NVIDIA RTX A4000 vs NVIDIA Tesla M60 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA RTX A4000 in every common benchmark test. In the two head-to-head comparisons available, the RTX A4000 wins both, leaving the Tesla M60 with zero wins.

The most striking difference appears in Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX A4000 scores 105,739, while the Tesla M60 scores 29,506. That translates to a 72.1% deficit for the older card. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap in raw compute throughput. The OpenCL workload stresses general-purpose GPU compute, and the Ampere architecture simply overwhelms the Maxwell design.

Vulkan results tell a similar story, though with an even larger gap. The RTX A4000 posts 127,645, compared to the Tesla M60's 31,473. The delta here is 75.3% in favor of the newer card. Vulkan is a low-level API that exposes the hardware directly, and the data indicates that the RTX A4000's architecture is far more efficient at handling those workloads.

Context from the nearest rivals helps frame these scores. The Tesla M60's average benchmark score is 30,490, placing it at the 75th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA CMP 70HX with an average score of 30,476 (a 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 with 30,433 (0.2% delta). The Tesla M60 is essentially competitive with those mid-range cards, but it is nowhere near the RTX A4000.

The RTX A4000's average benchmark score is 26,683, which seems counterintuitive given its dominant head-to-head wins. This is because its average is dragged down by a wider variety of benchmark results, including some lower scores in specific tests. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (0.5% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at 26,421 (1% delta). The percentile ranking for the RTX A4000 is 72, slightly below the Tesla M60's 75, despite the RTX A4000 winning every direct comparison. This illustrates that average scores across different test suites can obscure the true relative performance in specific, modern workloads.

The PassMark suite for the RTX A4000 shows a range of results: DirectX 9 scores 240, DirectX 10 scores 126, DirectX 11 scores 158, and DirectX 12 scores 72. The G2D (2D graphics) score is 1,024, while the G3D (3D graphics) score is 19,459. The GPU compute score is 9,760. These figures show that the card is strong in compute and 3D rendering but less impressive in legacy DirectX APIs, which is expected for a modern workstation card. No comparable PassMark data exists for the Tesla M60 in the database, so a direct comparison is not possible.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test for the RTX A4000 yields a score of 2,604. This is a modern, demanding test, and the score reflects the card's capabilities in current gaming and rendering scenarios. The Tesla M60 has no recorded score for this test.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX A4000 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX A4000 scores 105,739, while the Tesla M60 scores 29,506. This represents a 72.1% advantage for the RTX A4000.

Q: What is the performance gap in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX A4000 scores 127,645, and the Tesla M60 scores 31,473. The RTX A4000 leads by 75.3%.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Tesla M60 has a higher average score of 30,490, compared to the RTX A4000's 26,683. However, this does not reflect the head-to-head results, where the RTX A4000 wins both tests.

Q: How do the two cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The Tesla M60's average score is nearly identical to the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (30,476, a 0% delta). The RTX A4000's average is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553).

Q: Does the RTX A4000 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX A4000 includes 48 dedicated RT cores and 192 tensor cores, features that are entirely absent from the Tesla M60.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX A4000 provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Tesla M60 provides 160.4 GB/s. The RTX A4000 also has double the memory capacity at 16 GB versus 8 GB.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent entirely different eras of NVIDIA design. The Tesla M60 uses the GM204 chip, built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, and fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RTX A4000 uses the GA104 chip, built on the Ampere architecture, and fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process shrink is massive, from 28 nm to 8 nm, enabling far more transistors in a similar die area.

The transistor counts tell the story of architectural advancement. The Tesla M60 has 5,200 million transistors on a die of 398 mm², resulting in a density of 13.1 million transistors per mm². The RTX A4000 has 17,400 million transistors on a slightly smaller die of 392 mm², yielding a density of 44.4 million per mm². That is more than three times the transistor density, a direct result of the smaller process node.

The shading units differ dramatically. The Tesla M60 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 render output units (ROPs). The RTX A4000 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX A4000 has triple the shader count and 50% more TMUs and ROPs.

More importantly, the RTX A4000 introduces hardware features that the Tesla M60 lacks entirely. The RTX A4000 has 48 RT cores for ray tracing and 192 tensor cores for AI acceleration. The Tesla M60 has no such dedicated hardware, meaning it cannot accelerate these workloads at all.

The memory architecture also diverges. The Tesla M60 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 160.4 GB/s. The RTX A4000 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus, but with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The newer memory type and higher clock speed nearly triple the available bandwidth.

API support follows the architectural generational gap. The Tesla M60 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX A4000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like ray tracing and mesh shaders, alongside OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Specification Differences

The most obvious difference is in the memory subsystem. The Tesla M60 has 8 GB of GDDR5, while the RTX A4000 has 16 GB of GDDR6. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the RTX A4000's bandwidth is 448.0 GB/s versus 160.4 GB/s for the Tesla M60.

Clock speeds also differ. The Tesla M60 has a base clock of 557 MHz and a boost clock of 1,178 MHz. The RTX A4000 has a base clock of 735 MHz and a boost of 1,560 MHz. The memory clocks vary as well: the Tesla M60 runs at 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the RTX A4000 runs at 1,750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

The compute throughput is a major separator. The Tesla M60 delivers 4.825 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the RTX A4000 delivers 19.17 TFLOPS. The RTX A4000 also offers FP16 performance at 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), a feature the Tesla M60 does not have.

Power requirements are vastly different. The Tesla M60 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W power supply, with a single 8-pin connector. The RTX A4000 has a TDP of 140 W, a suggested power supply of 300 W, and a single 6-pin connector. The RTX A4000 also uses a single-slot design, while the Tesla M60 is dual-slot.

Physical dimensions and outputs differ. The Tesla M60 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches) and has no display outputs, as it is a server compute card. The RTX A4000 is 241 mm long (9.5 inches) and 112 mm tall (4.4 inches), with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it suitable for workstation use.

The bus interface has been updated. The Tesla M60 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RTX A4000 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the available bandwidth to the host system.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX A4000 is the superior card in every measured benchmark. It wins both head-to-head tests with margins exceeding 70%. If the workload involves modern APIs like Vulkan or OpenCL compute, the RTX A4000 is the only rational choice.

The RTX A4000 is also the more feature-rich card. It includes ray tracing cores, tensor cores, double the memory, higher bandwidth, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. It consumes less than half the power (140 W versus 300 W) and fits in a single slot. For any workstation task involving rendering, AI inference, or modern 3D applications, the RTX A4000 is clearly the better option.

The Tesla M60, however, is not without its place. Its average benchmark score is higher than the RTX A4000's, at 30,490 versus 26,683, and it sits at the 75th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are modern mid-range cards like the NVIDIA CMP 70HX and AMD Radeon RX 6700, and it matches them nearly exactly. For legacy workloads that rely on Maxwell-era compute or for specific server deployments where its 8 GB GDDR5 memory and 300 W power envelope are already in place, the Tesla M60 could still serve adequately.

The choice depends on the context. If the requirement is maximum performance in current benchmarks and access to modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores, the RTX A4000 wins outright. If the requirement is a known quantity in an existing Maxwell-based server infrastructure with no need for those new features, the Tesla M60 remains a functional, if outdated, option. The recorded data, however, shows that for any new deployment, the RTX A4000 is the superior investment in performance and capability.