NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D and the NVIDIA Tesla T4 represent two vastly different eras and purposes in NVIDIA’s lineup. The RTX 5090 D is a current-generation Blackwell consumer flagship, while the Tesla T4 is an end-of-life Turing-era data center accelerator. The benchmark data confirms a chasm in raw performance, but the T4’s specialized role and power profile tell a more nuanced story. This analysis relies strictly on the provided benchmark scores, specifications, and nearest-rival comparisons.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is limited to two synthetic tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 D scores 310,674, while the Tesla T4 manages 61,276. The delta is a staggering 407% in favor of the RTX 5090 D. This is not a marginal lead; it is a multi-generational leap in compute throughput. The RTX 5090 D’s FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS versus the T4’s 8.141 TFLOPS explains this gap, as OpenCL heavily exercises raw shading and compute units.

The Vulkan test tells a similar story. The RTX 5090 D posts 376,915 points, compared to the Tesla T4’s 72,190 points, resulting in a 422.1% advantage for the newer card. Vulkan’s low-level API access allows the RTX 5090 D’s 21,760 shading units to operate at near-peak efficiency, whereas the T4’s 2,560 shading units are simply outclassed. The RTX 5090 D wins both head-to-head matchups, with a 2-0 record in the winsA and winsB columns.

When placed against broader competition, these scores gain context. The RTX 5090 D’s average benchmark score of 77,712 places it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). This suggests that while the RTX 5090 D is immensely powerful, its average score is within a narrow band of high-end mobile GPUs. The Tesla T4’s average score of 66,733 sits 1.1% above the AMD Radeon VII (66,004) and 2.5% above the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (65,095), indicating it holds its own against older workstation parts. The deltaPct values show the RTX 5090 D is roughly 16% faster on average than the T4 (77,712 vs 66,733), but the individual test deltas are far larger due to the T4’s limited benchmark coverage.

The Verdict

From the data, the RTX 5090 D is the unequivocal performance winner. Every shared benchmark shows a quadruple-digit percentage lead, and its raw specifications dwarf the Tesla T4 across every metric. The RTX 5090 D’s percentile rank of 92 (vs. the T4’s 90) confirms it sits higher in the global GPU hierarchy. For any workload requiring maximum FLOPS, texture throughput, or memory bandwidth, the RTX 5090 D is the only choice between these two.

However, the Tesla T4 is not without its own merits. Its 70 W TDP and single-slot design, powered entirely by the PCIe slot with no external connectors, make it a low-power, low-footprint option for dense server deployments. The T4’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, while small next to the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB and 1.79 TB/s, are sufficient for many inference workloads. The T4’s production status is listed as end-of-life, and its predecessor and successor are Tesla Volta and Server Ampere, respectively, indicating it is a legacy product.

The verdict hinges on intent. If the goal is raw compute, rendering, or gaming, the RTX 5090 D wins without contest. If the goal is a low-power inference card for a legacy server environment, the Tesla T4’s 70 W draw and lack of display outputs make it a specialized tool. The RTX 5090 D’s launch MSRP is 2,299 USD, a figure that reflects its flagship status, but pricing is not a factor in this analysis. The data says: pick the RTX 5090 D for performance, pick the Tesla T4 only if power constraints and form factor override all other considerations.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 D wins in every measurable performance category. Its FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is over twelve times the T4’s 8.141 TFLOPS, making it superior for general-purpose compute, simulation, and high-resolution rendering. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 254.4 GTexel/s gives the RTX 5090 D a massive edge in texture-heavy workloads like modern game engines. Pixel rate follows the same pattern: 423.6 GPixel/s vs. 101.8 GPixel/s, favoring the RTX 5090 D for high-refresh-rate rasterization. Memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s vs. 320.0 GB/s means the RTX 5090 D can feed its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory far faster, benefiting large datasets and 4K+ textures.

The Tesla T4 wins in efficiency and deployment flexibility. Its 70 W TDP is a fraction of the RTX 5090 D’s 575 W, allowing for passive cooling and installation in power-constrained chassis. The T4’s single-slot width and 168 mm length (6.6 inches) contrast with the RTX 5090 D’s dual-slot, 304 mm length (12 inches), making the T4 suitable for blade servers or compact systems. The T4 has no display outputs, which is a feature for headless compute nodes, while the RTX 5090 D offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. The T4’s FP16 performance of 16.28 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) is twice its FP32 rate, suggesting it was optimized for tensor operations, though the RTX 5090 D matches FP32 and FP16 at 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1). The T4’s 320 tensor cores and 40 RT cores are dwarfed by the RTX 5090 D’s 680 tensor cores and 170 RT cores, but the T4’s lower power envelope means it can be packed densely for multi-GPU inference racks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 5090 D. Its FP32 rating is 104.8 TFLOPS versus the Tesla T4’s 8.141 TFLOPS, and it leads in Geekbench OpenCL by 407% (310,674 vs. 61,276).

Q: Can the Tesla T4 be used for gaming or display output?

A: No. The Tesla T4 has no display outputs, while the RTX 5090 D includes 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. The RTX 5090 D is designed for consumer graphics.

Q: How do their power requirements differ?

A: The Tesla T4 has a 70 W TDP and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX 5090 D has a 575 W TDP, uses a 1x 16-pin connector, and needs a 950 W suggested PSU.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. The Tesla T4 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card is better for Vulkan-based workloads?

A: The RTX 5090 D. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 376,915 versus the T4’s 72,190, a 422.1% advantage.

Q: Is the Tesla T4 still in production?

A: No. The Tesla T4’s production status is listed as end-of-life, and its successor is Server Ampere. The RTX 5090 D is listed as active.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The RTX 5090 D uses the GB202 chip based on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². The Tesla T4 uses the TU104 chip with Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, containing 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, with a density of 25.0M per mm². The process node difference alone explains much of the performance gap, as the 5 nm node allows for far more transistors per area.

The RTX 5090 D’s Blackwell architecture supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Tesla T4 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. This doubles the theoretical interconnect bandwidth for the newer card. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. The RTX 5090 D has 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores, while the T4 has 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The RTX 5090 D’s tensor core count is more than double, and its RT core count is over four times higher, indicating a massive shift in ray tracing and AI compute capability. The T4’s FP16 to FP32 ratio is 2:1, suggesting a focus on mixed-precision workloads, whereas the RTX 5090 D offers a 1:1 ratio, providing equal FP16 and FP32 throughput.

Specification Differences

The most glaring difference is in shading units: the RTX 5090 D has 21,760, versus the T4’s 2,560. Texture mapping units follow suit, with 680 on the RTX 5090 D and 160 on the T4. Raster output units are 176 versus 64, respectively. Clock speeds differ significantly: the RTX 5090 D runs at a base of 2017 MHz and boost of 2407 MHz, while the T4 operates at a base of 585 MHz and boost of 1590 MHz. Memory clocks are also distinct, with the RTX 5090 D at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the T4 at 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystem is a major divider. The RTX 5090 D offers 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, while the T4 offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Bandwidth is 1.79 TB/s versus 320.0 GB/s. Power delivery differs: the RTX 5090 D has a 575 W TDP with a 1x 16-pin connector and 950 W suggested PSU, while the T4 has a 70 W TDP, no connectors, and a 250 W suggested PSU. Physical dimensions vary, with the RTX 5090 D at 304 mm length, 137 mm height, and 48 mm width, versus the T4 at 168 mm length only. The RTX 5090 D is dual-slot, while the T4 is single-slot. Release dates are 2025-01-29 for the RTX 5090 D and 2018-09-12 for the T4, a gap of over six years. The RTX 5090 D’s predecessor is GeForce 40 and successor is GeForce 60, while the T4’s predecessor is Tesla Volta and successor is Server Ampere.