NVIDIA RTX A5500 vs NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive outcome in the only direct comparison available. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 outperforms the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by a substantial 119.4% in the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 174,637 against the Tesla P100's 79,605. This is not a marginal lead; it is a doubling of raw compute performance in a single workload, which speaks to the generational gap between the two cards.

To put the RTX A5500's score into context, its average benchmark score of 165,217 places it in the 97th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, which scores 166,094 and trails by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 at 164,894, which is only 0.2% behind. The RTX A5500 also leads the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB by 1.7%, with that card scoring 162,504. These are tight margins, showing that the A5500 is competitive with modern workstation accelerators, but the gap to the Tesla P100 is far wider than anything seen among its peers.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, by contrast, averages 79,605, placing it in the 92nd percentile. Its closest comparable is the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396, a 0.3% difference, and the GeForce RTX 5090 at 79,842, which is 0.3% ahead. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X sits 1.7% higher at 80,959. The data indicates that the Tesla P100 is not a weak card in absolute terms, it still outperforms many GPUs, but it operates in a completely different performance tier than the RTX A5500. The OpenCL result alone demonstrates that the A5500 delivers more than double the compute throughput, and with only one head-to-head benchmark recorded, the conclusion is clear.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras and manufacturing processes. The RTX A5500 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA102 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB uses the Pascal architecture with the GP100 chip, produced on a 16 nm process at TSMC. This process node difference, 8 nm versus 16 nm, is a major factor in the performance gap, as the newer node allows for significantly higher transistor density.

The RTX A5500 packs 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, yielding a density of 45.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The Tesla P100 has 15,300 million transistors on a 610 mm² die, with a density of 25.1 million per square millimeter. The A5500 nearly doubles the transistor count on a similarly sized die, which explains its superior throughput.

Core counts also differ substantially. The RTX A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units. The Tesla P100 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The shading unit count is nearly three times higher on the A5500, which directly contributes to the FP32 performance gap. The A5500 also features 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while the Tesla P100 has none, as Pascal predates the introduction of dedicated ray tracing and tensor core hardware.

Memory architecture is another major differentiator. The RTX A5500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 768.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, achieving 732.2 GB/s. Interestingly, the P100's HBM2 memory operates at a lower clock, 715 MHz with 1430 Mbps effective, but the extremely wide bus keeps bandwidth competitive. The A5500's memory runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective. The A5500 offers more capacity and slightly higher bandwidth, which matters for large datasets.

Clock speeds also differ. The RTX A5500 has a base clock of 1080 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The Tesla P100 has a higher base clock of 1190 MHz but a lower boost clock of 1329 MHz. The A5500's higher boost ceiling, combined with its massive core count, drives its FP32 output to 34.10 TFLOPS, while the Tesla P100 reaches 9.526 TFLOPS. In FP16, the A5500 delivers 34.10 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the P100 achieves 19.05 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning the A5500 still leads even in half-precision workloads.

The bus interface also differs, with the A5500 supporting PCIe 4.0 x16 and the P100 limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The newer interface allows for faster data transfer between the GPU and host system. Display outputs are another distinction: the A5500 includes 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the Tesla P100 has no display outputs at all, reflecting its compute-focused design.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA RTX A5500 than the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB in the recorded benchmark?

A: The RTX A5500 scores 174,637 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 119.4% higher than the Tesla P100's 79,605. This means the A5500 delivers more than double the performance in that test.

Q: Does the Tesla P100 support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The Tesla P100's Pascal architecture has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RTX A5500, based on Ampere, includes 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX A5500 has 768.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 24 GB GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus. The Tesla P100 has 732.2 GB/s from 16 GB HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The A5500 is slightly ahead in bandwidth and offers 8 GB more capacity.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX A5500 has a density of 45.1 million transistors per square millimeter, while the Tesla P100 has 25.1 million per square millimeter. The A5500's 8 nm process allows for a much higher density.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the NVIDIA RTX A5500 and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB are marked as end-of-life in the database.

Q: What is the FP32 performance of each card?

A: The RTX A5500 delivers 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The Tesla P100 delivers 9.526 TFLOPS. The A5500 is approximately 3.6 times faster in this metric.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification. The RTX A5500 uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the Tesla P100 uses the GP100 chip on a 16 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts are 28,300 million versus 15,300 million, with densities of 45.1M per mm² and 25.1M per mm² respectively.

Core configurations diverge sharply. The A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, plus 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The P100 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. Clock speeds favor the A5500 in boost, at 1665 MHz versus 1329 MHz, though the P100 has a higher base clock at 1190 MHz versus 1080 MHz.

Memory specifications differ in capacity and type. The A5500 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 768.0 GB/s bandwidth. The P100 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 732.2 GB/s bandwidth. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the A5500 and 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective) for the P100.

Compute rates show the A5500's dominance: 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 versus 9.526 TFLOPS, and 34.10 TFLOPS FP16 versus 19.05 TFLOPS. Pixel rates are 159.8 GPixel/s versus 127.6 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 532.8 GTexel/s versus 297.7 GTexel/s.

Power specifications are close but not identical. The A5500 has a TDP of 230 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The P100 has a TDP of 250 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. Both use a dual-slot design and a single 8-pin power connector.

Interface and output differences are notable. The A5500 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The P100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and has no display outputs. API support also differs: the A5500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the P100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Physical dimensions are similar in length, both at 267 mm or 10.5 inches. The A5500 has a recorded height of 112 mm or 4.4 inches, while the P100's height is not recorded. Release dates differ significantly: the A5500 was released in 2022, while the P100 was released in 2016.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A5500 wins in nearly every measurable category. It has more than double the OpenCL performance, higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, more memory capacity, higher bandwidth, and a newer PCIe interface. It also supports ray tracing and tensor cores, making it suitable for rendering, AI inference, and modern graphics workloads. The 4x DisplayPort outputs allow direct display connectivity, which the Tesla P100 lacks entirely. The A5500's 97th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 165,217, places it in the upper echelon of workstation hardware.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is not without merits. Its HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus provides bandwidth that is nearly on par with the A5500, at 732.2 GB/s versus 768.0 GB/s. This makes it competitive in memory-bandwidth-bound tasks, despite its older architecture. Its higher base clock of 1190 MHz is also notable, though the boost clock is lower. The P100's 92nd percentile ranking, with an average score of 79,605, shows it remains a capable compute card for legacy workloads, and its lower transistor count means it draws only 20 W more than the A5500 while offering substantially less performance.

For pure compute density, the A5500 is the clear winner. For tasks that rely heavily on memory bandwidth and can tolerate lower compute throughput, the P100's HBM2 setup remains functional, but the data does not show a single benchmark where the P100 beats the A5500.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 is the superior card for nearly all use cases. Its 119.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with higher FP32 performance, more memory, and modern features like RT cores and tensor cores, makes it the obvious choice for anyone needing current workstation performance. The 97th percentile ranking and an average score of 165,217 place it alongside modern accelerators like the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation.

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, with its 92nd percentile ranking and average score of 79,605, is a legacy product. Its Pascal architecture lacks ray tracing and tensor cores, and its 16 GB of HBM2, while fast, is smaller than the A5500's 24 GB. It remains relevant only for specific compute tasks that predate modern APIs, or for systems constrained to PCIe 3.0. The 600 W suggested PSU and lack of display outputs further limit its flexibility.

For a new purchase, the RTX A5500 is the only rational choice. For those maintaining existing Tesla P100 infrastructure, the card still performs, but the recorded data shows it cannot keep pace with even a single generation of Ampere hardware. The verdict is simple: the A5500 wins on every recorded benchmark, and the P100's only advantage is its HBM2 memory bus, which cannot overcome the compute deficit.