NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell vs NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell and the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB represent two distinct eras of NVIDIA’s professional GPU lineup. The data shows a decisive generational shift in performance, with the Blackwell card leading by significant margins in every shared benchmark, yet the V100’s legacy in compute density remains relevant for specific workloads. Below is a breakdown based strictly on the benchmark and specification data provided.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two cards share only two benchmark results in the data: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the outright winner, but the magnitude of the victory differs substantially by workload.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 254,116 points against the Tesla V100’s 163,063 points. This represents a 55.8% advantage for the newer card. This is a substantial lead, indicating that general-purpose compute tasks leveraging OpenCL will see a dramatic performance uplift on the Blackwell architecture. To put this in context, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell’s average benchmark score of 182,109 places it 0.9% behind the NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB and 1.4% behind the RTX 5000 Ada Generation, showing it is competitive with the previous top-tier professional cards. The Tesla V100, with an average score of 138,063, sits 0.2% behind the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB and 0.7% behind the AMD Instinct MI100, indicating it remains a solid performer in its own generation but is clearly outclassed by the newer architecture.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is where the gap becomes enormous. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 282,631 points, while the Tesla V100 scores just 113,062 points. This yields a 150% advantage for the Blackwell card. This is a massive difference, more than double the performance, and highlights the V100’s limitations in modern graphics and compute APIs. The V100’s Vulkan score is notably lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting its architecture is less optimized for this API, whereas the Blackwell card shows a strength in Vulkan, scoring higher than it does in OpenCL. This data indicates that any workload leveraging Vulkan will see a transformative performance gain when moving from the V100 to the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell.

Overall, the head-to-head record is 2 wins for the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell and 0 wins for the Tesla V100. The average benchmark score differential reinforces this: the Blackwell card’s 182,109 average is 31.9% higher than the V100’s 138,063 average. This is not a close contest; it is a generational obliteration in raw compute and graphics throughput.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast, reflecting a seven-year production cycle difference. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell uses the GB202 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, while the Tesla V100 uses the GV100 chip on a 12 nm process from the same foundry. This process shrink is a primary driver of the performance disparity.

Transistor counts tell a clear story of integration. The Blackwell chip packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 122.9 million per mm². In contrast, the V100’s GV100 chip contains 21,100 million transistors on a larger 815 mm² die, yielding a much lower density of 25.9 million per mm². This means the Blackwell chip fits more than four times the transistors into a slightly smaller physical area, enabling its massive compute advantage.

Core configurations differ radically. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell features 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, and 160 ROPs. The Tesla V100 has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The Blackwell card also includes 110 dedicated ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores, while the V100 lacks ray tracing cores entirely but has 640 tensor cores. This suggests the V100 was more focused on pure tensor operations, while the Blackwell card balances both AI compute and real-time rendering capabilities.

Clock speeds are also a significant factor. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell boosts to 2377 MHz from a base of 1740 MHz, while the Tesla V100 boosts to only 1380 MHz from a base of 1245 MHz. This higher operating frequency, combined with the larger core count, explains the Blackwell card’s dominance. Memory technology also differs entirely: the Blackwell card uses 48 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.34 TB/s of bandwidth, whereas the V100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, providing 897.0 GB/s. The V100’s wider bus cannot compensate for the older HBM2 standard’s lower clock speed.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell wins in every measured category. Its 55.8% lead in OpenCL and 150% lead in Vulkan make it the clear choice for any workload that can leverage these APIs. For modern compute tasks, AI inference, and graphics rendering, the Blackwell card is unequivocally superior.

The Tesla V100’s only potential advantage lies in legacy or specialized applications. Its 640 tensor cores, which are more numerous than the Blackwell card’s 440, could theoretically benefit workloads that are highly optimized for the older Volta tensor core architecture and do not scale well with the newer generation. However, this is not reflected in the benchmark scores provided. The V100 also has a higher memory bus width at 4096-bit, but its lower bandwidth (897.0 GB/s vs 1.34 TB/s) means this does not translate to a practical win.

A more nuanced analysis of the nearest rivals shows where each card sits in the broader market. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell’s average score of 182,109 is 2.3% ahead of the GeForce RTX 4090 D and 2.7% ahead of the A100 SXM4 40 GB, indicating it is a top-tier performer even among modern cards. The Tesla V100’s average score of 138,063 is 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V620 and 1.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo, placing it in the upper echelon of its generation. For users still on a V100, the data suggests the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is a direct and massive upgrade path.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the superior GPU. Any user considering a move from the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB will see a 55.8% improvement in OpenCL performance and a 150% improvement in Vulkan performance. The Blackwell card also offers three times the memory capacity (48 GB vs 16 GB) and a newer, faster memory type (GDDR7 vs HBM2), which are critical for large datasets and high-resolution rendering.

The Tesla V100 is end-of-life, while the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is active in production. The V100’s PCIe 3.0 interface is a bottleneck compared to the Blackwell card’s PCIe 5.0 x16 connection, limiting data transfer speeds. The Blackwell card also provides four DisplayPort 2.1b outputs, whereas the V100 has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for any workstation requiring a direct video connection.

For a professional user building a new system or upgrading an existing one, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the only rational choice from this comparison. The V100’s only potential appeal is to someone with a legacy application that is exclusively optimized for Volta’s specific tensor core layout and cannot use newer architectures, but the benchmark results do not support this as a general case. The verdict is clear: choose the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell for its overwhelming performance, modern features, and future-proofing.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the Tesla V100?

A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 254,116 points, which is 55.8% higher than the Tesla V100’s 163,063 points.

Q: What is the performance difference in Geekbench Vulkan between the two cards?

A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 282,631 points, which is 150% higher than the Tesla V100’s 113,062 points.

Q: Which card has more tensor cores?

A: The Tesla V100 has 640 tensor cores, while the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has 440 tensor cores. Despite this, the Blackwell card wins all benchmarks.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each card?

A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has 48 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus with 1.34 TB/s bandwidth. The Tesla V100 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 897.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Tesla V100 have any display outputs?

A: No, the Tesla V100 has no display outputs. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has four DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

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

A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has an average benchmark score of 182,109, while the Tesla V100 has an average score of 138,063.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell | NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Chip | GB202 | GV100 |

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Volta |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 92,200 million | 21,100 million |

| Die Size | 750 mm² | 815 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 122.9M / mm² | 25.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1740 MHz | 1245 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2377 MHz | 1380 MHz |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.34 TB/s | 897.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14080 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 440 | 320 |

| ROPs | 160 | 128 |

| RT Cores | 110 | null |

| Tensor Cores | 440 | 640 |

| Pixel Rate | 380.3 GPixel/s | 176.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,045.9 GTexel/s | 441.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 66.94 TFLOPS | 14.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 66.94 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.26 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 2.1b | No outputs |

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

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

| Release Date | 2025-03-17 | 2017-06-20 |

| Predecessor | Workstation Ada | Tesla Pascal |

| Successor | null | Tesla Turing |

| Launch MSRP | 5,099 USD | null |