NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains one shared benchmark between the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, while the Tesla T4 scores 61276. The delta of -81.3% indicates the Tesla T4 trails by a substantial margin, meaning the RTX 5880 delivers roughly five times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The database shows the RTX 5880 wins the only head-to-head comparison, with the Tesla T4 recording zero wins against its newer counterpart.

Beyond the shared test, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has additional benchmark entries that illustrate its broader capability profile. In Passmark G3D, it scores 25096, a figure that places it well above many workstation cards. Its Passmark GPU Compute score is 14208, indicating strong general-purpose compute performance. The RTX 5880 also posts Passmark DirectX scores of 167 for DirectX 10, 228 for DirectX 11, 70 for DirectX 12, and 335 for DirectX 9, along with a Passmark G2D score of 777. The Tesla T4, by contrast, has no recorded Passmark entries in the database, so its DirectX and 2D performance cannot be compared directly. The Geekbench Vulkan score for the Tesla T4 is 72190, which is not matched by any Vulkan result for the RTX 5880 in the available data.

The average benchmark score tells a more nuanced story. The Tesla T4 has an average of 66733 across its recorded tests, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation averages 45972. This discrepancy arises because the RTX 5880’s average includes several Passmark tests with relatively low scores, such as the DirectX 12 result of 70 and DirectX 10 result of 167, which drag down its mean. The Tesla T4, with only two high-scoring Geekbench entries, maintains a higher average despite losing the OpenCL comparison decisively. This illustrates why average scores alone can be misleading: the RTX 5880’s single OpenCL result is more than five times the Tesla T4’s, yet its average is lower due to the mix of tests in the database.

Percentile rankings further contextualize the two cards. The Tesla T4 sits at the 90th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is at the 85th percentile. The Tesla T4’s higher percentile reflects its consistent performance across the tests it appears in, whereas the RTX 5880’s lower percentile is influenced by the weaker Passmark results. The nearest rivals for the Tesla T4 include the AMD Radeon VII with an average score of 66004 and a delta of 1.1%, the NVIDIA Tesla P40 at 65095 with a delta of 2.5%, the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 at 68562 with a delta of -2.7%, and the Intel Arc A770 at 68809 with a delta of -3%. For the RTX 5880, the closest competitors are the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 with a delta of -0.2%, the Intel Arc A730M at 45592 with a delta of 0.8%, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45384 with a delta of 1.3%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46601 with a delta of -1.4%. These rival comparisons show that the Tesla T4 clusters with high-performance compute cards from the previous generation, while the RTX 5880’s average places it near mid-range mobile and workstation GPUs, despite its standout OpenCL result.

The Verdict

From the data, the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the clear choice for workloads that emphasize OpenCL compute, where it outperforms the Tesla T4 by 81.3%. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 326898 dwarfs the Tesla T4’s 61276, making it the superior option for tasks that rely on this API, such as certain scientific simulations, rendering pipelines, and machine learning inference. The RTX 5880 also offers a much larger memory pool of 48 GB versus 16 GB, which is critical for large datasets that exceed the Tesla T4’s capacity. Its 864.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 320.0 GB/s further cements its advantage in memory-bound workloads.

The Tesla T4, however, should not be dismissed. Its 90th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that, within its benchmark set, it performs admirably relative to the broader market. Its average benchmark score of 66733 is higher than the RTX 5880’s 45972, and it posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 72190, a test the RTX 5880 does not appear in. For users running Vulkan-based applications, the Tesla T4 may be the only viable option between the two, given the lack of a comparable score for the RTX 5880. Additionally, the Tesla T4’s 70 W power draw and single-slot design make it suitable for dense server deployments where space and thermal envelopes are tight, whereas the RTX 5880 requires a dual-slot footprint and a 285 W power budget.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the pick for raw performance and modern feature support, as its architecture and specifications align with current-generation demands. The Tesla T4 remains relevant for specific legacy or low-power scenarios, but the benchmark data leaves little doubt about which card delivers more compute power. The RTX 5880 wins the only direct comparison, and its architectural advantages, detailed below, reinforce that verdict.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by two full architecture generations. The Tesla T4 is built on the Turing architecture using the TU104 chip, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip. The process node differs significantly: the Tesla T4 uses a 12 nm process from TSMC, while the RTX 5880 uses a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. This node shrink allows the RTX 5880 to pack far more transistors into a similar die area. The Tesla T4 contains 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The RTX 5880 contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, for a density of 125.3M per mm², roughly five times denser.

Clock speeds also favor the RTX 5880. The Tesla T4 has a base clock of 585 MHz and a boost clock of 1590 MHz, while the RTX 5880 starts at 975 MHz base and boosts to 2460 MHz. Memory clocks follow suit: the Tesla T4 runs at 1250 MHz with 10 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5880 runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective. The RTX 5880’s memory subsystem is wider as well, with a 384-bit bus versus 256-bit, and its bandwidth of 864.0 GB/s is nearly triple the Tesla T4’s 320.0 GB/s.

The compute resources are dramatically different. The Tesla T4 has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 64 raster output units, 40 ray tracing cores, and 320 tensor cores. The RTX 5880 has 14080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. Pixel rate and texture rate reflect this gap: the Tesla T4 delivers 101.8 GPixel/s and 254.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX 5880 achieves 433.0 GPixel/s and 1,082.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 8.141 TFLOPS for the Tesla T4 versus 69.27 TFLOPS for the RTX 5880. FP16 performance also differs in ratio: the Tesla T4 reaches 16.28 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the RTX 5880 reaches 69.27 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not sacrifice FP32 throughput for FP16.

Other architectural differences include the bus interface, with the Tesla T4 using PCIe 3.0 x16 and the RTX 5880 using PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are another differentiator: the Tesla T4 has no outputs, while the RTX 5880 includes 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Tesla T4 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, while the RTX 5880 is dual-slot with a single 16-pin connector. The suggested power supply is 250 W for the Tesla T4 and 600 W for the RTX 5880. Physical dimensions also vary, with the Tesla T4 measuring 168 mm in length and the RTX 5880 measuring 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326898, while the NVIDIA Tesla T4 scores 61276, giving the RTX 5880 an 81.3% advantage in that test.

Q: Does the Tesla T4 have any benchmark where it beats the RTX 5880?

A: In the shared head-to-head data, the Tesla T4 records zero wins. However, it does have a Geekbench Vulkan score of 72190, a test for which the RTX 5880 has no recorded score in the database.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Tesla T4 has an average benchmark score of 66733, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average of 45972. The RTX 5880’s average is lower because its Passmark DirectX and 2D scores, which range from 70 to 777, are included in the calculation.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The Tesla T4 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 320.0 GB/s for the Tesla T4 and 864.0 GB/s for the RTX 5880.

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

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores, while the Tesla T4 has 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores.

Q: What are the power and cooling differences?

A: The Tesla T4 has a 70 W TDP and is single-slot with no power connectors, while the RTX 5880 has a 285 W TDP and is dual-slot with a single 16-pin power connector. The suggested power supply is 250 W for the Tesla T4 and 600 W for the RTX 5880.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins decisively in OpenCL compute, as shown by its 326898 score versus 61276 for the Tesla T4, a margin of 81.3%. It also wins on every architectural metric that matters for heavy compute: FP32 throughput of 69.27 TFLOPS versus 8.141 TFLOPS, memory bandwidth of 864.0 GB/s versus 320.0 GB/s, and memory capacity of 48 GB versus 16 GB. For tasks like large-scale rendering, scientific computing, or AI training with large batches, the RTX 5880 is the superior choice. Its 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs also make it suitable for workstation display tasks, whereas the Tesla T4 has no display outputs at all.

The Tesla T4 wins in scenarios where its lower power draw and smaller footprint are advantages. At 70 W TDP with a single-slot design and no power connectors, it fits into servers with limited power and space budgets. Its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while older, is sufficient for many inference workloads. The Tesla T4 also holds the higher percentile ranking at 90 versus 85 for the RTX 5880, and its average benchmark score of 66733 exceeds the RTX 5880’s 45972. For Vulkan-based applications, the Tesla T4 is the only one of the two with a recorded score (72190), so it wins that use case by default. In memory-constrained but power-sensitive deployments, the Tesla T4’s 16 GB is more than adequate for many models, and its 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, while lower, is still functional.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two cards are as follows. The Tesla T4 uses the TU104 chip on a 12 nm process, while the RTX 5880 uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm process. Transistor count is 13,600 million for the Tesla T4 versus 76,300 million for the RTX 5880, and die size is 545 mm² versus 609 mm². Base clock is 585 MHz versus 975 MHz, and boost clock is 1590 MHz versus 2460 MHz. Memory clock is 1250 MHz with 10 Gbps effective for the Tesla T4, while the RTX 5880 runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective. Memory size is 16 GB versus 48 GB, bus width is 256-bit versus 384-bit, and bandwidth is 320.0 GB/s versus 864.0 GB/s.

Shading units number 2560 versus 14080, TMUs are 160 versus 440, ROPs are 64 versus 176, ray tracing cores are 40 versus 110, and tensor cores are 320 versus 440. Pixel rate is 101.8 GPixel/s versus 433.0 GPixel/s, texture rate is 254.4 GTexel/s versus 1,082.4 GTexel/s, FP32 is 8.141 TFLOPS versus 69.27 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 16.28 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio versus 69.27 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio. TDP is 70 W versus 285 W, slot width is single-slot versus dual-slot, power connectors are none versus 1x 16-pin, and suggested PSU is 250 W versus 600 W. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are none versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Length is 168 mm versus 267 mm, with the RTX 5880 also having a height of 112 mm. The Tesla T4 is end-of-life, while the RTX 5880 is active, and their release dates are 2018-09-12 versus 2024-01-04.