NVIDIA T600 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla M40 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between these two NVIDIA professional GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 wins both head-to-head comparisons, but the margin tells the real story. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla M40 posts 39,192 against the T600 Mobile's 35,486, a 10.4% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens dramatically: 44,602 versus 30,211, a 47.6% lead for the Tesla M40.

The Tesla M40's wins are not marginal. They are decisive, particularly in Vulkan workloads where the architecture's raw throughput advantage becomes apparent. The T600 Mobile, while competitive in OpenCL, falls substantially behind in Vulkan. This suggests the M40's older Maxwell 2.0 architecture handles the Vulkan API's draw call and command buffer patterns more efficiently than the Turing-based T600 Mobile, despite the latter being seven years newer in release timing.

For workloads that rely on OpenCL compute, the T600 Mobile is within striking distance, trailing by roughly a tenth. For Vulkan-based rendering or compute tasks, the Tesla M40 is the clear choice based on the recorded scores. The M40 also holds a better overall position in the database, sitting at the 83rd percentile versus the T600 Mobile's 77th percentile. Its average benchmark score of 41,897 outpaces the T600 Mobile's 32,849 by a meaningful margin.

The T600 Mobile's only saving grace in the data is its efficiency profile, which we will examine in the architecture section. But on pure performance, the Tesla M40 takes both recorded tests without contest.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and target different physical environments. The Tesla M40 uses the GM200 chip built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 8,000 million transistors onto a 601 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.3 million per square millimeter. The T600 Mobile uses the TU117 chip based on Turing architecture, also from TSMC but on a 12 nm node. It contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, achieving 23.5 million transistors per square millimeter.

These physical differences translate directly into compute resources. The Tesla M40 fields 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. The T600 Mobile has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The M40's pixel rate is 106.8 GPixel/s versus 45.12 GPixel/s for the T600 Mobile. Texture rate follows suit: 213.5 GTexel/s versus 78.96 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 6.832 TFLOPS for the M40 and 2.527 TFLOPS for the T600 Mobile.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Tesla M40 carries 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 288.4 GB/s. The T600 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, memory at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), and bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. The M40 has more capacity and more bandwidth, though the T600 Mobile's GDDR6 runs at double the effective data rate per pin.

Clock behavior is notable. The Tesla M40 has a base clock of 948 MHz and a boost of 1112 MHz, a relatively narrow range. The T600 Mobile starts lower at 780 MHz but boosts to 1410 MHz, a much wider boost window. This suggests the T600 Mobile can ramp up under light thermal loads, but its lower base clock and fewer compute units cap sustained throughput.

The T600 Mobile does support FP16 at 5.053 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the M40 has no listed FP16 capability. However, neither GPU has dedicated RT cores or tensor cores. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The M40 has no display outputs, while the T600 Mobile's outputs are portable device dependent, reflecting its mobile IGP form factor.

Power and physical design diverge sharply. The Tesla M40 is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP, requiring an 8-pin EPS connector and a 600 W suggested PSU. It measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length. The T600 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 40 W TDP, no power connectors, and no listed dimensions. This is a desktop accelerator versus a mobile integrated part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the Tesla M40 at 39,192 against the T600 Mobile's 35,486. The 10.4% delta reflects the M40's larger compute footprint: roughly 2.7 times the shading units, 3.4 times the TMUs, and 3 times the ROPs. Yet the T600 Mobile's higher boost clock (1410 MHz versus 1112 MHz) and newer memory technology narrow the gap. OpenCL workloads that scale with memory bandwidth and clock speed help the T600 Mobile stay within a tenth of the M40.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a different story. The Tesla M40 scores 44,602, while the T600 Mobile manages only 30,211. The 47.6% delta is the largest in the dataset. Vulkan's low-level API exposes hardware differences more directly than OpenCL. The M40's massive raster and texture throughput, combined with its 384-bit memory bus, delivers a commanding lead. The T600 Mobile's smaller 128-bit bus and fewer ROPs become bottlenecks in Vulkan's parallel command submission model.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database provides context. The Tesla M40's average score of 41,897 puts it 0.5% ahead of the Tesla M40 24 GB (41,707) and 1.7% ahead of the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (41,187). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42,723) by 1.9% and leads the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870) by 2.5%. The T600 Mobile's average of 32,849 is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA P104-100 (32,982) and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA T550 Mobile (33,161). It leads the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (32,601) by 0.8% and the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (32,540) by 0.9%.

These rival comparisons show that the M40 operates in a higher performance tier. Its closest competitor in the database, the M40 24 GB, is essentially the same chip with more memory. The T600 Mobile sits among low-power and mobile parts, trading blows with similar class GPUs.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous on performance: the NVIDIA Tesla M40 wins both benchmark tests. For Vulkan workloads, it is not close, with a 47.6% margin. For OpenCL, it leads by 10.4%. The M40's 83rd percentile ranking versus the T600 Mobile's 77th percentile confirms its superior standing across all GPUs in the database.

Who should pick the Tesla M40? Anyone running Vulkan-based compute or rendering tasks. The M40's 12 GB of memory and 288.4 GB/s bandwidth suit large datasets and high-resolution textures. Its dual-slot, 250 W desktop form factor requires a proper PSU and chassis space, but the performance payoff is recorded in the benchmark scores. The M40 is end-of-life and has no display outputs, so it belongs in a server or workstation as a compute accelerator, not as a primary graphics card.

Who should pick the T600 Mobile? Users constrained by power and space. At 40 W with no power connectors and IGP form factor, it fits into mobile workstations where the M40 physically cannot go. Its 4 GB of GDDR6 and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for lighter compute loads. For OpenCL tasks, the T600 Mobile is within 10.4% of the M40, which is respectable given its 40 W envelope. Its FP16 support at 5.053 TFLOPS (2:1) also provides a capability the M40 lacks, though no benchmark in the dataset exercises FP16.

The release timeline matters: the M40 launched in November 2015, the T600 Mobile in April 2021. Despite the six-year gap, the older card outperforms the newer one in every recorded test. The M40's successor is Tesla Pascal, and the T600 Mobile's successor is Ampere-MW, but within this comparison, the M40 is the performance leader.

There is no scenario in the recorded data where the T600 Mobile wins. The verdict is straightforward: choose the Tesla M40 for maximum compute throughput, choose the T600 Mobile only when the 40 W mobile form factor is a hard requirement.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M40. It delivers 6.832 TFLOPS FP32 versus 2.527 TFLOPS for the T600 Mobile. The M40 also has 3,072 shading units compared to the T600 Mobile's 896.

Q: Is the T600 Mobile competitive in any benchmark?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the T600 Mobile scores 35,486 against the M40's 39,192, a 10.4% deficit. This is the closest margin recorded. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens to 47.6% in favor of the M40.

Q: How do the memory systems compare?

A: The Tesla M40 has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The T600 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The M40 offers more capacity and higher bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Tesla M40 has a 250 W TDP, requires an 8-pin EPS connector, and needs a 600 W suggested PSU. The T600 Mobile has a 40 W TDP and requires no power connectors, as it is an IGP.

Q: Can either GPU be used for display output?

A: The Tesla M40 has no display outputs, making it a compute-only accelerator. The T600 Mobile's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, meaning they rely on the host laptop's implementation.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all others in the database?

A: The Tesla M40 sits at the 83rd percentile with an average benchmark score of 41,897. The T600 Mobile sits at the 77th percentile with an average score of 32,849. The M40's closest rival is the Tesla M40 24 GB at 0.5% higher, while the T600 Mobile's closest rival is the NVIDIA T550 Mobile at 0.9% higher.