NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data available for these two cards is limited to two shared tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 172,660 against the Tesla M40 24 GB's 37,439. That translates to a 78.3% advantage for the RTX 5070 — a massive gap that reflects the generational leap between the two architectures.

The Vulkan results tell a similar story, though the margin narrows slightly in percentage terms. The RTX 5070 posts 178,923 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the Tesla M40 24 GB manages 45,975. The RTX 5070 leads by 74.3% here. While the raw score difference is even larger in Vulkan than in OpenCL, the relative gap is a bit smaller because the Tesla's Vulkan score is proportionally stronger than its OpenCL score.

The Tesla M40 24 GB does not win a single head-to-head benchmark in this dataset. It trails in both compute-oriented tests, which is expected given that the card was designed for a different era and workload profile. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 41,707, placing it at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 5070, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 40,377, sitting at the 82nd percentile. This is a curious data point: the RTX 5070 wins the head-to-head tests by wide margins, yet its overall average score is slightly lower than the Tesla's. That discrepancy stems from the different test suites each card has been subjected to — the Tesla's average includes only its two Geekbench results, while the RTX 5070's average pulls from a broader range of DirectX and PassMark tests.

Looking at nearest rivals, the Tesla M40 24 GB sits within 2.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, which scores 42,723, and within 1.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti at 41,187. The RTX 5070's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40,870, with a delta of -1.2%, and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile at 39,568, where the RTX 5070 leads by 2%. These proximity rankings suggest that in the broader benchmark database, the two cards occupy similar performance tiers despite the head-to-head results showing a clear winner.

# Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 wins decisively in both available benchmark categories: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. Its advantage in OpenCL is a 78.3% margin, and in Vulkan it leads by 74.3%. For any workload that relies on general-purpose compute or modern graphics APIs, the RTX 5070 is the clear choice. The data shows a GPU that is roughly four times faster in raw compute throughput — a gap that would manifest in faster rendering, quicker simulation times, and smoother real-time graphics.

The Tesla M40 24 GB has no benchmark wins in this dataset. However, its strengths lie elsewhere — specifically in its memory configuration. With 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, it offers double the memory capacity of the RTX 5070's 12 GB. In workloads where capacity matters more than speed, such as large dataset inference or memory-hungry visualization tasks, the Tesla's larger frame buffer is an asset. Its memory bandwidth of 288.4 GB/s is lower than the RTX 5070's 672.0 GB/s, but the sheer capacity could be the deciding factor for specific professional workloads that fit within 24 GB but not 12 GB.

The RTX 5070 also brings features the Tesla lacks entirely: 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. These hardware units accelerate workloads that the Tesla M40 24 GB cannot handle at comparable speeds. The Tesla's Maxwell 2.0 architecture predates dedicated ray tracing and tensor processing, so any task leveraging those features would run far better on the RTX 5070. For gaming, the RTX 5070's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 12_2 feature level are essential; the Tesla only supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and has no display outputs, making it unsuitable as a gaming card.

# FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw compute performance in the shared benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 wins both shared tests. It scores 172,660 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 37,439 for the Tesla M40 24 GB, and 178,923 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 45,975. The RTX 5070 leads by 78.3% and 74.3% respectively.

Q: Does the Tesla M40 24 GB have any advantage over the RTX 5070?

A: Yes, in memory capacity. The Tesla offers 24 GB of GDDR5, while the RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7. For tasks that require storing large datasets on the GPU, the Tesla's larger frame buffer could be preferable, despite its lower bandwidth of 288.4 GB/s versus 672.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the RTX 5070. It includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. The Tesla M40 24 GB has no such hardware, as its Maxwell 2.0 architecture predates these technologies.

Q: Are these cards comparable in their percentile rankings?

A: Yes, they are very close. The Tesla M40 24 GB ranks at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 5070 ranks at the 82nd percentile. Their average benchmark scores are 41,707 and 40,377 respectively, a difference of about 3.2%.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card?

A: For the Tesla M40 24 GB, the closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (average score 41,897, delta -0.5%), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (41,187, delta 1.3%). For the RTX 5070, the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is closest (40,318, delta 0.1%), then the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063, delta 0.8%).

Q: Can the Tesla M40 24 GB be used for gaming?

A: No. It has no display outputs, so it cannot connect to a monitor. It also lacks the DirectX 12 Ultimate support and ray tracing capabilities of the RTX 5070, making it unsuitable for modern gaming.

# Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The RTX 5070 uses the GB205 chip based on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, while the Tesla M40 24 GB uses the GM200 chip based on Maxwell 2.0. The manufacturing process is a major differentiator: the RTX 5070 is built on a 5 nm node, while the Tesla uses 28 nm. Both are fabricated by TSMC, but the transistor counts tell the story — the RTX 5070 packs 31,100 million transistors versus 8,000 million for the Tesla. Die size shrinks from 601 mm² to 263 mm², and transistor density jumps from 13.3M per mm² to 118.3M per mm².

Clock speeds are significantly higher on the RTX 5070. Its base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost of 2512 MHz, compared to 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost on the Tesla. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 5070 runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) with GDDR7, while the Tesla runs at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) with GDDR5. Memory bus width narrows from 384-bit to 192-bit, but bandwidth more than doubles from 288.4 GB/s to 672.0 GB/s.

Compute resources shift dramatically. The RTX 5070 has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The Tesla M40 24 GB has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 5070 adds 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, which the Tesla lacks entirely. Pixel rate improves from 106.8 GPixel/s to 201.0 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 213.5 GTexel/s to 482.3 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput rises from 6.832 TFLOPS to 30.87 TFLOPS, and the RTX 5070 also supports FP16 at 30.87 TFLOPS (1:1) while the Tesla has no listed FP16 capability.

Both cards consume 250 W TDP and use a dual-slot design with a 600 W suggested PSU. Power connectors differ: the Tesla uses 8-pin EPS, while the RTX 5070 uses 1x 16-pin. The RTX 5070 is physically smaller at 245 mm (9.6 inches) length, 115 mm (4.5 inches) height, and 40 mm (1.6 inches) width, versus 267 mm (10.5 inches) length for the Tesla. The RTX 5070 has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b), while the Tesla has none. Bus interface advances from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16.

# Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans three generations of NVIDIA design. The Tesla M40 24 GB is built on Maxwell 2.0, a 28 nm architecture from the Tesla Maxwell generation. The RTX 5070 uses Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm node, representing the GeForce 50 series. The foundry is the same — TSMC — but the manufacturing technology is radically different.

Transistor density is the most telling metric: the RTX 5070 achieves 118.3M transistors per mm² versus 13.3M per mm² for the Tesla. This 8.9x improvement enables the RTX 5070 to fit nearly four times as many transistors (31,100 million vs 8,000 million) on less than half the die area (263 mm² vs 601 mm²). The result is a GPU that runs at much higher clocks while maintaining the same 250 W TDP.

The compute architecture diverges significantly. The RTX 5070 has twice the shading units (6144 vs 3072) and adds dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores. Its FP32 output of 30.87 TFLOPS is 4.5x higher than the Tesla's 6.832 TFLOPS. The RTX 5070 also supports FP16 at full rate (1:1 ratio), which is critical for AI and machine learning workloads. The Tesla has no FP16 capability listed.

Memory architecture evolves from GDDR5 to GDDR7, with effective speed increasing from 6 Gbps to 28 Gbps. The bus width narrows from 384-bit to 192-bit, but bandwidth still nearly doubles thanks to the much faster memory. The RTX 5070 also supports modern API features: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus DirectX 12 (12_1) on the Tesla, with both offering OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Production status reflects their positions: the Tesla M40 24 GB is end-of-life, released in 2015, with Tesla Kepler as its predecessor and Tesla Pascal as its successor. The RTX 5070 is active, released in 2025, with GeForce 40 as predecessor and GeForce 60 as successor. The RTX 5070's launch MSRP is 549 USD.

# The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the superior card for virtually all modern workloads. It wins both shared benchmarks by margins exceeding 74%, offers nearly 4.5x the FP32 compute throughput, and adds ray tracing and tensor core capabilities that the Tesla M40 24 GB simply does not have. Its average benchmark score of 40,377 places it within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, showing it competes well against contemporary workstation cards.

The Tesla M40 24 GB's one clear advantage is memory capacity: 24 GB versus 12 GB. For users who need to fit very large datasets into GPU memory and do not require modern features, this could be relevant. However, the Tesla's 288.4 GB/s bandwidth is less than half the RTX 5070's 672.0 GB/s, so any workload that benefits from memory speed would still favor the newer card. The Tesla's end-of-life status, lack of display outputs, and absence of ray tracing and tensor cores make it a poor choice for gaming, content creation, or AI work.

For most buyers, the RTX 5070 is the clear recommendation. It delivers roughly four times the compute performance, supports modern APIs, includes display outputs, and is an active product. The Tesla M40 24 GB should only be considered for niche use cases where 24 GB of memory is an absolute requirement and the workload cannot utilize the RTX 5070's features. Given that the RTX 5070 also carries a launch MSRP of 549 USD, the choice is straightforward for anyone comparing these two cards in the current market.