NVIDIA RTX A1000 vs NVIDIA Tesla P4 Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A1000 is the clear performance winner over the NVIDIA Tesla P4 in every shared benchmark, delivering a 32.9% higher OpenCL score and an 18.7% higher Vulkan score. However, the Tesla P4 holds a higher overall percentile rank (81st vs. 79th) and a higher average benchmark score (37,628 vs. 34,207), reflecting its position among a different set of rivals. The RTX A1000 is the modern choice with architectural advantages, while the Tesla P4 is an end-of-life product that still competes in aggregate scoring due to its older but wider memory interface and higher shading unit count.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 52,078 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 32.9% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4’s 34,947. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards in any shared test.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX A1000 leads again with a score of 49,574, beating the Tesla P4’s 40,309 by 18.7%. The RTX A1000 wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons.

Q: Which GPU has a higher overall percentile ranking?

A: The Tesla P4 ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX A1000 sits in the 79th percentile. This means the Tesla P4 outperforms a slightly larger share of the overall GPU pool despite losing the direct comparisons.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The Tesla P4 has an average benchmark score of 37,628, while the RTX A1000 averages 34,207. The Tesla P4’s average is 3,421 points higher, even though it loses both specific head-to-head tests.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The RTX A1000 delivers 6.737 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is higher than the Tesla P4’s 5.704 TFLOPS. The RTX A1000 also offers FP16 at the same 6.737 TFLOPS, while the Tesla P4’s FP16 is severely limited at 89.12 GFLOPS.

Q: Do both cards support the same memory size?

A: Yes, both the Tesla P4 and RTX A1000 have 8 GB of memory. However, the Tesla P4 uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX A1000 uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, resulting in nearly identical bandwidth (192.3 GB/s vs. 192.0 GB/s).

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA Tesla P4 is built on the Pascal architecture using the GP104 chip, manufactured on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.9 million per mm². The RTX A1000, by contrast, uses the Ampere architecture with the GA107 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 8,700 million transistors on a smaller 200 mm² die, achieving a much higher density of 43.5 million per mm².

The compute capabilities differ sharply due to architectural evolution. The Tesla P4 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores. The RTX A1000 has fewer shading units (2,304), TMUs (72), and ROPs (32), but it adds 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, enabling ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The RTX A1000 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, reaching 6.737 TFLOPS, whereas the Tesla P4’s FP16 is a mere 89.12 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio.

Memory technology also separates the two. The Tesla P4 relies on GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus, while the RTX A1000 uses GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus. Both deliver near-identical bandwidth (192.3 GB/s vs. 192.0 GB/s), but the newer memory type on the RTX A1000 supports higher effective speeds (12 Gbps vs. 6 Gbps). The RTX A1000 also features a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, doubling the per-lane bandwidth of the Tesla P4’s PCIe 3.0 x16, and it provides four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the Tesla P4 has no display outputs at all.

The production statuses reflect their lifecycles: the Tesla P4 is end-of-life with a release date in 2016, while the RTX A1000 is active, released in 2024. The Tesla P4’s predecessor is Tesla Maxwell and its successor is Tesla Volta; the RTX A1000’s predecessor is Quadro Turing and its successor is Workstation Ada.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A1000 wins decisively in all direct benchmark comparisons, making it the stronger choice for compute-heavy tasks measured by OpenCL and Vulkan. Its 32.9% lead in OpenCL and 18.7% lead in Vulkan indicate a substantial performance advantage in general-purpose GPU compute and graphics API workloads. The RTX A1000 also brings modern features like RT cores and tensor cores, which are absent from the Tesla P4, making it suitable for ray-traced rendering and AI inference tasks.

The Tesla P4, despite losing the head-to-head tests, holds a higher percentile rank (81st vs. 79th) and a higher average benchmark score (37,628 vs. 34,207). This suggests that in a broader context—across a wider range of benchmarks not shared between the two—the Tesla P4 may perform more consistently relative to the entire GPU landscape. Its higher shading unit count (2,560 vs. 2,304) and wider memory bus (256-bit vs. 128-bit) could benefit older or differently optimized workloads, but the available data does not show a specific test where it wins.

For users prioritizing raw compute in OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX A1000 is the clear pick. For those looking at overall GPU standing or legacy software compatibility, the Tesla P4’s higher percentile and average score offer a counterpoint, though its end-of-life status limits its long-term viability.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla P4 | NVIDIA RTX A1000 |

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

| Architecture | Pascal | Ampere |

| Process Node | 16 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 7,200 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 314 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 22.9M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 886 MHz | 727 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1114 MHz | 1462 MHz |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Clock | 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 160 | 72 |

| ROPs | 64 | 32 |

| RT Cores | None | 18 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 72 |

| Pixel Rate | 71.30 GPixel/s | 46.78 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 178.2 GTexel/s | 105.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.704 TFLOPS | 6.737 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 89.12 GFLOPS | 6.737 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 75 W | 50 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

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

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

| Dimensions | 168 mm (6.6 inches) | 163 mm (6.4 inches) x 69 mm (2.7 inches) |

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

| Release Date | 2016-09-12 | 2024-04-15 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two shared benchmarks between the Tesla P4 and RTX A1000 are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the RTX A1000 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A1000 scores 52,078 against the Tesla P4’s 34,947, a delta of 32.9% in favor of the RTX A1000. This is a commanding lead, indicating the RTX A1000’s Ampere architecture and higher FP32 throughput (6.737 TFLOPS vs. 5.704 TFLOPS) translate directly into faster compute execution.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX A1000 scores 49,574, beating the Tesla P4’s 40,309 by 18.7%. While the margin is smaller than in OpenCL, it still represents a clear victory. The RTX A1000’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, combined with its newer feature set, likely contributes to this advantage. The Tesla P4’s DirectX 12 (12_1) support is one generation older.

The Tesla P4’s higher average benchmark score (37,628 vs. 34,207) comes from benchmarks not shared with the RTX A1000, as the head-to-head data only includes these two tests. The RTX A1000 also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 969, which is not available for the Tesla P4. Notably, the Tesla P4’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, has an average score of 37,648, which is only 0.1% higher, while the RTX A1000’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB, sits just 0.2% lower at 34,154.

The Verdict

The data unequivocally favors the NVIDIA RTX A1000 in direct performance comparisons. It wins both shared benchmarks by substantial margins—32.9% in OpenCL and 18.7% in Vulkan—and offers modern architectural features like RT cores, tensor cores, and 1:1 FP16 performance that the Tesla P4 completely lacks. The RTX A1000 also achieves this with a lower TDP (50 W vs. 75 W) and a smaller physical footprint, making it a more efficient and compact solution.

However, the Tesla P4 is not without merit. Its higher percentile rank (81st vs. 79th) and higher average benchmark score (37,628 vs. 34,207) suggest that, across the entire GPU benchmark landscape, it holds its own against a different set of competitors. Its wider 256-bit memory bus and higher shading unit count (2,560) may appeal to workloads that favor those specifications, but the available head-to-head data does not show any such advantage.

For anyone choosing between these two, the RTX A1000 is the superior option for modern compute tasks, particularly those leveraging OpenCL, Vulkan, or AI features. The Tesla P4, being end-of-life and lacking display outputs, is only suitable for legacy deployments or scenarios where its higher aggregate standing is more relevant than direct performance. The RTX A1000’s active production status and 2024 release date ensure ongoing support, while the Tesla P4’s 2016 origins signal obsolescence. Pick the RTX A1000 for performance and longevity; reserve the Tesla P4 only for specific legacy compatibility needs.