NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 leads with an average benchmark score of 101,872, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB trails at 79,396, which lands in the 92nd percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in the only head-to-head benchmark available?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 versus the Quadro RTX 6000's 74,179, giving the Tesla a 6.6% advantage in that single test.

Q: What are the memory capacities and types of each card?

A: The Quadro RTX 6000 comes with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB offers 12 GB of HBM2 memory on a 3072-bit bus, with 549.1 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The Quadro RTX 6000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the Quadro also supports Vulkan 1.4 versus Vulkan 1.3 on the Tesla.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two chips?

A: The Quadro RTX 6000 uses the TU102 chip built on TSMC's 12 nm process, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB uses the GP100 chip on TSMC's 16 nm process. Despite the older node, the Tesla has a slightly higher transistor density at 25.1M per mm² versus 24.7M per mm².

Q: Which card has dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the Quadro RTX 6000 includes dedicated hardware: 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB has neither, relying purely on its 3,584 shading units.

Architecture Differences

The two NVIDIA cards represent fundamentally different architectural generations. The Quadro RTX 6000 is built on the Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 18,600 million transistors into a 754 mm² die. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB uses the older Pascal architecture with the GP100 chip, on a 16 nm process, containing 15,300 million transistors across a 610 mm² die. Notably, the Tesla has a marginally higher transistor density at 25.1M / mm² versus 24.7M / mm² on the Quadro.

The most significant architectural divergence is in specialized compute hardware. The Quadro RTX 6000 includes 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI inference workloads. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB has no RT cores and no tensor cores at all; it is a pure compute card without these accelerators. This difference is reflected in the shading unit counts: the Quadro has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, whereas the Tesla has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and the same 96 ROPs.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The Quadro RTX 6000 runs at a 1440 MHz base clock and 1770 MHz boost, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB operates at 1190 MHz base and 1329 MHz boost. Memory architecture is another divider: the Quadro uses GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, while the Tesla uses HBM2 on a much wider 3072-bit bus. The Tesla's memory runs at 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective), whereas the Quadro's memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These architectural choices lead to different strengths: the Quadro pushes higher raw compute rates, while the Tesla's HBM2 provides high bandwidth in a compact footprint.

Where Each One Wins

The data suggests a clear split in use cases. The Quadro RTX 6000 wins on overall average benchmark score, compiling a 101,872 average across two tests (Geekbench OpenCL at 74,179 and Geekbench Vulkan at 129,564). This makes it the stronger all-around performer, especially in scenarios that leverage its Turing features. The presence of 576 tensor cores and 72 RT cores positions it for modern workloads involving ray tracing, deep learning inference, and real-time rendering. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory also provides double the capacity of the Tesla, which matters for large datasets and complex scenes.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, by contrast, wins the single head-to-head OpenCL benchmark with a 6.6% margin. Its strength appears to lie in raw compute throughput in OpenCL applications, where its HBM2 memory and Pascal architecture deliver competitive results despite lower clock speeds. The Tesla also has a lower launch MSRP of 4,599 USD versus the Quadro's 6,299 USD, though pricing is noted once and not factored into performance analysis. For users running OpenCL-heavy compute workloads that do not require ray tracing or tensor operations, the Tesla holds its ground. However, the Quadro's superior average score and broader feature set make it the more versatile choice for mixed professional workloads.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 | NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Turing | Pascal |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 18,600 million | 15,300 million |

| Die Size | 754 mm² | 610 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1440 MHz | 1190 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1770 MHz | 1329 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 3072 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 672.0 GB/s | 549.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 288 | 224 |

| ROPs | 96 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 72 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 576 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 16.31 TFLOPS | 9.526 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 32.62 TFLOPS (2:1) | 19.05 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 169.9 GPixel/s | 127.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 509.8 GTexel/s | 297.7 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 260 W | 250 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2018-08-12 | 2016-06-19 |

The table highlights that the Quadro RTX 6000 leads in nearly every raw compute specification, with the exception of memory bus width and the single OpenCL benchmark result. The Tesla's 3072-bit bus is wider, but the Quadro's faster GDDR6 memory yields higher overall bandwidth.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL. Here, the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 against the Quadro RTX 6000's 74,179, a delta of 6.6% in favor of the Tesla. This is a surprising result given the Quadro's substantial advantages in shading units, clocks, and memory bandwidth. The OpenCL test appears to favor the Tesla's HBM2 memory architecture or its specific compute scheduling, despite the Quadro's higher theoretical FP32 throughput of 16.31 TFLOPS versus 9.526 TFLOPS.

However, context from the nearest rivals clarifies the picture. The Quadro RTX 6000's average score of 101,872 is 4.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7900M (97,487) and 4.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro VII (97,131), while trailing the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo (106,750) by 4.6% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (107,342) by 5.1%. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB's average of 79,396 sits just 0.3% behind the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) and 0.6% behind the GeForce RTX 5090 (79,842), while edging out the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940) by 0.6% and trailing the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959) by 1.9%.

The Quadro's second benchmark, Geekbench Vulkan at 129,564, is not available for the Tesla, which lacks a Vulkan score in the data. This missing data point means the Quadro's average benefits from a second strong result, while the Tesla's average is based solely on its OpenCL score. The head-to-head winner is the Tesla, but the overall benchmark landscape shows the Quadro operating in a higher performance tier.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear verdict: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 is the superior GPU for most professional use cases, based on its average benchmark score of 101,872 versus the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB's 79,396. The Quadro's 94th percentile ranking versus the Tesla's 92nd percentile reinforces this, as does its commanding lead in FP32 performance (16.31 TFLOPS vs 9.526 TFLOPS) and texture rate (509.8 GTexel/s vs 297.7 GTexel/s). The Quadro also brings dedicated RT cores and tensor cores, features entirely absent on the Tesla, making it the only choice for ray tracing or tensor-accelerated workloads.

However, the single head-to-head OpenCL benchmark tells a different story. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB wins that test by 6.6%, suggesting that for OpenCL-specific compute tasks, the Tesla's HBM2 memory and Pascal architecture can outperform the Turing card. Users whose workloads are exclusively OpenCL-based and do not require display outputs (the Tesla has none) may find the Tesla adequate, especially given its lower launch MSRP of 4,599 USD versus the Quadro's 6,299 USD.

For everyone else, the Quadro RTX 6000 is the recommended pick. It offers double the memory (24 GB vs 12 GB), higher bandwidth (672.0 GB/s vs 549.1 GB/s), more shading units (4,608 vs 3,584), and superior pixel and texture rates. Its display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C) make it usable in workstation environments, whereas the Tesla is a headless compute card. The Quadro also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, compared to the Tesla's DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. In short, the Quadro is the more capable, more flexible, and higher-performing card in the aggregate, with the Tesla winning only a narrow slice of the compute landscape.