NVIDIA Quadro GP100 vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

# NVIDIA Quadro GP100 vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB

The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB are both Pascal-architecture professional GPUs built on the same GP100 chip, yet they serve distinctly different market segments. Benchmark data from Geekbench OpenCL shows the Quadro GP100 scoring 87,445 against the Tesla P100's 79,605, a 9.8% advantage for the Quadro in this particular workload. Both cards rank near the top of the database, with the Quadro at the 93rd percentile and the Tesla at the 92nd percentile of all GPUs tested. The two cards share identical silicon, memory configuration, and API support, but their clock speeds, power targets, and display capabilities create measurable performance differences.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 scores 87,445, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605. That represents a 9.8% advantage for the Quadro GP100 in this benchmark.

Q: Do both cards use the same memory configuration?

A: Yes. Both GPUs feature 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is identical at 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective).

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card according to benchmark data?

A: The Quadro GP100's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 with an average score of 87,108 (0.4% behind). The Tesla P100's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB with a score of 79,396 (0.3% behind).

Q: Is there any difference in display output capabilities?

A: Yes. The Quadro GP100 includes 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB has no display outputs at all, as it is designed for compute-only server deployments.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The Quadro GP100 has a TDP of 235 W and a suggested PSU rating of 550 W. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB has a higher TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: Which card was released first?

A: The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB was released on June 19, 2016, while the Quadro GP100 followed on September 30, 2016. Both are now end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture using the GP100 chip, fabricated at TSMC on a 16 nm process. The die contains 15,300 million transistors on a 610 mm² surface, yielding a transistor density of 25.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The core configuration is identical: 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. Neither card includes ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these features were introduced in later architectures.

The fundamental architectural difference lies in clock behavior. The Quadro GP100 operates with a base clock of 1304 MHz and a boost clock of 1443 MHz. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB runs at a lower 1190 MHz base and 1329 MHz boost. This clock disparity directly affects every compute metric derived from the shader array. The Quadro achieves a pixel rate of 138.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 323.2 GTexel/s, while the Tesla manages 127.6 GPixel/s and 297.7 GTexel/s respectively. Floating-point throughput follows the same pattern: the Quadro delivers 10.34 TFLOPS FP32 and 20.69 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), versus 9.526 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.05 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio) for the Tesla.

Memory architecture is essentially identical. Both cards use 16 GB of HBM2 across a 4096-bit interface with 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is the same 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective). Physical dimensions match at 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length, though the Quadro specifies a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches) while the Tesla does not list a height. Both are dual-slot cards requiring a single 8-pin power connector.

The PCIe interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for both. API support is also identical: DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The key differentiator beyond clocks is the display subsystem — the Quadro GP100 carries full display outputs, whereas the Tesla P100 is a headless compute accelerator with no outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark result in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, where the Quadro GP100 posts 87,445 against the Tesla P100's 79,605. This 9.8% delta is consistent with the clock speed advantage the Quadro holds. The Quadro's boost clock of 1443 MHz is 8.6% higher than the Tesla's 1329 MHz, which largely explains the performance gap.

Looking at the competitive landscape, the Quadro GP100's score places it in tight company. The AMD Radeon PRO W7600 scores 87,108, just 0.4% behind. The NVIDIA CMP 40HX trails by 2.1% at 85,637. Above the Quadro sit the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile at 91,134 (4% ahead) and the NVIDIA RTX A4500 at 91,671 (4.6% ahead). This suggests the Quadro GP100 sits in a competitive mid-upper tier of professional workstation GPUs.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB's score of 79,605 places it in a slightly different competitive bracket. Its nearest rival is the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396, only 0.3% behind — essentially a statistical tie. The GeForce RTX 5090 scores 79,842, which is 0.3% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 0.8% at 78,940, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads by 1.7% at 80,959. The Tesla's position among these rivals shows that despite the lower clock speeds, it remains competitive within its compute-focused niche.

The 9.8% performance gap between the two cards in this benchmark is notable given their identical core counts and memory subsystems. The data indicates that clock speed is the primary lever of differentiation in this head-to-head comparison. Since both cards share the same GP100 die, the Quadro's higher operating frequency translates directly into higher throughput across all shader-bound workloads.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Base Clock: Quadro GP100 at 1304 MHz; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 1190 MHz
• Boost Clock: Quadro GP100 at 1443 MHz; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 1329 MHz
• Pixel Rate: Quadro GP100 at 138.5 GPixel/s; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 127.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: Quadro GP100 at 323.2 GTexel/s; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 297.7 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: Quadro GP100 at 10.34 TFLOPS; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 9.526 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: Quadro GP100 at 20.69 TFLOPS (2:1); Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 19.05 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: Quadro GP100 at 235 W; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 250 W
• Suggested PSU: Quadro GP100 at 550 W; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 600 W
• Display Outputs: Quadro GP100 with 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with no outputs
• Dimensions Height: Quadro GP100 at 111 mm; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB not specified
• Release Date: Quadro GP100 on September 30, 2016; Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB on June 19, 2016
• Generation: Quadro Pascal (Px000); Tesla Pascal (Pxx)
• Predecessor: Quadro Maxwell; Tesla Maxwell
• Successor: Quadro Volta; Tesla Volta
• Launch MSRP: Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 5,699 USD; Quadro GP100 has no listed launch MSRP

All other specifications — including process node, die size, transistor count, memory size and type, bus width, bandwidth, shading units, TMUs, ROPs, slot width, power connectors, bus interface, and API support — are identical between the two cards.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro GP100 wins decisively in raw benchmark performance. Its 9.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL comes from higher base and boost clocks, which boost pixel rate, texture rate, and both FP32 and FP16 throughput. For users prioritizing maximum compute performance in a workstation form factor with display connectivity, the Quadro GP100 is the stronger choice. The presence of DVI and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs means it can drive professional displays directly, making it suitable for visualization, CAD, and content creation workloads where both compute and visual output are required. Its lower TDP of 235 W versus 250 W also means it demands less from the power supply.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB wins in the context of datacenter and server deployments where display output is irrelevant. Its headless design with no outputs is a feature, not a limitation, for compute clusters and AI inference environments. The 5,699 USD launch MSRP reflects its positioning as a dedicated compute accelerator. While its benchmark score trails the Quadro by 9.8%, the Tesla still performs within 0.3% of the RTX 5090 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD RX 6850M XT, demonstrating competitive compute capability. The higher TDP of 250 W and suggested 600 W PSU indicate it is designed for systems with ample power headroom, typical of server infrastructure.

The performance gap between these two identical-silicon cards is entirely attributable to clock strategy. NVIDIA chose to bin the GP100 chip differently for each market segment — higher clocks for the workstation-oriented Quadro, lower clocks for the datacenter-oriented Tesla. Both cards have identical memory bandwidth at 732.2 GB/s and identical core counts, so any workload that is memory-bound will show negligible difference between them. Workloads that are compute-bound, particularly those leveraging FP32 or FP16 throughput, will consistently favor the Quadro GP100 by the margin dictated by its clock advantage.

For users with existing Quadro Maxwell or Tesla Maxwell infrastructure, the upgrade path leads to these respective successors. The Quadro GP100 replaces Quadro Maxwell as the workstation offering, while the Tesla P100 replaces Tesla Maxwell in compute environments. Both are end-of-life products, superseded by Quadro Volta and Tesla Volta respectively, but the benchmark data shows they remain relevant within their performance tiers. The choice between them ultimately comes down to whether display outputs and lower power draw matter more, or whether the headless compute form factor and established datacenter ecosystem take priority.