NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla T4 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile represent two distinct eras of GPU design. The data shows a clear generational gap, with the newer mobile part dominating in raw compute, while the older Tesla card retains relevance in specific legacy and efficiency-focused roles. This analysis walks through the benchmark results, architectural differences, and specification changes to determine which GPU suits which workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla T4 has an average benchmark score of 66,733, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has an average score of 45,152, placing it in the 84th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834, which is 69.6% higher than the Tesla T4's score of 61,276.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench Vulkan performance?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile leads with a score of 198,405, outperforming the Tesla T4's 72,190 by 63.6%.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the Tesla T4 in the database?

A: The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon VII (average score 66,004), NVIDIA Tesla P40 (65,095), AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 (68,562), and Intel Arc A770 (68,809). The T4 is 1.1% ahead of the Radeon VII and 2.5% ahead of the Tesla P40.

Q: Which GPUs are closest in performance to the RTX 5090 Mobile?

A: The closest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44,795), Intel Arc A730M (45,592), and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972). The 5090 Mobile trails the RTX 5880 Ada by 1.8%.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The Tesla T4 is listed as End-of-life, while the RTX 5090 Mobile is Active.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The Tesla T4 is built on the Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. This node difference is fundamental to their performance disparity.

The transistor counts and die sizes tell a compelling story. The T4 packs 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The 5090 Mobile, despite having a smaller die at 378 mm², contains 45,600 million transistors, achieving a far higher density of 120.6M per mm². This density increase is a direct result of the more advanced process node.

Core configurations diverge dramatically. The T4 features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster operation units (ROPs). The 5090 Mobile more than quadruples the shading units to 10,496, while also increasing TMUs to 328 and ROPs to 112. The ray tracing and tensor core counts also shift: the T4 has 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, whereas the 5090 Mobile has 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores. This indicates a significant leap in parallel processing capability for the newer chip.

Clock speeds show another difference. The T4 has a base clock of 585 MHz and a boost clock of 1590 MHz. The 5090 Mobile runs at a higher base clock of 990 MHz, but its boost clock of 1515 MHz is slightly lower than the T4's boost. This suggests the T4's boost behavior is more aggressive relative to its base, likely due to its lower thermal design power.

The interface and physical design also differ. The T4 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and is a single-slot card with no display outputs. The 5090 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor, with display outputs dependent on the portable device. The T4 has a length of 168 mm, while the 5090 Mobile has no listed dimensions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes two direct benchmark comparisons between these GPUs, both in the Geekbench suite. The results are decisive in favor of the RTX 5090 Mobile.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834 against the Tesla T4's 61,276. This represents a 69.6% advantage for the newer card. The magnitude of this win is substantial, reflecting the 5090 Mobile's higher core count, faster memory, and more modern architecture.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap is similar but slightly narrower. The 5090 Mobile scores 198,405, while the T4 scores 72,190. The delta is 63.6%, still a dominant margin. This indicates that the 5090 Mobile's architecture handles low-level graphics APIs with significantly more efficiency.

Interestingly, the Tesla T4 records no wins in these head-to-head tests. The wins tally stands at 0 for the T4 and 2 for the 5090 Mobile. However, the T4's overall benchmark percentile (90th) is higher than the 5090 Mobile's (84th). This is because the T4's average score is pulled up by its two strong Geekbench results, while the 5090 Mobile's average is diluted by several Passmark tests with lower scores, such as a Passmark DirectX 9 score of 324 and a DirectX 10 score of 183.

The data also places the T4 among rivals like the AMD Radeon VII and Intel Arc A770, where it holds its own within a few percentage points. The 5090 Mobile sits in a different performance class, competing with desktop parts like the RTX 4070 Ti and professional cards like the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal a long list of divergences between these two products.

The memory subsystems are entirely different. The T4 comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 5090 Mobile has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory, also on a 256-bit bus, but with a much higher bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. The memory clock also differs: 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective) for the T4 versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for the 5090 Mobile.

Compute throughput is another major difference. The T4's FP32 performance is 8.141 TFLOPS, while its FP16 performance is 16.28 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The 5090 Mobile achieves 31.80 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16, with a 1:1 ratio. This means the 5090 Mobile does not rely on a half-rate FP16 path; it processes both formats at the same speed.

Pixel and texture rates also favor the newer GPU. The T4 has a pixel rate of 101.8 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 254.4 GTexel/s. The 5090 Mobile improves on both: 169.7 GPixel/s and 496.9 GTexel/s. These figures indicate a higher fill-rate capability for the 5090 Mobile.

Power characteristics show a notable inversion. The T4 has a TDP of 70 W, while the 5090 Mobile has a TDP of 95 W. Despite the 5090 Mobile being a mobile part, it consumes more power, likely due to its much larger compute core. The T4 suggests a 250 W PSU, while the 5090 Mobile has no suggested PSU value listed.

The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the T4 versus PCIe 5.0 x16 for the 5090 Mobile. The display outputs are also fundamentally different: the T4 has no outputs, while the 5090 Mobile's are portable device dependent. The release dates are far apart, with the T4 launching on 2018-09-12 and the 5090 Mobile on 2025-03-26. The T4's predecessor is Tesla Volta and its successor is Server Ampere, while the 5090 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 40 Mobile.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split in intended use cases. The RTX 5090 Mobile is the superior performer in raw compute and graphics benchmarks. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 201,834 is more than three times that of the Tesla T4. For any workload that prioritizes raw speed, the 5090 Mobile is the obvious choice.

The Tesla T4, however, has a different profile. It is an end-of-life product with a 70 W TDP, making it a lower-power option. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is smaller than the 5090 Mobile's 24 GB of GDDR7, but its bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is still substantial for its class. Its percentile ranking of 90th versus the 5090 Mobile's 84th suggests that in the broader database context, the T4 performs better relative to its contemporaries than the 5090 Mobile does relative to its own peers.

The verdict depends on the requirement. If the task demands maximum compute throughput, the RTX 5090 Mobile wins decisively. If the task requires a low-power, single-slot card with no display outputs for a server environment, the Tesla T4's profile fits better, despite its older architecture. The 5090 Mobile's IGP form factor and portable-device-dependent outputs make it unsuitable for standalone server deployments.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 Mobile wins in every direct benchmark comparison recorded. Its 69.6% lead in OpenCL and 63.6% lead in Vulkan make it the dominant choice for compute-heavy applications like machine learning inference, rendering, and high-end gaming. Its 31.80 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1:1 FP16 ratio mean it can handle mixed-precision workloads without a speed penalty. The 24 GB memory capacity and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for large datasets.

The Tesla T4 wins in efficiency and form factor. Its 70 W TDP is significantly lower than the 5090 Mobile's 95 W, making it easier to cool in dense server environments. Its single-slot design and lack of display outputs are ideal for headless compute nodes. The T4's 16 GB memory is sufficient for many inference tasks, and its 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for its compute level. Its 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI workloads, albeit at a lower performance tier.

The data also shows the T4 holds its own against its nearest rivals, being 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon VII and 2.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40. The 5090 Mobile is closely matched with the RTX 4070 Ti, trailing by only 0.8%, and the RTX 5880 Ada Generation by 1.8%. This places the 5090 Mobile in a performance bracket that includes high-end desktop and professional cards, while the T4 sits in a bracket with older workstation and consumer GPUs. For users needing a current, active product with the latest architecture, the 5090 Mobile is the only option, as the T4 is end-of-life.