NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla M4 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap, but the comparison reveals more than just raw speed differences; it highlights shifts in compute capabilities, power efficiency, and market focus.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are stark. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 74,748 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla M4 manages 16,932 points. This yields a delta of 341.5% in favor of the RTX 4050 Mobile, meaning the newer mobile chip outperforms the older Tesla by a factor of roughly 4.4 times in this OpenCL compute workload. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap that reflects fundamental changes in shader count, clock speeds, and memory bandwidth.

The RTX 4050 Mobile's average benchmark score across all tests in the database is 19,049, which places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, based on average score, are the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19,036, a 0.1% difference) and the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19,030, a 0.1% difference). The RTX 4050 Mobile essentially trades blows with these cards, sitting just 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18,954) and 0.2% behind the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (19,089). This indicates that while the RTX 4050 Mobile excels in OpenCL, its overall score is competitive with, but not dramatically superior to, a set of diverse desktop and workstation parts.

The Tesla M4, with only a single recorded Geekbench OpenCL score of 16,932, has an average benchmark score of 16,932 and sits in the 60th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17,019, a 0.5% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037, a 0.6% difference). Interestingly, the Tesla M4 is 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA T400 4 GB (16,792) and 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083). This places the Tesla M4's compute performance in line with older high-end gaming GPUs from 2012-2013, highlighting its age. The data shows the RTX 4050 Mobile is not just faster; it is in a completely different performance class, with its OpenCL score exceeding the Tesla M4's by over 300%.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is profound. The RTX 4050 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD107 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the Tesla M4 uses the Maxwell 2.0 architecture with the GM206 chip, built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. This process node difference, from 5 nm to 28 nm, is a primary driver of efficiency and performance. The RTX 4050 Mobile packs 18,900 million transistors into a die size of 159 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 118.9 million per mm². The Tesla M4, on the other hand, contains only 2,940 million transistors on a larger 228 mm² die, yielding a density of just 12.9 million per mm². This represents a massive leap in integration density.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The RTX 4050 Mobile features 2,560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It also includes 20 dedicated ray tracing cores and 80 Tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. The Tesla M4, from the Maxwell era, lacks these specialized cores entirely, with no ray tracing or Tensor core support. It has only 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the RTX 4050 Mobile has 2.5 times the shader count and 1.5 times the texture units.

Clock speeds also favor the newer chip. The RTX 4050 Mobile has a base clock of 1455 MHz and a boost clock of 1755 MHz. The Tesla M4 operates at a base of 872 MHz and boosts to 1072 MHz. When combined with the higher shader count, this leads to a massive throughput advantage. The RTX 4050 Mobile delivers 8.986 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Tesla M4 manages only 2.195 TFLOPS. The pixel and texture rates follow suit: the RTX 4050 Mobile achieves 84.24 GPixel/s and 140.4 GTexel/s, versus the Tesla M4's 34.30 GPixel/s and 68.61 GTexel/s.

Memory subsystems differ as well. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s with an effective speed of 16 Gbps. The Tesla M4 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 128-bit bus, but its effective speed of 5.5 Gbps yields only 88.00 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory technology gives the RTX 4050 Mobile more than double the memory bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile has a significantly higher average benchmark score of 19,049 compared to the NVIDIA Tesla M4's 16,932.

Q: What is the performance difference in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile scores 74,748, which is 341.5% higher than the Tesla M4's 16,932, indicating the RTX 4050 Mobile is over four times faster in this specific compute workload.

Q: Does the Tesla M4 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the Tesla M4 has no ray tracing cores listed in its specifications, while the RTX 4050 Mobile includes 20 dedicated RT cores.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has a memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s, more than double the Tesla M4's 88.00 GB/s, despite the Tesla M4 having a wider 128-bit bus compared to the RTX 4050 Mobile's 96-bit bus.

Q: What are the process nodes for each GPU?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile is fabricated on a 5 nm process, while the Tesla M4 uses a 28 nm process, both from TSMC.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has a transistor density of 118.9M per mm², vastly exceeding the Tesla M4's 12.9M per mm².

Specification Differences

The primary differences between the two GPUs are extensive. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm node, while the Tesla M4 uses Maxwell 2.0 on 28 nm. The RTX 4050 Mobile has 18,900 million transistors versus the Tesla M4's 2,940 million. Its die size is 159 mm² compared to 228 mm². The RTX 4050 Mobile has 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, while the Tesla M4 has 1,024, 64, and 32, respectively. The RTX 4050 Mobile adds 20 RT cores and 80 Tensor cores; the Tesla M4 has none. Clock speeds are 1455 MHz base and 1755 MHz boost for the RTX 4050 Mobile, versus 872 MHz and 1072 MHz for the Tesla M4.

Memory configurations differ: the RTX 4050 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective on a 96-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s, while the Tesla M4 has 4 GB of GDDR5 at 5.5 Gbps on a 128-bit bus, yielding 88.00 GB/s. The FP32 compute is 8.986 TFLOPS for the RTX 4050 Mobile versus 2.195 TFLOPS for the Tesla M4. The Tesla M4 supports FP16, but the RTX 4050 Mobile lists FP16 at 8.986 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The Tesla M4 has a maximum DirectX support of 12 (12_1), while the RTX 4050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the Tesla M4 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 4050 Mobile has no power connectors and an IGP slot width, while the Tesla M4 is a single-slot card with no display outputs. The Tesla M4 has a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the RTX 4050 Mobile has no such listing. Both have a TDP of 50 W.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for compute-intensive tasks. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile is the superior performer in every measurable aspect. Its OpenCL score is 341.5% higher, its FP32 throughput is over four times greater, and it offers more than double the memory bandwidth. For applications that rely on raw shader performance, modern API features like DirectX 12 Ultimate, or hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Tensor operations, the RTX 4050 Mobile is the only viable option between these two.

The Tesla M4, however, holds a specific niche. It is a single-slot, 50 W card with no display outputs, designed for server-side compute acceleration. Its 28 nm process and Maxwell architecture are outdated, but its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and 250 W suggested PSU indicate it was designed for a different deployment scenario. It is an end-of-life product, while the RTX 4050 Mobile is active.

For a mobile laptop GPU, the RTX 4050 Mobile offers a balance of performance and power efficiency, with a 50 W TDP. For a legacy server environment where the Tesla M4's specific form factor and interface are required, that older card remains a functional, if slow, option. The benchmark data, however, does not support any scenario where the Tesla M4 outperforms the RTX 4050 Mobile. The RTX 4050 Mobile also sits in a higher performance percentile (63rd versus 60th for the Tesla M4), reinforcing its overall advantage. Users needing modern features and maximum compute should choose the RTX 4050 Mobile; those constrained to the Tesla M4's legacy platform will accept a significant performance penalty.