NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by a decade of architectural evolution. The data places the RTX 5090 Mobile at the 84th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M40 sits just one point lower at the 83rd percentile, yet their average benchmark scores reveal a massive performance gulf. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s average benchmark score is 45,152, compared to the Tesla M40’s 41,707, a difference that becomes starkly clear when examining the two shared benchmarks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is limited to two tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834, while the Tesla M40 manages only 37,439. This represents a delta of 439.1 percent in favor of the newer card. The magnitude of this lead is not incremental; it is a generational leap. The RTX 5090 Mobile outperforms the Tesla M40 by a factor of more than five in raw compute throughput as measured by OpenCL, reflecting the shift from Maxwell 2.0 to Blackwell 2.0 architecture.

The second shared test, Geekbench Vulkan, tells a similar story. The RTX 5090 Mobile posts a score of 198,405, against the Tesla M40’s 45,975. The delta here is 331.5 percent. While slightly narrower than the OpenCL gap, it still represents a four-fold advantage for the RTX 5090 Mobile. Vulkan results are particularly relevant for modern gaming and compute workloads, and the data shows the RTX 5090 Mobile is dramatically faster in this API. The Tesla M40’s Vulkan score of 45,975 is actually higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting some relative strength in that API, but it remains far behind the RTX 5090 Mobile’s output.

In both head-to-head tests, the RTX 5090 Mobile wins, giving it a 2-0 record. The Tesla M40 has zero wins. The average delta across both tests is approximately 385 percent, meaning the RTX 5090 Mobile is, on average, nearly five times faster than the Tesla M40 in these workloads. This is not a close contest by any metric. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, has an average score of 45,384, which is just 0.5 percent lower, indicating the RTX 5090 Mobile sits at the top of its immediate competitive tier. The Tesla M40, by contrast, is within 1.3 percent of the RTX 3080 Ti, a much older desktop part, highlighting its position relative to modern hardware.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 Mobile wins in every benchmark category where data exists. Beyond the two head-to-head tests, its broader benchmark suite shows strengths across the board. In Passmark G3D, it scores 30,034, a figure that reflects strong DirectX 11 and 12 performance. Its Passmark GPU Compute score is 13,401, indicating robust general-purpose compute. The Geekbench scores, as noted, are dominant. The RTX 5090 Mobile also has a Passmark G2D score of 1,057, which, while not a head-to-head comparison, suggests solid 2D performance. With 10,496 shading units and 328 tensor cores, the architecture is clearly designed for parallel throughput.

The Tesla M40’s strengths are more contextual. It has a 24 GB memory capacity, identical to the RTX 5090 Mobile, but with GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This is less than a third of the RTX 5090 Mobile’s 896.0 GB/s. The Tesla M40’s 3,072 shading units are far fewer, and it lacks dedicated RT and tensor cores entirely. Its FP32 performance is 6.832 TFLOPS, versus 31.80 TFLOPS for the RTX 5090 Mobile. The only area where the Tesla M40 might be considered relevant is in legacy compute workloads that do not require modern API features or ray tracing. Its Maxwell 2.0 architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, so it can run older applications. However, with a production status of end-of-life and no display outputs, it is strictly a compute card for data center use.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 5090 Mobile is the superior product by every measured metric. For any user seeking maximum performance in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the RTX 5090 Mobile is the only choice. Its 439.1 percent lead in OpenCL and 331.5 percent lead in Vulkan are not marginal advantages; they are complete overhauls of capability. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 45,152 places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M40’s 41,707 average places it in the 83rd percentile. Despite the similar percentile rankings, the absolute scores show the RTX 5090 Mobile is roughly 8 percent higher on average, and the head-to-head deltas are dramatically larger.

The Tesla M40 should only be considered for scenarios where its specific characteristics are required, such as legacy PCIe 3.0 systems or workloads that rely on its 24 GB of GDDR5 memory without needing modern compute features. Its 250 W TDP and dual-slot design with an 8-pin EPS connector make it a power-hungry, bulky card, whereas the RTX 5090 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with a 95 W TDP and no power connectors, drawing far less power. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s release date of March 2025 versus November 2015 for the Tesla M40 explains the technological gap. For any new deployment, the RTX 5090 Mobile is the rational pick, assuming the workload is portable to its architecture. The Tesla M40 is a relic, and the data confirms it.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB’s 37,439, a 439.1 percent difference.

Q: How does the memory bandwidth compare between the two cards?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth from GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the Tesla M40 has 288.4 GB/s from GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus.

Q: What is the FP32 compute performance of each GPU?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile achieves 31.80 TFLOPS, whereas the Tesla M40 achieves 6.832 TFLOPS.

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 5090 Mobile has 82 RT cores, while the Tesla M40 has no RT cores listed, indicating no ray tracing support.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has a TDP of 95 W, while the Tesla M40 has a TDP of 250 W.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile contains 45,600 million transistors on a 5 nm process, while the Tesla M40 contains 8,000 million transistors on a 28 nm process.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses the GB203 chip based on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The Tesla M40 uses the GM200 chip based on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The transistor counts reflect this: 45,600 million for the RTX 5090 Mobile versus 8,000 million for the Tesla M40. The die sizes also differ, with the RTX 5090 Mobile at 378 mm² and the Tesla M40 at a larger 601 mm², despite having far fewer transistors, due to the older, less dense process. Transistor density is 120.6M per mm² for the RTX 5090 Mobile versus 13.3M per mm² for the Tesla M40.

The RTX 5090 Mobile features 10,496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores. The Tesla M40 has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. The base clock for the RTX 5090 Mobile is 990 MHz with a boost of 1515 MHz, while the Tesla M40 runs at 948 MHz base and 1112 MHz boost. Memory technology differs as well: GDDR7 at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for the RTX 5090 Mobile versus GDDR5 at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the Tesla M40. The RTX 5090 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla M40 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Tesla M40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The RTX 5090 Mobile has a 5 nm process node versus the Tesla M40’s 28 nm node. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s boost clock is 1515 MHz, against the Tesla M40’s 1112 MHz. Memory bandwidth is 896.0 GB/s for the RTX 5090 Mobile versus 288.4 GB/s for the Tesla M40. The RTX 5090 Mobile has a 256-bit memory bus, while the Tesla M40 has a 384-bit bus. Shading units are 10,496 versus 3,072. TMUs are 328 versus 192. ROPs are 112 versus 96. The RTX 5090 Mobile has 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores; the Tesla M40 has neither. Pixel rate is 169.7 GPixel/s for the RTX 5090 Mobile versus 106.8 GPixel/s for the Tesla M40. Texture rate is 496.9 GTexel/s versus 213.5 GTexel/s.

The RTX 5090 Mobile’s FP32 performance is 31.80 TFLOPS, while the Tesla M40 offers 6.832 TFLOPS. The RTX 5090 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors and a 95 W TDP, whereas the Tesla M40 is a dual-slot card with an 8-pin EPS connector and a 250 W TDP. The Tesla M40’s suggested PSU is 600 W, while the RTX 5090 Mobile has no suggested PSU listed. The RTX 5090 Mobile has portable-device-dependent display outputs, while the Tesla M40 has no outputs. The Tesla M40 measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length; the RTX 5090 Mobile’s dimensions are not listed. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16, and the Tesla M40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The production status is Active for the RTX 5090 Mobile and End-of-life for the Tesla M40. Release dates are March 2025 and November 2015, respectively.