NVIDIA P104-100 vs NVIDIA TITAN RTX Comparison

The data presents a stark contrast between two NVIDIA cards from different eras and purposes. The NVIDIA P104-100 is a mining-oriented Pascal card with a 77th percentile ranking, while the NVIDIA TITAN RTX is a Turing-based professional-grade card with a 76th percentile ranking. Despite the TITAN RTX winning every head-to-head benchmark, the P104-100's average score of 32,982 is actually higher than the TITAN RTX's 31,676, which creates a fascinating discrepancy worth investigating. This analysis will dissect the benchmark results, architectural differences, and specification gaps to determine where each card excels.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA TITAN RTX wins all three benchmark comparisons. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the TITAN RTX scores 3,794 against the P104-100's 1,413, a delta of -62.8% for the P104-100. This is not a marginal victory; it is a decisive rout in modern DirectX 12 rendering workloads. The TITAN RTX also dominates in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 144,858 versus 52,368, a -63.8% delta, and in Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 136,073 versus 45,165, a -66.8% delta. The pattern is clear: the TITAN RTX is faster in every measurable compute and graphics task in this comparison.

However, the P104-100's territory is not in raw performance but in its specialized design. As a mining GPU, it has no display outputs, meaning it is not intended for gaming or visual work at all. Its wins are conceptual: it consumes a suggested PSU of only 200 W compared to the TITAN RTX's 600 W, and it requires just a single 8-pin power connector versus the TITAN RTX's dual 8-pin connectors. The P104-100 also uses a PCIe 1.0 x4 bus interface, which is unusual but sufficient for compute tasks that do not rely on high-bandwidth host communication. In a mining rig or a headless compute server, the P104-100's lower power draw and simpler power requirements could be a practical advantage, even if its absolute performance is far lower.

The TITAN RTX, by contrast, wins in every scenario that involves rendering, professional visualization, or general-purpose compute. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 72 RT cores make it a workstation-class card, and its display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C) mean it can drive multiple monitors. The data suggests the TITAN RTX is the clear choice for any task that requires visual output or modern graphics APIs, while the P104-100 is a niche product for specialized compute workloads.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is generational and fundamental. The P104-100 is built on the Pascal architecture using the GP104 chip, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.9M per mm². The TITAN RTX, on the other hand, uses the Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, built on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 18,600 million transistors on a massive 754 mm² die, with a density of 24.7M per mm². The TITAN RTX has nearly 2.6 times the transistors and over twice the die area, which explains its overwhelming performance advantage.

The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The P104-100 uses 4 GB of GDDR5X with a 256-bit bus, delivering 320.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The TITAN RTX uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s—more than double the bandwidth. This is a six-fold difference in memory capacity and a two-fold difference in bandwidth, making the TITAN RTX vastly superior for large datasets and texture-heavy workloads. The TITAN RTX also features 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the P104-100. These dedicated hardware units enable real-time ray tracing and AI-accelerated compute, features that the Pascal architecture simply does not have.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The P104-100 has a base clock of 1607 MHz and a boost clock of 1733 MHz, while the TITAN RTX has a lower base of 1350 MHz but a higher boost of 1770 MHz. The P104-100's higher base clock is likely a result of its simpler design and lower power target. However, the TITAN RTX compensates with 4,608 shading units versus the P104-100's 1,920, and 288 TMUs versus 120. The pixel rates are 169.9 GPixel/s for the TITAN RTX versus 110.9 GPixel/s for the P104-100, and texture rates are 509.8 GTexel/s versus 208.0 GTexel/s. The TITAN RTX's FP32 throughput of 16.31 TFLOPS dwarfs the P104-100's 6.655 TFLOPS, and its FP16 performance of 32.62 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) is orders of magnitude ahead of the P104-100's 104.0 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio).

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: the NVIDIA TITAN RTX is the superior card in every benchmark comparison. If you need a GPU for modern DirectX 12 games, professional rendering, or compute workloads that benefit from RT and tensor cores, the TITAN RTX is the only choice between these two. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 2.7 times higher, and its Geekbench scores are roughly 2.6 to 3 times higher. The TITAN RTX's 24 GB memory capacity and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for 4K texture packs, large language models, or scientific simulations that would instantly exhaust the P104-100's 4 GB frame buffer.

The P104-100's sole rationale is its specialized mining design. With no display outputs and a PCIe 1.0 x4 interface, it is not meant for general use. Its lower power draw (200 W suggested PSU versus 600 W) and single 8-pin connector make it easier to deploy in dense mining rigs, where power efficiency per card is critical. However, its benchmark scores are so far below the TITAN RTX that it cannot be recommended for any task that requires graphics or compute performance. The 77th percentile ranking for the P104-100 versus the 76th for the TITAN RTX is misleading; the average benchmark score is skewed by the P104-100's limited benchmark set, which lacks the Passmark tests that pull the TITAN RTX's average down.

For a user choosing between these two, the TITAN RTX is the clear winner unless the specific use case is headless mining or compute where the P104-100's power profile is an advantage. The TITAN RTX's launch MSRP is 2,499 USD, but that price buys a card with 4,608 shading units, 72 RT cores, and 576 tensor cores—capabilities that the P104-100 cannot offer at any price.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA P104-100 has an average benchmark score of 32,982, while the NVIDIA TITAN RTX has an average score of 31,676. This is counterintuitive given the TITAN RTX wins all head-to-head tests.

Q: Does the TITAN RTX support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the TITAN RTX has 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, enabling real-time ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The P104-100 has neither RT cores nor tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The P104-100 has 4 GB of GDDR5X, while the TITAN RTX has 24 GB of GDDR6. The TITAN RTX also has a wider 384-bit bus versus 256-bit, delivering 672.0 GB/s compared to 320.3 GB/s.

Q: Can the P104-100 be used for gaming?

A: No, the P104-100 has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for gaming or any task requiring visual output. It is designed for mining or headless compute.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The P104-100 has a suggested PSU of 200 W and uses a single 8-pin connector, while the TITAN RTX has a TDP of 280 W, requires a 600 W PSU, and uses dual 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The TITAN RTX scores 136,073 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 66.8% higher than the P104-100's score of 45,165.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test reveals the largest relative gap in the head-to-head data. The TITAN RTX scores 3,794, while the P104-100 scores 1,413, a delta of -62.8%. This test is a modern DirectX 12 workload that stresses GPU compute and memory bandwidth, and the TITAN RTX's 16.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are clearly decisive. The P104-100's 6.655 TFLOPS and 320.3 GB/s bandwidth are simply not competitive in this scenario.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the TITAN RTX scores 144,858 versus the P104-100's 52,368, a -63.8% delta. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute benchmark, and the TITAN RTX's 576 tensor cores and 4,608 shading units provide a massive parallel processing advantage. The P104-100's 1,920 shading units and lack of tensor cores mean it cannot match the throughput required for complex compute tasks.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows the TITAN RTX scoring 136,073 against the P104-100's 45,165, a -66.8% delta. This is the largest percentage difference in the head-to-head set. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API that benefits from raw hardware capabilities, and the TITAN RTX's Turing architecture with dedicated RT cores and higher memory bandwidth gives it a significant edge. The P104-100's Pascal architecture, while capable in its era, lacks the modern features needed to compete.

Interestingly, the delta percentages are remarkably consistent across all three tests, ranging from -62.8% to -66.8%. This suggests that the TITAN RTX's advantage is not workload-specific but rather a fundamental performance gap stemming from its larger die, more transistors, and newer architecture. The P104-100 is not a weak card in absolute terms—it ranks in the 77th percentile—but it is outclassed by the TITAN RTX in every measurable way.

Specification Differences

The most striking specification difference is the memory configuration. The P104-100 offers 4 GB of GDDR5X, while the TITAN RTX offers 24 GB of GDDR6—a six-fold capacity increase. The bus width also differs, with 256-bit on the P104-100 versus 384-bit on the TITAN RTX. This results in bandwidth of 320.3 GB/s versus 672.0 GB/s, respectively.

The compute units show a similar disparity. The P104-100 has 1,920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the TITAN RTX has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The TITAN RTX also adds 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, which the P104-100 lacks entirely. This translates to FP32 performance of 6.655 TFLOPS for the P104-100 versus 16.31 TFLOPS for the TITAN RTX, and FP16 performance of 104.0 GFLOPS versus 32.62 TFLOPS.

Power and interface specifications diverge sharply. The P104-100 has no TDP listed but suggests a 200 W PSU with a single 8-pin connector, while the TITAN RTX has a 280 W TDP, requires a 600 W PSU, and uses dual 8-pin connectors. The bus interface is PCIe 1.0 x4 on the P104-100 versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the TITAN RTX, a massive difference in host bandwidth. The P104-100 has no display outputs, while the TITAN RTX has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The process node is 16 nm for the P104-100 versus 12 nm for the TITAN RTX, and the die size is 314 mm² versus 754 mm². The TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P104-100 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.