NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two accelerators cleanly by workload type. The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation wins both recorded benchmark tests, taking the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 175,286 against the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB's 87,454, and the Geekbench Vulkan test with 194,041 against 141,336. That is a 2-0 sweep in the head-to-head results, with no test in the database where the Tesla V100 comes out ahead.

The RTX 5000 Ada's advantage is largest in OpenCL, where it leads by 100.4%. That result reflects a generational leap in raw compute throughput. The Vulkan gap is smaller but still decisive at 37.3%, indicating that the Ada card also holds a clear edge in graphics-oriented workloads, not just compute. The Tesla V100 SXM2, by contrast, has no recorded benchmark win in this comparison, so its role is better defined by its architectural traits rather than by any measured victory here.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the RTX 5000 Ada sits at 184,664, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 averages 114,395, a difference of roughly 61% in the Ada card's favor. The percentile placement reinforces this: the RTX 5000 Ada ranks in the 98th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 ranks in the 95th. Both are high performers, but the Ada card sits at the very top of the distribution.

The use-case split is therefore straightforward: the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the choice for tasks that stress OpenCL and Vulkan performance, while the Tesla V100 SXM2, despite its lower scores, brings a different set of hardware capabilities that may matter in specific server deployments. The data does not show any workload in which the Tesla V100 wins, so any advantage it offers would come from non-benchmark factors such as memory architecture or form factor.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras and different design philosophies. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 76,300 million transistors packed into a 609 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 125.3 million per square millimeter. The Tesla V100 SXM2 uses the GV100 chip on TSMC's 12 nm process, with 21,100 million transistors spread across a larger 815 mm² die, giving a density of just 25.9 million per square millimeter. The Ada chip is smaller yet holds over 3.6 times as many transistors.

The memory systems diverge sharply. The RTX 5000 Ada has 32 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla V100 SXM2 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 897.0 GB/s. So the Tesla card has half the capacity but substantially more bandwidth, a trade-off typical of HBM-equipped accelerators from its generation.

Compute resources also differ. The RTX 5000 Ada has 12,800 shading units, 400 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 100 RT cores, and 400 tensor cores. The Tesla V100 SXM2 has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, no RT cores, and 640 tensor cores. The Ada card has more than double the shader count and more TMUs and ROPs, while the Tesla card actually has more tensor cores, 640 versus 400, despite being from an older architecture.

Clock speeds favor the Ada card as well. The RTX 5000 Ada runs at a base of 1155 MHz and boosts to 2550 MHz, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 runs at 1312 MHz base and 1530 MHz boost. The Ada card's boost clock is over 1 GHz higher. Memory clocks are not directly comparable because they use different memory types, but the effective data rates are 18 Gbps for the Ada card and 1752 Mbps for the Tesla card, reflecting the different generations of memory technology.

The RTX 5000 Ada is a dual-slot PCIe 4.0 x16 card with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Tesla V100 SXM2 is an SXM module with no display outputs and a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. Both have a 250 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 600 W, though the Ada card uses a 1x 16-pin power connector while the SXM module has no power connector of its own, as it draws power through its socket.

The API support also differs. The RTX 5000 Ada supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla V100 SXM2 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The older DirectX version on the Tesla card reflects its compute-focused design and lack of RT cores.

In terms of lifecycle, the RTX 5000 Ada is still active in production, released in August 2023, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 is end-of-life, released in June 2017. The Ada card's predecessor is Workstation Ampere and its successor is Blackwell PRO W. The Tesla card's predecessor is Tesla Pascal and its successor is Tesla Turing.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap. The RTX 5000 Ada scores 175,286 against the Tesla V100 SXM2's 87,454, a delta of 100.4%. This means the Ada card delivers more than double the OpenCL performance of the Tesla card. That is a massive leap, and it aligns with the Ada card's far higher FP32 throughput of 65.28 TFLOPS compared to the Tesla's 15.67 TFLOPS, more than a 4x difference in raw single-precision compute.

The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap but still favors the Ada card. The RTX 5000 Ada scores 194,041, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 scores 141,336, a delta of 37.3%. The Ada card is ahead by about 52,705 points. Interestingly, the Tesla card's Vulkan score is much closer to its OpenCL score than the Ada card's is, suggesting that the Ada architecture scales more aggressively in the Vulkan test relative to OpenCL. The Ada card's Vulkan score is 10.7% higher than its OpenCL score, while the Tesla card's Vulkan score is 61.6% higher than its OpenCL score. The Tesla card, despite lacking RT cores, still manages a respectable Vulkan result, but it is not enough to challenge the Ada card.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The RTX 5000 Ada averages 184,664 across its recorded tests, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 averages 114,395. That is a 61.4% advantage for the Ada card. The nearest rivals to the RTX 5000 Ada in the database are the NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB at 183,725 (0.5% behind), the NVIDIA A100 SXM4 40 GB at 187,147 (1.3% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell at 182,109 (1.4% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D at 178,050 (3.7% behind). So the Ada card sits in a tight cluster at the very top of the database, within a few percent of the A100-class accelerators.

The Tesla V100 SXM2's nearest rivals are lower in the rankings: the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile at 113,944 (0.4% behind), the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation at 117,088 (2.3% ahead), the NVIDIA GB10 at 117,393 (2.6% ahead), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 at 110,725 (3.3% behind). The Tesla card is essentially in the middle of a group that spans the RTX 4000 SFF Ada and the Radeon PRO W7900, a much lower performance tier than the RTX 5000 Ada's competition.

The pixel and texture rates reinforce the gap. The RTX 5000 Ada achieves 448.8 GPixel/s and 1,020.0 GTexel/s, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 achieves 195.8 GPixel/s and 489.6 GTexel/s. The Ada card is roughly 2.3x faster in pixel fill and 2.1x faster in texture fill. These figures matter for rasterization-heavy tasks, though neither card is marketed primarily for gaming.

The FP16 comparison is nuanced. The RTX 5000 Ada delivers 65.28 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio to FP32, meaning it processes FP16 at the same rate as FP32. The Tesla V100 SXM2 delivers 31.33 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning its FP16 rate is double its FP32 rate. Even so, the Ada card's FP16 output is still more than double the Tesla card's, at 65.28 versus 31.33 TFLOPS.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for any workload captured in the database. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation beats the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB in both recorded benchmarks, with a 100.4% lead in OpenCL and a 37.3% lead in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 184,664 is about 61% higher than the Tesla card's 114,395, and it ranks in the 98th percentile of all GPUs versus the Tesla card's 95th.

For users who need OpenCL compute performance, the choice is unambiguous. The RTX 5000 Ada more than doubles the Tesla V100's score. For Vulkan workloads, the Ada card is still clearly ahead, though by a smaller margin. The Tesla V100 SXM2 has a higher memory bandwidth at 897.0 GB/s versus 576.0 GB/s, and more tensor cores at 640 versus 400, which could matter in specific neural network training scenarios that leverage Volta's tensor core design. The Tesla card is also an SXM module with no display outputs, so it is built for server racks, not workstations.

The RTX 5000 Ada is the newer product, active in production, with a 5 nm process, 32 GB of memory, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. The Tesla V100 SXM2 is end-of-life, built on 12 nm, with 16 GB of memory and DirectX 12 (12_1). For anyone choosing between these two today, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the superior option according to every benchmark in the database. The Tesla V100 SXM2's only advantages are its higher memory bandwidth and larger tensor core count, but those do not translate into a single measured win.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 184,664, while the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB has an average of 114,395.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5000 Ada in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 5000 Ada scores 175,286 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Tesla V100's 87,454, a lead of 100.4%.

Q: Does the Tesla V100 SXM2 have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: Yes, the Tesla V100 SXM2 has 897.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, compared to the RTX 5000 Ada's 576.0 GB/s from GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two?

A: The RTX 5000 Ada has 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 has 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die.

Q: Which card has more tensor cores?

A: The Tesla V100 SXM2 has 640 tensor cores, while the RTX 5000 Ada has 400 tensor cores.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is active in production, while the Tesla V100 SXM2 is end-of-life.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation | NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Volta |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 21,100 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 815 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 125.3M / mm² | 25.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1155 MHz | 1312 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2550 MHz | 1530 MHz |

| Memory Size | 32 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 576.0 GB/s | 897.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 12,800 | 5,120 |

| TMUs | 400 | 320 |

| ROPs | 176 | 128 |

| RT Cores | 100 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 400 | 640 |

| FP32 Performance | 65.28 TFLOPS | 15.67 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 65.28 TFLOPS (1:1) | 31.33 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 448.8 GPixel/s | 195.8 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,020.0 GTexel/s | 489.6 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 250 W | 250 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | SXM Module |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

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

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-08-08 | 2017-06-20 |