NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA Tesla P4 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the clear winner in the only directly comparable benchmark recorded in the database. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, which is 835.4% higher than the Tesla P4's 34947. This is not a marginal victory; it represents a dominant performance gap across the entire compute workload measured by that test.

The NVIDIA Tesla P4 has no benchmark wins in the head-to-head comparison. It does have one recorded benchmark that the RTX 5880 does not have in the shared comparison set: a Geekbench Vulkan score of 40309. However, this is a single data point, and the database has no corresponding Vulkan result for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation to compare against. The Tesla P4 also carries an 81st percentile ranking versus all GPUs, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation sits at the 85th percentile, so even in aggregate standing, the newer card is ahead.

The use-case split is straightforward. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is built for heavy workstation compute, with its massive 48 GB memory pool, high-bandwidth GDDR6 memory, and large shading unit count. The Tesla P4, by contrast, is a low-power inference-oriented card from the Pascal era, designed for server deployment where power constraints and a compact single-slot form factor matter more than raw throughput. The data supports this: the RTX 5880 wins the one shared compute benchmark by an order of magnitude, while the Tesla P4 offers no recorded advantage in any shared test.

For users choosing between these two, the decision hinges on whether the workload needs the RTX 5880's compute power or whether the Tesla P4's lower power draw and smaller physical footprint are the deciding factors, since the benchmark results show no scenario where the Tesla P4 outperforms the RTX 5880 in a head-to-head test.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations entirely. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The Tesla P4 uses the GP104 chip on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is substantial: 5 nm versus 16 nm, which directly impacts transistor density. The RTX 5880 packs 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, yielding a density of 125.3 million transistors per square millimeter. The Tesla P4 has 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, for a density of 22.9 million per square millimeter.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation includes 14080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. The Tesla P4 has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed in the database. This is a fundamental architectural split: Ada Lovelace includes dedicated hardware for ray tracing and tensor operations, while Pascal has neither.

Memory architecture also differs. The RTX 5880 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384 bit bus, with memory clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 864.0 GB/s. The Tesla P4 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256 bit bus, with memory at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 192.3 GB/s. The RTX 5880 has six times the memory capacity and over four times the bandwidth.

The API support also reflects the generational gap. The RTX 5880 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla P4 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX feature level difference (12_2 versus 12_1) is notable for applications that use DirectX 12 Ultimate features, though many compute workloads rely on OpenGL or Vulkan where both cards are on the same version.

Clock speeds and power targets tell the rest of the story. The RTX 5880 has a base clock of 975 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with a 285 W TDP, dual-slot design, and a single 16-pin power connector. The Tesla P4 has a base clock of 886 MHz and a boost clock of 1114 MHz, with a 75 W TDP, single-slot design, and no power connector required. The suggested PSU rating is 600 W for the RTX 5880 versus 250 W for the Tesla P4. The Tesla P4 also has no display outputs, while the RTX 5880 has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only shared benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, and the Tesla P4 scores 34947. The delta is 835.4% in favor of the RTX 5880. This is the single most decisive head-to-head result in the comparison, and it reflects the massive difference in raw compute resources: 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 for the RTX 5880 versus 5.704 TFLOPS FP32 for the Tesla P4. The RTX 5880 also achieves a pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s, versus 71.30 GPixel/s and 178.2 GTexel/s for the Tesla P4.

The RTX 5880 also has a significant FP16 advantage. Its FP16 throughput is listed as 69.27 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio with FP32), while the Tesla P4 manages only 89.12 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. This means for workloads that use FP16 arithmetic, the RTX 5880 is roughly 777 times faster in raw throughput, though the Geekbench OpenCL test presumably uses FP32 or mixed precision, which the 835.4% delta already captures.

The average benchmark score in the database tells a similar story. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 45972, while the Tesla P4 has 37628. The RTX 5880's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 (-0.2% delta), the Intel Arc A730M at 45592 (+0.8%), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45384 (+1.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46601 (-1.4%). The Tesla P4's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 at 37648 (-0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37507 (+0.3%), the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 37157 (+1.3%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135 (-1.3%). These rival comparisons show that each card sits in a different performance tier: the RTX 5880 is in the mid-40k range, while the Tesla P4 is in the mid-37k range, a gap of about 22% in average score.

The RTX 5880 also has additional benchmark results in the database that the Tesla P4 lacks entirely. These include Passmark DirectX 10 (167), DirectX 11 (228), DirectX 12 (70), DirectX 9 (335), G2D (777), G3D (25096), and GPU Compute (14208). The Tesla P4 has no Passmark results recorded, only the two Geekbench tests. This asymmetry means the head-to-head comparison is limited to a single data point, but that data point is unambiguous.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, which is 835.4% higher than the Tesla P4's 34947.

Q: Does the Tesla P4 have any benchmark where it beats the RTX 5880 Ada Generation?

A: In the shared benchmark set, no. The Tesla P4 has no wins in the head-to-head comparison. It does have a Geekbench Vulkan score of 40309, but there is no corresponding Vulkan result for the RTX 5880 in the database.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384 bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla P4 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256 bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are these cards from the same architectural generation?

A: No. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, while the Tesla P4 uses the Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a 285 W TDP and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The Tesla P4 has a 75 W TDP and requires a 250 W suggested PSU.

Q: Does the Tesla P4 support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The Tesla P4 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed in the database. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip, while the Tesla P4 uses the GP104 chip. The process node is 5 nm for the RTX 5880 and 16 nm for the Tesla P4. Transistor count is 76,300 million versus 7,200 million, and die size is 609 mm² versus 314 mm². Transistor density is 125.3 million per mm² versus 22.9 million per mm².

Clock speeds: the RTX 5880 has a base clock of 975 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, while the Tesla P4 has a base clock of 886 MHz and a boost clock of 1114 MHz. Memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the RTX 5880 versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the Tesla P4.

Memory: the RTX 5880 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384 bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla P4 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256 bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units: the RTX 5880 has 14080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. The Tesla P4 has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores.

Rates: the RTX 5880 achieves 433.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, 1,082.4 GTexel/s texture rate, 69.27 TFLOPS FP32, and 69.27 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1). The Tesla P4 achieves 71.30 GPixel/s pixel rate, 178.2 GTexel/s texture rate, 5.704 TFLOPS FP32, and 89.12 GFLOPS FP16 (1:64).

Power and physical: the RTX 5880 has a 285 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses one 16-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 600 W. The Tesla P4 has a 75 W TDP, is single-slot, has no power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX 5880 measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length and 112 mm (4.4 inches) in height. The Tesla P4 measures 168 mm (6.6 inches) in length with no height listed.

Interfaces and outputs: the RTX 5880 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Tesla P4 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and has no display outputs. API support: both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 5880 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) while the Tesla P4 supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Production status and release: the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as Active, released 2024-01-04, with a predecessor of Workstation Ampere and a successor of Blackwell PRO W. The Tesla P4 is End-of-life, released 2016-09-12, with a predecessor of Tesla Maxwell and a successor of Tesla Volta. Neither card has a launch MSRP recorded in the database.