces this: the RTX 3080 Ti’s 41,187 average is 9.5% higher than the Tesla P4’s 37,628 average, though this aggregate figure is less dramatic than the individual test deltas because it includes different test suites for each card.

Looking at rival positioning, the RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, averages 40,870 — just 0.8% behind. The Tesla P4 sits at the 81st percentile, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 at 37,648, a -0.1% delta. The percentile gap is only two points, but the raw score difference in shared tests is enormous, meaning the percentile ranking masks the true performance chasm in the benchmarks that matter.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures, nodes, and design philosophies.

Process node and foundry: The RTX 3080 Ti uses an 8 nm process from Samsung, while the Tesla P4 uses a 16 nm process from TSMC. The smaller node allows the RTX 3080 Ti to pack 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 45.1M / mm². The Tesla P4 has 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, with a density of 22.9M / mm². The RTX 3080 Ti has nearly four times the transistors and double the die area, explaining its massive compute advantage.

Chip and architecture: The RTX 3080 Ti is built on the GA102 chip using Ampere architecture, part of the GeForce 30 series. The Tesla P4 uses the GP104 chip with Pascal architecture, belonging to the Tesla Pascal (Pxx) generation. Ampere is two generations newer than Pascal, which directly impacts feature support and efficiency.

Core counts: The RTX 3080 Ti has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The Tesla P4 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Ti has exactly four times the shading units and double the TMUs and ROPs. Additionally, the RTX 3080 Ti includes 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores; the Tesla P4 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. This is a critical distinction for modern workloads.

Memory subsystem: The RTX 3080 Ti features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P4 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Ti has nearly 4.7 times the memory bandwidth, which is crucial for high-resolution textures and compute workloads.

Clocks and throughput: The RTX 3080 Ti runs at a base clock of 1365 MHz and boost of 1665 MHz, while the Tesla P4 runs at 886 MHz base and 1114 MHz boost. The RTX 3080 Ti’s FP32 throughput is 34.10 TFLOPS, compared to the Tesla P4’s 5.704 TFLOPS — a six-fold difference. The FP16 comparison is even starker: the RTX 3080 Ti achieves 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio with FP32), while the Tesla P4 manages only 89.12 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio). The Tesla P4 is clearly not designed for FP16 compute.

Power and physical design: The RTX 3080 Ti has a TDP of 350 W, is dual-slot, requires a 1x 12-pin power connector, and suggests a 750 W PSU. The Tesla P4 has a TDP of 75 W, is single-slot, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Tesla P4 is also much shorter at 168 mm (6.6 inches) versus 285 mm (11.2 inches) for the RTX 3080 Ti.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data and specifications, each card has clear domains of advantage.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti wins in:

• Raw compute performance: The 386.6% lead in OpenCL and 378% lead in Vulkan are the defining metrics. Any workload that leverages these APIs will see a massive speedup.
• Modern API support: The RTX 3080 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and has 80 ray tracing cores plus 320 tensor cores. The Tesla P4 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and lacks these specialized cores.
• Memory bandwidth: The 912.4 GB/s bandwidth is essential for large datasets, high-resolution rendering, and AI inference.
• FP16 compute: The 1:1 FP32/FP16 ratio makes the RTX 3080 Ti suitable for mixed-precision workloads; the Tesla P4’s 1:64 ratio makes FP16 effectively unusable.
• Display output: The RTX 3080 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the Tesla P4 has no outputs — the RTX 3080 Ti can drive displays natively.

NVIDIA Tesla P4 wins in:

• Power efficiency: At 75 W TDP versus 350 W, the Tesla P4 uses 78.6% less power. For datacenter deployments where power density is a constraint, this is a significant advantage.
• Physical footprint: The single-slot, 168 mm length design is far more compact than the dual-slot, 285 mm RTX 3080 Ti. This allows for higher density in server chassis.
• No external power: The Tesla P4 draws all power from the PCIe slot, simplifying cabling and installation.
• Low system requirements: The 250 W suggested PSU is far more accessible than the 750 W requirement for the RTX 3080 Ti.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,187, which is 9.5% higher than the Tesla P4’s 37,628.

Q: What is the performance difference in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti scores 170,037 versus the Tesla P4’s 34,947, a delta of 386.6% in favor of the RTX 3080 Ti.

Q: Does the Tesla P4 support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The Tesla P4 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, while the RTX 3080 Ti has 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has 912.4 GB/s bandwidth from 12 GB GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, versus 192.3 GB/s from 8 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus for the Tesla P4.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has a TDP of 350 W and suggests a 750 W PSU, while the Tesla P4 has a TDP of 75 W and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Tesla P4 requires no power connectors.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti scores 192,697 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 378% higher than the Tesla P4’s 40,309.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the superior performer in every benchmark recorded. Its 386.6% OpenCL lead and 378% Vulkan lead are not incremental improvements — they represent a different performance class entirely. The RTX 3080 Ti also offers modern features the Tesla P4 simply lacks: 80 ray tracing cores, 320 tensor cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and a 1:1 FP16 ratio. For any workload that requires compute, rendering, or AI acceleration, the RTX 3080 Ti is the clear choice.

The Tesla P4, however, is not without merit. Its 75 W TDP, single-slot design, 168 mm length, and lack of power connectors make it ideal for dense server deployments where space and power are at a premium. The 250 W PSU recommendation is a fraction of the 750 W needed for the RTX 3080 Ti. If the workload is light, legacy, or power-constrained, the Tesla P4’s 81st percentile ranking (versus the RTX 3080 Ti’s 83rd) shows it is still a capable card relative to all GPUs.

The verdict depends on the context. For a desktop workstation, gaming, content creation, or any modern GPU compute task, the RTX 3080 Ti is the only rational choice. For a datacenter environment where power density, physical space, and thermal constraints dominate, and where the workload does not require ray tracing, tensor cores, or high FP16 throughput, the Tesla P4’s efficiency makes it a viable option — provided the user accepts a 378% to 386.6% performance deficit in compute benchmarks.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | NVIDIA Tesla P4 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Pascal |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 16 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 28,300 million | 7,200 million |

| Die Size | 628 mm² | 314 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 45.1M / mm² | 22.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1365 MHz | 886 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1114 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) | 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 912.4 GB/s | 192.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 10240 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 320 | 160 |

| ROPs | 112 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 80 | null |

| Tensor Cores | 320 | null |

| Pixel Rate | 186.5 GPixel/s | 71.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 532.8 GTexel/s | 178.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 34.10 TFLOPS | 5.704 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1) | 89.12 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 350 W | 75 W |

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

| Power Connectors | 1x 12-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Dimensions (Length) | 285 mm (11.2 in) | 168 mm (6.6 in) |

| Release Date | 2021-05-30 | 2016-09-12 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,199 USD | null |