NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla M40

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 occupy entirely different eras of NVIDIA's GPU lineup. The RTX 5070 Ti is a current-generation Blackwell 2.0 part aimed at high-end desktop graphics, while the Tesla M40 is an end-of-life Maxwell 2.0 compute accelerator from 2015. Benchmark data shows the RTX 5070 Ti wins both available head-to-head tests by a massive margin, with Geekbench OpenCL scores of 212,363 versus 39,192 and Vulkan scores of 225,122 versus 44,602. The average benchmark score of the RTX 5070 Ti sits at 49,957, compared to 41,897 for the Tesla M40, placing the newer card at the 86th percentile of all GPUs versus the 83rd for the older accelerator. This comparison is less about a competitive matchup and more about quantifying generational progress in compute capability.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5070 Ti wins decisively in every benchmark category where both cards have data. It holds a 441.9% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 404.7% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. These are compute-oriented workloads, and the newer card's dominance reflects its modern architecture and far higher raw throughput. The RTX 5070 Ti's shading units number 8,960 versus 3,072 for the Tesla M40, and its FP32 performance reaches 43.94 TFLOPS compared to 6.832 TFLOPS — a roughly 6.4x gap in theoretical single-precision compute. In practical terms, the RTX 5070 Ti is the clear choice for any modern compute task, including machine learning inference, rendering, or general-purpose GPU computing.

The Tesla M40, however, has no benchmark wins in the provided data. Its only two recorded tests — Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan — both go to the RTX 5070 Ti. The Tesla M40's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (1.7% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (1.9% behind). This suggests the M40 is roughly comparable in average score to an RTX 3080 Ti, but that comparison is misleading for compute-heavy workloads where the newer architecture has substantial advantages. The Tesla M40's strength lies in its legacy: it was designed for datacenter compute in its era, with features like a 384-bit memory bus and 12 GB of GDDR5, but those specs are now far outpaced. In any modern workload, the RTX 5070 Ti is the only sensible pick from the data.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 Ti in OpenCL compared to the Tesla M40?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti scores 212,363 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Tesla M40 scores 39,192. This represents a 441.9% advantage for the RTX 5070 Ti.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 49,957, while the Tesla M40 averages 41,897. The newer card is about 19.2% higher on average, though this includes different test sets per card.

Q: Does the Tesla M40 support Vulkan as well as the RTX 5070 Ti?

A: Both cards support Vulkan 1.4 in their API listings. However, in Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5070 Ti scores 225,122 versus 44,602 for the Tesla M40, a 404.7% difference in favor of the RTX 5070 Ti.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti has 896.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth using GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus. The Tesla M40 has 288.4 GB/s using GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 5070 Ti provides roughly 3.1x the bandwidth.

Q: Is the Tesla M40 still in production?

A: No, the Tesla M40 is marked as end-of-life, while the RTX 5070 Ti is listed as active production. The Tesla M40 was released on 2015-11-09, and the RTX 5070 Ti was released on 2025-02-19.

Q: How do the percentile rankings compare?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti sits at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M40 is at the 83rd percentile. Despite the massive performance gap in specific tests, both cards rank in a similar percentile band due to different benchmark distributions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two benchmarks where both cards have recorded scores are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In OpenCL, the RTX 5070 Ti posts 212,363 points against 39,192 for the Tesla M40. That is a delta of 441.9%, meaning the newer card delivers more than five times the OpenCL compute performance. The Vulkan result is similar: 225,122 for the RTX 5070 Ti versus 44,602 for the Tesla M40, a 404.7% difference. Both deltas are enormous, far exceeding any margin seen in the nearest rival comparisons for either card.

Looking at the wider benchmark context, the RTX 5070 Ti also has scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (6,604), Passmark G3D (32,974), Passmark GPU Compute (20,203), and several DirectX tests ranging from 127 to 351. The Tesla M40 has no recorded scores for any of these tests, so a direct comparison is impossible. However, the RTX 5070 Ti's Passmark G3D score of 32,974 places it well above the Tesla M40's average benchmark score of 41,897? No — that number is actually lower, but the test sets differ. The RTX 5070 Ti's nearest rivals by average score include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (-0.1% delta), Intel Arc A550M (+0.4%), and AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (-2%). The Tesla M40's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (+0.5%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (+1.7%), and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (-1.9%). The RTX 5070 Ti's average score is 49,957, which is 19.2% higher than the Tesla M40's 41,897, but again, the benchmark sets are not identical across all tests.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ fundamentally in nearly every measured specification. The RTX 5070 Ti uses a GB203 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the Tesla M40 uses a GM200 chip on a 28 nm TSMC process. Transistor count is 45,600 million for the RTX 5070 Ti versus 8,000 million for the Tesla M40, and die size is 378 mm² versus 601 mm². The newer card achieves a transistor density of 120.6M per mm², compared to 13.3M per mm² for the older part — a 9x improvement in density.

Clock speeds are dramatically higher on the RTX 5070 Ti: base clock of 2295 MHz versus 948 MHz, and boost clock of 2452 MHz versus 1112 MHz. Memory configurations differ sharply: the RTX 5070 Ti has 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla M40 has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The newer card's memory clock is 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the older one. Shading units are 8,960 versus 3,072, TMUs are 280 versus 192, and ROPs are 96 for both. The RTX 5070 Ti includes 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores; the Tesla M40 has none. Pixel rate is 235.4 GPixel/s versus 106.8 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 686.6 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 43.94 TFLOPS versus 6.832 TFLOPS, and the RTX 5070 Ti supports FP16 at 43.94 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Tesla M40 has no FP16 data.

Power and physical differences are notable: TDP is 300 W for the RTX 5070 Ti versus 250 W for the Tesla M40, with suggested PSUs of 700 W and 600 W, respectively. The RTX 5070 Ti uses a 1x 16-pin power connector, while the Tesla M40 uses an 8-pin EPS. Both are dual-slot cards, but the RTX 5070 Ti is longer at 304 mm versus 267 mm. The RTX 5070 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs, while the Tesla M40 has no display outputs. The bus interface is PCIe 5.0 x16 for the newer card and PCIe 3.0 x16 for the older one. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1), with both supporting OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between Blackwell 2.0 and Maxwell 2.0 is generational. The RTX 5070 Ti is built on TSMC's 5 nm process, enabling 45,600 million transistors in a 378 mm² die. The Tesla M40 uses TSMC's 28 nm process, packing just 8,000 million transistors into a larger 601 mm² die. This density advantage is the root cause of the performance disparity. The RTX 5070 Ti also includes dedicated RT cores (70) and tensor cores (280), which are entirely absent from the Tesla M40. These hardware units accelerate ray tracing and AI workloads, respectively, and their presence makes the RTX 5070 Ti far more versatile for modern applications.

The memory subsystem differences are equally stark. The RTX 5070 Ti uses GDDR7 with a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla M40 uses GDDR5 with a wider 384-bit bus but achieves only 288.4 GB/s due to lower clock speeds and older technology. The RTX 5070 Ti also has a higher pixel rate (235.4 GPixel/s vs 106.8 GPixel/s) and texture rate (686.6 GTexel/s vs 213.5 GTexel/s), which directly impacts fill-rate-bound workloads. The lack of FP16 support on the Tesla M40 is another differentiator, as the RTX 5070 Ti can process FP16 at the same rate as FP32, which is critical for many modern compute frameworks. The Tesla M40's lack of display outputs confirms its compute-only design, whereas the RTX 5070 Ti is a full-featured consumer graphics card with HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is vastly superior to the NVIDIA Tesla M40 in every measurable benchmark. With a 441.9% lead in OpenCL and a 404.7% lead in Vulkan, the newer card delivers over five times the compute performance in these tests. Its average benchmark score of 49,957 exceeds the Tesla M40's 41,897 by 19.2%, and its percentile ranking (86th) is slightly higher than the M40's (83rd). The RTX 5070 Ti is also the only card of the two that is still in active production, with the Tesla M40 listed as end-of-life.

Who should pick the RTX 5070 Ti? Anyone running modern compute workloads, gaming, content creation, or AI tasks. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, 70 RT cores, 280 tensor cores, and 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 compute make it a current-generation powerhouse. The launch MSRP is 749 USD. Who should pick the Tesla M40? Based solely on the available data, there is no compelling reason. It offers no benchmark wins, no display outputs, and no modern feature set. Its only potential advantage is its lower 250 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU, but that is outweighed by its 288.4 GB/s bandwidth and 6.832 TFLOPS compute. The Tesla M40 remains historically interesting as a Maxwell-era compute card, but the RTX 5070 Ti is the only rational choice from the benchmark evidence.