NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB represent two very different eras of NVIDIA’s GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a decisive performance gap, but the Tesla M40’s massive 24 GB memory pool and its position in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs suggest it still holds niche utility. This analysis walks through the head-to-head numbers, architectural gulf, and what each card does best according to the available data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two cards is limited to two compute-focused tests, and the results are stark. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 Ti scores 176,953 points against the Tesla M40’s 37,439 points. That works out to a 372.6% advantage for the newer card, meaning the RTX 4070 Ti delivers roughly 4.7 times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The margin is nearly identical in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 4070 Ti posts 213,808 points versus the Tesla M40’s 45,975 points, a 365.1% lead. In both instances, the RTX 4070 Ti wins outright, giving it a clean 2-0 record in the head-to-head benchmarks.

These deltas are so large that they effectively define the relationship between the two cards. The RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44,795 places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M40’s average of 41,707 sits just one percentile lower at 83. Despite the massive per-test margins, the overall percentile rankings are surprisingly close, which suggests that the Tesla M40’s strengths lie in other, non-compute-heavy scenarios not captured in this head-to-head set. The RTX 4070 Ti’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (0.8% slower) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (1.3% slower), while the Tesla M40 sits within 2.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, indicating that its overall score is competitive with much newer mid-range parts.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 Ti dominates in every benchmark category where both cards have data. Its advantages stem from a combination of higher clocks, newer architecture, and vastly superior compute throughput. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 372.6% lead reflects not just higher raw FP32 performance but also better driver optimization for general-purpose compute. The Vulkan score of 213,808 versus 45,975 shows a similar gap, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti is the clear choice for any modern graphics API workload, including gaming and GPU-accelerated applications that leverage Vulkan’s low-level access.

The Tesla M40, however, has one clear advantage not visible in the head-to-head tests: memory capacity. With 24 GB of GDDR5, it offers double the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB GDDR6X. This makes the Tesla M40 potentially viable for workloads that require loading very large datasets into VRAM, such as certain machine learning inference tasks or rendering scenes with massive texture sets. The Tesla M40’s 384-bit memory bus, though slower in bandwidth (288.4 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s), provides a wider path that can be beneficial for specific memory-access patterns. Its lack of display outputs confirms it is intended as a compute-only accelerator, so any use case would be headless or server-based.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX 4070 Ti uses the AD104 chip built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm². In contrast, the Tesla M40 uses the GM200 chip on TSMC’s 28 nm process, with 8,000 million transistors spread across a much larger 601 mm² die, giving a density of just 13.3 million per mm². The RTX 4070 Ti’s 5 nm node allows for nearly 4.5 times the transistor density, which explains how it fits 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs into a smaller die, versus the Tesla M40’s 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

The RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, which introduces dedicated hardware for ray tracing (60 RT cores) and AI acceleration (240 tensor cores). The Tesla M40, based on Maxwell 2.0, has neither of these feature sets. This means the RTX 4070 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla M40 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1), a difference that matters for modern gaming and certain compute features. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 4070 Ti’s Vulkan performance is dramatically higher, as shown in the benchmarks. Clock speeds also differ significantly: the RTX 4070 Ti boosts to 2,610 MHz, while the Tesla M40 boosts to just 1,112 MHz. That 1,498 MHz difference is a major contributor to the RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 throughput versus the Tesla M40’s 6.832 TFLOPS.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory, and does that matter?

A: The Tesla M40 24 GB has double the memory capacity of the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB. However, the RTX 4070 Ti has significantly higher memory bandwidth (504.2 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s), so for most workloads, the newer card’s speed compensates for its smaller capacity.

Q: Can the Tesla M40 handle modern gaming?

A: The data indicates no. It lacks RT cores and tensor cores, supports only DirectX 12 (12_1), and has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for gaming. Its Vulkan score of 45,975 is over 4.6 times lower than the RTX 4070 Ti’s.

Q: What is the performance gap in compute workloads?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 Ti is 372.6% faster. In Geekbench Vulkan, it is 365.1% faster. These are the only two benchmarks where both cards have scores.

Q: Are these cards in the same performance tier?

A: Their overall percentile rankings are close (84th for RTX 4070 Ti, 83rd for Tesla M40), but this is misleading. The Tesla M40’s average score is buoyed by its large memory capacity, while the RTX 4070 Ti’s score reflects raw compute power. In direct compute tests, they are not in the same league.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has a TDP of 285 W and requires a 600 W power supply with a 1x 16-pin connector. The Tesla M40 has a TDP of 250 W and also suggests a 600 W PSU, but uses an 8-pin EPS connector.

Q: Does either card support modern APIs like Vulkan?

A: Both support Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6. The RTX 4070 Ti additionally supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla M40 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RTX 4070 Ti uses a 5 nm process and the AD104 chip, while the Tesla M40 uses 28 nm and the GM200 chip. Transistor counts are 35,800 million versus 8,000 million, and die sizes are 294 mm² versus 601 mm². The RTX 4070 Ti has a base clock of 2,310 MHz and a boost of 2,610 MHz, while the Tesla M40 runs at 948 MHz base and 1,112 MHz boost. Memory configurations are 12 GB GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus versus 24 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with bandwidths of 504.2 GB/s and 288.4 GB/s, respectively.

Shading units are 7,680 versus 3,072, TMUs are 240 versus 192, and ROPs are 80 versus 96. The RTX 4070 Ti has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores; the Tesla M40 has none. Pixel rate is 208.8 GPixel/s versus 106.8 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 626.4 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 40.09 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS, and the RTX 4070 Ti supports FP16 at 40.09 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Tesla M40 has no FP16 data. TDP is 285 W versus 250 W, and the RTX 4070 Ti uses a 16-pin power connector while the Tesla M40 uses an 8-pin EPS. The RTX 4070 Ti has PCIe 4.0 x16, the Tesla M40 has PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are present on the RTX 4070 Ti (1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a) but absent on the Tesla M40. The RTX 4070 Ti is 285 mm long, the Tesla M40 is 267 mm.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the superior card for any workload involving compute or graphics. Its 372.6% lead in OpenCL and 365.1% lead in Vulkan make it the only rational choice for tasks like rendering, machine learning inference, or any API-accelerated application. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores provide a feature set that the Tesla M40 simply cannot match. Its 84th percentile ranking, alongside rivals like the RTX 5090 Mobile and RTX A6000, confirms it sits in a performance tier that the Tesla M40, despite its 83rd percentile, does not approach in real-world speed.

The Tesla M40 24 GB, however, should not be dismissed outright for specific use cases. Its 24 GB VRAM capacity is unmatched by the RTX 4070 Ti, and for workloads that are memory-bound rather than compute-bound—such as loading massive datasets that exceed 12 GB—the older card has a functional advantage. Its 288.4 GB/s bandwidth is lower, but the sheer capacity allows it to handle larger batch sizes or higher-resolution textures. The Tesla M40’s lack of display outputs and older DirectX 12 (12_1) support limit it to headless compute servers, but within that niche, its memory pool is a genuine asset. For anyone choosing between these two, the decision comes down to whether raw speed (RTX 4070 Ti) or raw memory capacity (Tesla M40) is the binding constraint. If the workload fits within 12 GB, the RTX 4070 Ti is overwhelmingly faster. If it does not, the Tesla M40 is the only option, albeit at a significant compute penalty.