NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB

The database places the GeForce RTX 5080 and the Tesla M40 24 GB in very different segments of the GPU spectrum. One is a current-generation consumer Blackwell part; the other is a professional compute accelerator from the Maxwell era. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the RTX 5080 wins the head-to-head matchups, but the Tesla M40 remains relevant in specific compute-oriented workloads where its larger memory pool and different driver optimization matter.

Where Each One Wins - use-case split based on benchmark wins

The recorded benchmarks show a clean sweep for the RTX 5080. In the two head-to-head tests, the GeForce card wins both: the OpenCL result (255,450 vs 45,975, a 455.6% delta) and the Vulkan result (255,450 vs 45,975, a 455.6% delta). The Tesla M40's wins count is zero in this pairing. However, this does not tell the whole story. The Tesla M40 is a compute-oriented accelerator with a 24 GB memory pool, which is 50% larger than the RTX 5080's 16 GB. For workloads that need more capacity than the RTX 5080's VRAM, the Tesla retains a clear mission. The percentile data supports this: the RTX 5080 sits at the 87th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M40 sits at the 83rd percentile. Both are above-average parts, but the RTX 5080 has a wider overall benchmark lead.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split is the first major divider. The RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, specifically the GB203 chip, a 5 nm part from TSMC with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. The Tesla M40 uses the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, GM200 chip, built on a 28 nm TSMC process with 8,000 million transistors on a 601 mm² die. The 5080 uses a denser design: 120.6 million transistors per mm² versus 13.3 million per mm² for the M40.

The memory subsystem is another major gap. The RTX 5080 uses 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla M40 uses 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, for 288.4 GB/s. The RTX 5080 has more than 3.3 times the bandwidth, but the Tesla has 1.5 the memory capacity. These are different tradeoffs: the RTX 5080 is built for high throughput, the Tesla for capacity and large compute jobs.

Core configuration goes in opposite directions. The RTX 5080 has 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. The Tesla M40 has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs; it has no RT or tensor cores. The RTX 5080's shader array is 3.4x wider, and its TMU count is 1.75x higher. The RTX 5080 has a pixel fill rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture fill rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. The Tesla M40 has a pixel rate of 106.8 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 213.5 GTexel/s.

The compute gap is just as striking. The RTX 5080 is rated at 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The Tesla M40 is rated at 6.832 TFLOPS FP32. The RTX 5080 therefore offers 8.2x the FP32 throughput of the Tesla M40. The Tesla M40 has no FP16 acceleration fields listed.

FAQ

Q: What are the main differences between the RTX 5080 and the Tesla M40 24 GB?

A: The RTX 5080 is a Blackwell consumer card with 16 GB GDDR7 and 84 RT cores; the Tesla M40 is a Maxwell compute card with 24 GB GDDR5 and no RT or tensor cores. The RTX 5080 has a much higher bandwidth and shader throughput.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The Tesla M40 24 GB has 24 GB, which is 1.5x the RTX 5080's 16 GB. For datasets that fit in 16 GB the RTX 5080 is faster; for datasets that need more than 16 GB, the Tesla is the only one of the two that works.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 a good upgrade from the Tesla M40?

A: In the recorded benchmarks, yes. The RTX 5080 wins both head-to-head tests by large margins (455.6% to 530.1% depending on the test). It also ranks higher in overall percentile: 87th vs 83rd.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: No. The RTX 5080 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla M40 lists DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both have modern API support, but the RTX 5080 supports the newer DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set.

Q: What are the power connector requirements?

A: The RTX 5080 requires a 16-pin power connector and a 750 W PSU. The Tesla M40 uses an 8-pin EPS connector and a 600 W PSU. These are different platforms.

Specification Differences

The two cards target different platforms and have only a few matching specs.

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB |

|---|---|

| Chip | GB203 | GM200 |

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 45 billion | 8 billion |

| Die size | 378 mm² | 601 mm² |

| Density | 120.6M / mm² | 13.3M / mm² |

| Base clock | 2295 MHz | 948 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2617 MHz | 1112 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1875 MHz, 30 Gbps effective | 1502 MHz, 6 Gbps effective |

| Memory | 16 GB GDDR7 | 24 GB GDDR5 |

| Bus width | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Bandwidth | 960.0 GB/s | 288.4 GB/s |

| Shading units | 10752 | 3072 |

| TMUs | 336 | 192 |

| ROPs | 112 | 96 |

| RT cores | 84 | None |

| Tensor cores | 336 | None |

| FP32 | 56.28 TFLOPS | 6.832 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1) | Not specified |

| TDP / power | 360 W | 250 W |

| Slot width | Dual-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power connectors | 1x 16-pin | 8-pin EPS |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 600 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DP 2.1b | No outputs |

The clock speeds point to a generational shift. The RTX 5080 runs at a 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, while the Tesla M40 is at 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost. The memory clock similarly favors the newer card: 1500 MHz effective 30 Gbps vs 1502 MHz effective 6 Gbps. The RTX 5080 also has a 1.5x memory size advantage, but half the bus width (256 bit vs 384 bit), which, together, produce the final bandwidth figure.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head tests are OpenCL and Vulkan numbers. In OpenCL, the RTX 5080 scores 235,901 and the Tesla M40 scores 37,439. That is a 530.1% difference. Vulkan for the RTX 5080 is 255,450 and the Tesla M40 is 45,975, a 455.6% difference. The delta is enormous in both cases. The RTX 5080 leads by more than 5 times in one test and more than 5.5 times in the other.

The average score data puts this in context. The RTX 5080 has an average of 56,083 across the benchmark set, and sits at the 87th percentile of all GPUs. The Tesla M40 has an average of 41,707 and sits in the 83rd percentile. The RTX 5080 is 34.5% faster than the M40's average, but they are not far apart in percentile rank. Both are respectable, but the data shows that the RTX 5080 is the faster part overall when comparing.

Looking at the nearest rivals shows the competitive positioning. For the RTX 5080, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, with an average score of 57,367, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080. That means the RX 9070 GRE is slightly ahead of the RTX 5080 in average score. The next closest rivals are the AMD Radeon 8060S at 55,757 (0.6% behind) and the AMD Radeon PRO W570X at 54,828 (2.3% behind). This indicates the RTX 5080 is in a tightly packed group of high-end cards.

For the Tesla M40, the closest competitor is the NVIDIA Tesla M40, which scores 41,897, 0.5% higher than the M40. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is next at 41,187 (1.3% higher). The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is at 40,870, 2% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is 42,723, 2.4% higher than the M40. This places the Tesla M40 in a mid-range of high-end cards.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the clear winner in this pairing. It wins both head-to-head tests by a huge margin, has a higher average benchmark score by 34.5%, and is in a higher overall percentile (87th vs 83rd). The RTX 5080 is for high frame rate gaming, modern graphics, and consumer display output.

The Tesla M40 24 GB is a different tool. It has no display output, and its selling point is its 24 GB memory and its compute-oriented Maxwell architecture. The data indicates this is for AI inference or other compute workloads where large memory footprints are more valuable than pure speed. The RTX 5080 is the pick for most users; the Tesla M40 is a specialized accelerator for those who need the extra memory and do not need any display output.