NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB vs NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal are both Pascal-generation cards, but the benchmark data shows they are built for entirely different purposes. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the Tesla P100 decisively outperforms the TITAN X, leading by 19.4% in Geekbench OpenCL. This is a significant gap that establishes the Tesla as the clear compute winner, despite the TITAN X having a higher raw FP32 rating.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a dominant win for the Tesla P100. The Tesla scores 79,605 points, while the TITAN X Pascal manages 66,696 points. This results in a 19.4% performance advantage for the Tesla P100, which is a substantial margin in any compute workload. This result is particularly telling because the TITAN X has a higher theoretical FP32 throughput of 10.97 TFLOPS compared to the Tesla's 9.526 TFLOPS, yet it still loses by nearly a fifth in this real-world compute benchmark. The data suggests that the Tesla's HBM2 memory and driver optimizations for compute tasks provide a tangible benefit that raw clock speed cannot overcome.

The TITAN X does have a benchmark win elsewhere in the data, but it is not in a head-to-head comparison. The TITAN X's Geekbench Vulkan score is 77,499, which is higher than its own OpenCL score, but there is no Vulkan result for the Tesla P100 to compare against. Therefore, the only direct comparison available shows a clear win for the Tesla P100. The TITAN X's win count in the head-to-head data is zero, while the Tesla's is one. This makes the verdict straightforward: in the one test where both cards are measured, the Tesla P100 is the superior performer by a wide margin.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB than the TITAN X Pascal in the head-to-head benchmark?

A: The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 19.4% higher than the TITAN X Pascal's score of 66,696 in the same test.

Q: Does the TITAN X Pascal have any benchmark win over the Tesla P100?

A: The head-to-head data shows the Tesla P100 winning the only shared benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL). The TITAN X has a separate Geekbench Vulkan score of 77,499, but there is no Vulkan score for the Tesla P100 to compare, so no direct win can be established.

Q: How do these cards compare in terms of their average benchmark scores?

A: The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB has an average benchmark score of 79,605, while the TITAN X Pascal has a significantly lower average of 72,098. This indicates the Tesla is consistently faster in the tests it runs.

Q: Are these cards considered high-performance relative to all other GPUs?

A: Yes, both are in the top percentile. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN X Pascal is in the 91st percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the Tesla P100 in performance?

A: The nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, which is only 0.3% slower, followed by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which is 0.3% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 0.8% slower.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the TITAN X Pascal in performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 is 0.4% faster, making it the closest competitor. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M is 0.5% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE is 1.8% slower.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for compute workloads. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is the superior card, winning the only head-to-head test by 19.4%. Its higher average benchmark score of 79,605 versus 72,098 for the TITAN X reinforces this conclusion. For anyone running OpenCL-based compute tasks, the Tesla P100 is the clear choice according to the data. The TITAN X Pascal, despite its higher FP32 rating and lower price, simply cannot match the Tesla's performance in the measured benchmark. The TITAN X's higher clock speeds are not enough to overcome the Tesla's architectural advantages in this specific test.

The TITAN X Pascal is not without merit, but its strengths are not shown in the head-to-head data. The data shows it has a strong Vulkan score of 77,499, which is well above its OpenCL score, suggesting potential in graphics-oriented APIs. However, since no Vulkan comparison exists with the Tesla, this remains a theoretical advantage. For users strictly looking at the provided benchmark data, the Tesla P100 is the definitive winner. The TITAN X is a capable card in its own right, but it is outclassed by the Tesla in the direct comparison available.

Specification Differences

The core specifications reveal the fundamental design differences between these two cards. The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB uses 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In contrast, the TITAN X Pascal uses 12 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 480.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a massive difference in memory bandwidth, which is a primary reason for the Tesla's compute advantage. The Tesla's base clock is 1190 MHz with a boost of 1329 MHz, while the TITAN X runs higher at 1417 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost. Despite the TITAN X's higher clocks, the Tesla's memory system proves more effective in the benchmark.

The FP32 compute ratings also differ, with the TITAN X rated at 10.97 TFLOPS compared to the Tesla's 9.526 TFLOPS. However, the FP16 performance is a stark contrast: the Tesla offers 19.05 TFLOPS (2:1), while the TITAN X provides only 171.5 GFLOPS (1:64). This shows the Tesla is designed for workloads that can leverage FP16, while the TITAN X is not. The TITAN X features display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the Tesla P100 has no display outputs, confirming its role as a compute-only accelerator. The TITAN X also has a taller height of 112 mm and width of 40 mm, while the Tesla has no listed height or width, though both are 267 mm long and dual-slot.

Architecture Differences

While both cards use the Pascal architecture and are built on the same 16 nm TSMC process, they are based on different chips with different designs. The Tesla P100 uses the GP100 chip, which is a compute-optimized die with 15,300 million transistors on a 610 mm² die. The TITAN X Pascal uses the GP102 chip, a graphics-focused die with 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die. Both have a transistor density of 25.1M / mm², but the GP100 is a much larger and more complex chip. The Tesla's generation is "Tesla Pascal (Pxx)", while the TITAN X is from the "GeForce 10" generation, highlighting their distinct product lines.

The memory architecture is the most significant architectural difference. The Tesla's HBM2 memory is a key feature, offering a 4096-bit bus that provides the massive bandwidth advantage. The TITAN X's GDDR5X memory, while fast, operates on a narrower 384-bit bus. Furthermore, the Tesla's FP16 throughput is a 2:1 ratio of its FP32, while the TITAN X's is a minuscule 1:64 ratio. This indicates the Tesla P100 has dedicated hardware for FP16 compute, which is a hallmark of a compute-focused architecture. The TITAN X has a higher Vulkan API version support (1.4) compared to the Tesla's 1.3, and it also has a different power connector setup (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin) versus the Tesla's single 8-pin.

Where Each One Wins

The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB wins in compute performance, specifically in OpenCL workloads as demonstrated by the head-to-head benchmark. Its HBM2 memory and 2:1 FP16 support make it the clear choice for scientific computing, data analysis, and any task that requires massive memory bandwidth and high-precision compute throughput. The data shows it is 19.4% faster than the TITAN X in Geekbench OpenCL, and its higher average benchmark score reinforces this dominance. This card is for professional compute environments where performance is the only metric that matters.

The TITAN X Pascal wins in the graphics-oriented space, though this is not directly proven by the head-to-head data. Its higher FP32 rating of 10.97 TFLOPS suggests it can handle traditional graphics rendering tasks well. Its Vulkan score of 77,499 is its best benchmark result, indicating it may have an edge in Vulkan-based applications. The TITAN X also has display outputs, making it a usable desktop card, whereas the Tesla is a server-only part. For a user who needs a card that can both render graphics and perform compute, the TITAN X is the only option with display support, but for pure compute the Tesla P100 is the definitive winner.