GPU Comparison

The data clearly separates these two end-of-life cards by role and capability. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 is the stronger compute device, winning both head-to-head benchmarks with an average score of 9724 against the AMD Radeon 550X’s 8918. The Tesla M10’s 16.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the decisive gap, while its 1.8% edge in Vulkan shows a closer contest in API-specific workloads. The AMD Radeon 550X counters with dramatically lower power demands and a more modern process node, but its smaller memory pool and lower raw throughput make it the weaker choice for the Tesla’s intended server-accelerator role.

The Verdict

Pick the NVIDIA Tesla M10 if your priority is raw compute throughput in a datacenter context. Its average benchmark score of 9724 places it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, and it beats the Radeon 550X by 9.0% on that aggregate metric. The Tesla M10 wins Geekbench OpenCL by 16.4% (10318 vs 8866) and Geekbench Vulkan by 1.8% (9130 vs 8970), giving it a 2-0 sweep in head-to-head testing. It also offers 8 GB of GDDR5 memory versus 2 GB, which matters for larger datasets. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around it: the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 is 0.1% behind, the GeForce GTX 1070 is 0.6% ahead, and the Quadro P4000 is 0.6% behind. This places the M10 in a competitive band where small percentage differences separate cards.

Choose the AMD Radeon 550X for low-power or space-constrained builds where the Tesla M10’s 225 W TDP is prohibitive. The Radeon 550X draws only 50 W, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU instead of the Tesla’s 550 W recommendation. Its 14 nm GlobalFoundries process node is more modern than the Tesla’s 28 nm TSMC node, and its 21.4M transistors per mm² density is 70% higher than the Tesla’s 12.6M. The Radeon 550X also has display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the Tesla M10 has none, making the AMD card usable for local display tasks. However, its average score of 8918 sits in the 45th percentile, and it loses both head-to-head matchups. The Radeon 550X’s nearest rivals include the Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 0.6% behind and the GeForce GTX 660 at 1.2% ahead, indicating it competes with older mid-range parts, not datacenter accelerators.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 9724 on average, which is 9.0% higher than the AMD Radeon 550X’s 8918. The Tesla M10 also ranks in the 47th percentile of all GPUs versus the Radeon’s 45th.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the two head-to-head tests?

A: The Tesla M10 wins Geekbench OpenCL by 16.4% (10318 vs 8866) and Geekbench Vulkan by 1.8% (9130 vs 8970). The OpenCL gap is substantial, while the Vulkan gap is narrow enough to be within run-to-run variance.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The Tesla M10 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 83.20 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 550X has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite having less memory, the Radeon’s bandwidth is 34.6% higher.

Q: Which card has better API support?

A: The Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the Tesla M10 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Tesla M10 has a newer Vulkan version, but the Radeon has a higher DirectX feature level.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Tesla M10 has a 225 W TDP, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 550 W PSU. The Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Radeon uses 77.8% less power.

Q: Do both cards have the same physical dimensions?

A: No. The Tesla M10 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long and dual-slot. The Radeon 550X is 145 mm (5.7 inches) long and also dual-slot. The Radeon is 45.7% shorter.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The Tesla M10 uses NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm TSMC process, with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². The Radeon 550X uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, packing 2,200 million transistors onto a smaller 103 mm² die. That gives it a density of 21.4M per mm², which is 70% higher than the Tesla. The Radeon’s newer node allows for more transistors in less space, but the Tesla’s larger die and older process are not necessarily a disadvantage in raw compute tasks.

The compute configurations differ substantially. The Tesla M10 has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The Radeon 550X has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Tesla has 25% more shading units and 25% more TMUs, while ROP counts are identical. This explains the Tesla’s higher texture rate of 52.24 GTexel/s versus the Radeon’s 38.98 GTexel/s, a 34% advantage. The Tesla also has a higher pixel rate at 20.90 GPixel/s versus 19.49 GPixel/s, a 7.2% edge. The Radeon supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (1,247.2 GFLOPS each), while the Tesla lists no FP16 capability, which could matter for mixed-precision workloads.

Memory architecture is another divergence point. The Tesla M10 offers 8 GB of GDDR5, which is four times the Radeon’s 2 GB. However, the Radeon’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus the Tesla’s 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), resulting in higher bandwidth for the Radeon: 112.0 GB/s versus 83.20 GB/s. Both use a 128-bit bus, so the Radeon’s advantage comes purely from faster memory clocks. The Tesla’s larger capacity suits server workloads that need to hold large models or datasets, while the Radeon’s faster bandwidth helps with streaming data in smaller batches.

Specification Differences

The core clock speeds differ modestly. The Tesla M10 has a base clock of 1033 MHz and a boost clock of 1306 MHz. The Radeon 550X has a base clock of 1082 MHz and a boost clock of 1218 MHz. The Radeon starts 4.7% higher at base, but the Tesla boosts 7.2% higher. The FP32 throughput reflects these clock and shader differences: the Tesla delivers 1.672 TFLOPS, while the Radeon delivers 1,247.2 GFLOPS (or 1.247 TFLOPS). The Tesla is 34% ahead in FP32.

The bus interface differs as well. The Tesla M10 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Radeon 550X uses PCIe 3.0 x8. This halves the Radeon’s potential bandwidth to the host system, which could impact data transfer in compute tasks. The Tesla M10 has no display outputs, confirming its server-accelerator purpose. The Radeon 550X has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, making it usable as a standard graphics card.

Physical and power specifications are starkly different. The Tesla M10 is 267 mm long, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, has a 225 W TDP, and suggests a 550 W PSU. The Radeon 550X is 145 mm long, requires no power connectors, has a 50 W TDP, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Radeon is 45.7% shorter and uses 77.8% less power. The Tesla is dual-slot, and so is the Radeon. Production status for both is end-of-life, with the Tesla released on 2016-05-17 and the Radeon on 2019-03-26.

The API lists also differ. The Tesla M10 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Radeon has a higher DirectX feature level, while the Tesla has a higher Vulkan version.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test is the clearest separator between these two cards. The Tesla M10 scores 10318, while the Radeon 550X scores 8866. That is a 16.4% delta in favor of the Tesla, a substantial margin that reflects the Tesla’s higher shader count, higher boost clock, and larger memory pool. In practical terms, this means the Tesla handles OpenCL compute workloads with noticeably more headroom. The Radeon’s nearest rivals in this performance tier include the Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 0.6% behind and the Radeon R9 M265X at 0.8% behind, showing that the AMD card sits in a cluster of similar performers.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a different story. The Tesla M10 scores 9130, and the Radeon 550X scores 8970. The delta is only 1.8% in favor of the Tesla, a much narrower margin. This suggests that the Radeon’s GCN architecture holds up better in Vulkan workloads relative to its OpenCL performance. The Radeon’s Vulkan score of 8970 is actually higher than its OpenCL score of 8866, while the Tesla’s Vulkan score of 9130 is lower than its OpenCL score of 10318. The Tesla’s Vulkan advantage is small enough that driver optimizations or workload characteristics could flip the result.

Aggregate performance reinforces the Tesla’s lead. The Tesla M10’s average benchmark score is 9724, versus 8918 for the Radeon 550X. This 9.0% gap places the Tesla in the 47th percentile of all GPUs and the Radeon in the 45th. The Tesla’s nearest rivals include the Tesla C2070 (0.1% behind), the GeForce GTX 1070 (0.6% ahead), and the Quadro P4000 (0.6% behind). The Radeon’s nearest rivals include the Radeon Pro WX 5100 (0.6% behind), the GeForce GTX 660 (1.2% ahead), and the TITAN V CEO Edition (1.3% ahead). The Tesla competes with much more powerful cards in its tier, while the Radeon competes with older mid-range parts.

Where Each One Wins

The Tesla M10 wins in raw compute scenarios. Its 16.4% OpenCL lead and 34% FP32 advantage make it the clear choice for general-purpose GPU compute, particularly in datacenter environments where the lack of display outputs is irrelevant. Its 8 GB memory capacity is four times larger than the Radeon’s, which is critical for workloads that need to fit larger models or batch sizes in VRAM. The Tesla also wins on texture rate (52.24 GTexel/s vs 38.98 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (20.90 GPixel/s vs 19.49 GPixel/s), making it better for any rendering task that taxes those units. The Tesla’s PCIe 3.0 x16 interface provides double the host bandwidth of the Radeon’s x8 link, which helps when transferring data to and from the GPU.

The Radeon 550X wins in efficiency and flexibility. Its 50 W TDP versus 225 W means it can run in systems where the Tesla would require a power connector and a 550 W PSU. The Radeon needs no external power, uses a 250 W PSU suggestion, and is 122 mm shorter, making it far easier to install in small form factor cases. Its 14 nm process node and higher transistor density (21.4M vs 12.6M per mm²) indicate a more modern design that achieves more performance per watt. The Radeon also has display outputs, so it can serve as a basic graphics card for desktop use, which the Tesla cannot. Its memory bandwidth of 112.0 GB/s is 34.6% higher than the Tesla’s, giving it an edge in bandwidth-bound workloads that fit within its 2 GB capacity. The Radeon’s DirectX 12 (12_0) support is also a higher feature level than the Tesla’s DirectX 12 (11_0), which could matter for certain gaming or graphics workloads.