NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla K40m Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla K40m and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile represent two very different eras of GPU design, but the benchmark data places them surprisingly close in overall standing. The K40m holds a 65th percentile rank among all GPUs, while the RTX 4050 Mobile sits at the 63rd percentile. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the Tesla K40m at 19,885 and the RTX 4050 Mobile at 19,049, a difference of roughly 4%. This proximity in overall metrics, however, masks a decisive generational gap in raw compute power. The data shows a clear shift in performance, efficiency, and feature set that makes the choice between them straightforward for most use cases.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is not close. The RTX 4050 Mobile scores 74,748, while the Tesla K40m manages 19,885. This translates to a delta of -73.4% for the K40m, meaning the RTX 4050 Mobile is roughly 3.8 times faster in this specific compute workload. This is a massive margin that completely outweighs the near-identical average scores, which are pulled down for the mobile part by other tests like the Passmark DirectX 10 score of 79.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite for the RTX 4050 Mobile, its wins are concentrated in modern API tests. It posts a Passmark G3D score of 14,423 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 5,947. The Vulkan score of 75,235 is nearly as high as its OpenCL result, showing strong cross-API consistency. The Tesla K40m has no corresponding Vulkan or Passmark data in the pack, so its competitive position rests entirely on that single OpenCL score, which is far below the mobile part's output. When comparing the K40m to its nearest rivals, it sits within 1.4% of the AMD FirePro W7000, AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, AMD FirePro D300, and NVIDIA Quadro K5200. The RTX 4050 Mobile's nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 6600, NVIDIA Quadro K6000, NVIDIA Tesla K20m, and NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation—are all within 0.5% of its average score, suggesting that its average is dragged down by legacy DirectX tests that do not reflect its actual compute strength.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The Tesla K40m uses the GK110B chip built on Kepler architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,080 million transistors onto a 561 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4050 Mobile, in contrast, uses the AD107 chip from the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. It fits 18,900 million transistors onto a much smaller 159 mm² die, achieving a density of 118.9 million per square millimeter—nearly ten times the density of the older part.

The memory subsystems tell a similar story of generational change. The K40m uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s. Despite having half the memory and a quarter of the bus width, the newer memory type allows the mobile chip to achieve two-thirds of the bandwidth. The RTX 4050 Mobile also brings dedicated hardware that the Kepler chip lacks entirely: 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores. These are absent from the Tesla K40m, which has no ray tracing or tensor acceleration capabilities. The feature set extends to API support, where the RTX 4050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the K40m is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4050 Mobile wins in every measurable compute scenario. Its FP32 throughput is 8.986 TFLOPS, nearly double the K40m's 5.046 TFLOPS. It also doubles up on FP16 performance at 8.986 TFLOPS, while the K40m has no listed FP16 capability. The pixel rate also favors the newer part: 84.24 GPixel/s versus 52.56 GPixel/s. The texture rate is the one area where the older GPU pulls ahead, with 210.2 GTexel/s versus 140.4 GTexel/s, a consequence of its 240 TMUs compared to 80 on the mobile chip. The K40m's higher texture throughput is a niche advantage, relevant only for workloads that are heavily texture-bound rather than compute-bound.

For gaming, the RTX 4050 Mobile is the clear choice. It has ray tracing cores and tensor cores, supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, and its Passmark DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 scores of 130 and 61, respectively, indicate modern API support. The K40m is a compute-oriented card with no display outputs, making it unsuitable for any interactive graphics work. For machine learning and AI tasks, the RTX 4050 Mobile's tensor cores and FP16 support give it a definitive edge. The K40m's only practical domain is as a legacy compute accelerator for workloads that rely on its large 12 GB frame buffer and high memory bandwidth relative to its 28 nm era peers.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge on nearly every specification. The process node shifts from 28 nm to 5 nm. Transistor count rises from 7,080 million to 18,900 million, while die size shrinks from 561 mm² to 159 mm². Clock speeds are higher on the RTX 4050 Mobile, with a base of 1455 MHz and boost of 1755 MHz, compared to 745 MHz base and 876 MHz boost on the K40m. Memory is 12 GB GDDR5 versus 6 GB GDDR6, with bus widths of 384-bit versus 96-bit. Bandwidth favors the K40m at 288.4 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s.

Shading units are 2,880 on the K40m versus 2,560 on the RTX 4050 Mobile, but the newer chip has 80 TMUs versus 240, and both have 48 ROPs. The RTX 4050 Mobile adds 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, which the K40m lacks entirely. Power consumption is dramatically different: the K40m draws 245 W and requires a 550 W power supply, while the RTX 4050 Mobile has a 50 W TDP and no power connectors. The K40m is a dual-slot, 267 mm card with no display outputs, while the RTX 4050 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for portable devices with display output dependent on the laptop. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the K40m versus PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4050 Mobile. The K40m was released in November 2013 with a launch MSRP of 7,699 USD, while the RTX 4050 Mobile launched in January 2023 with no listed MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has significantly higher FP32 performance at 8.986 TFLOPS, compared to 5.046 TFLOPS for the Tesla K40m. The OpenCL benchmark confirms this, with the RTX 4050 Mobile scoring 74,748 versus 19,885 for the K40m.

Q: Does the Tesla K40m support ray tracing?

A: No. The Tesla K40m has no RT cores or tensor cores. The RTX 4050 Mobile includes 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla K40m has higher memory bandwidth at 288.4 GB/s, due to its 384-bit bus with GDDR5. The RTX 4050 Mobile has 192.0 GB/s from a 96-bit GDDR6 bus.

Q: Why is the average benchmark score similar if the RTX 4050 Mobile is much faster?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile's average score of 19,049 is dragged down by low scores in legacy Passmark tests, such as 79 in DirectX 10 and 61 in DirectX 12, while the K40m's average is based on a single OpenCL score of 19,885.

Q: Which GPU is more power efficient?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has a 50 W TDP, which is far lower than the Tesla K40m's 245 W. The K40m also requires a 550 W power supply, while the RTX 4050 Mobile uses no power connectors.

Q: Can either GPU be used for display output?

A: The Tesla K40m has no display outputs and is not designed for graphics output. The RTX 4050 Mobile's display outputs are portable device dependent, meaning they vary by laptop implementation.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the RTX 4050 Mobile is the superior GPU for virtually any task. It has nearly double the FP32 throughput, adds ray tracing and tensor cores, supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate, and does so at a fraction of the power draw. The 50 W TDP versus 245 W makes it dramatically more efficient, and its portable device form factor is more practical for modern systems. The Tesla K40m's 12 GB memory and higher texture rate are its only advantages, but these do not compensate for a 73.4% deficit in OpenCL performance.

Buyers looking for a capable compute accelerator for older, texture-heavy workloads might find the K40m's 12 GB frame buffer and 210.2 GTexel/s texture rate appealing. Its 384-bit memory bus and 288.4 GB/s bandwidth also remain respectable for its era. However, the RTX 4050 Mobile is the only sensible choice for gaming, AI, or any modern workload, given its 8.986 TFLOPS FP16 performance and dedicated tensor cores. The K40m is an end-of-life product from 2013, while the RTX 4050 Mobile is active and current. If the choice is between these two, the RTX 4050 Mobile wins on performance, features, and efficiency—the data leaves no other interpretation.