AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla P4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in the two shared tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6800 XT scores 171,304 against the Tesla P4's 34,947, a margin of 390.2%. This is not a close contest; the AMD card delivers nearly five times the compute throughput in this workload. The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RX 6800 XT scoring 136,875 versus 40,309 for the Tesla P4, a 239.6% advantage. The AMD card wins both head-to-head tests, giving it 2 wins and 0 losses.

Looking at the overall benchmark averages, the RX 6800 XT maintains an average score of 48,477 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. The Tesla P4 averages 37,628, sitting in the 81st percentile. The delta between their average scores is meaningful: the RX 6800 XT outperforms the Tesla P4 by roughly 28.8% based on these aggregate figures. However, the head-to-head deltas are far larger than the average delta, suggesting the specific OpenCL and Vulkan workloads heavily favor the AMD architecture.

The nearest rivals in the database contextualize these scores. The RX 6800 XT sits within 1.5% of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (47,743) and within 3% of the Intel Arc A550M (49,737) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49,957). The Tesla P4, by contrast, is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (37,648, delta of -0.1%) and sits within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400. The RX 6800 XT belongs to a performance tier roughly 30% higher than the Tesla P4's peer group.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is generational. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT uses the Navi 21 chip on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 26,800 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5 million per mm². The NVIDIA Tesla P4 uses the GP104 chip on the older Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process also at TSMC. It contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, for a density of 22.9 million per mm². The RX 6800 XT has nearly four times the transistor count and more than double the density, reflecting the process node advantage.

The compute resources differ sharply. The RX 6800 XT has 4,608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs. It also includes 72 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Tesla P4 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. The RX 6800 XT's FP32 throughput is 20.74 TFLOPS, while the Tesla P4 manages 5.704 TFLOPS. The FP16 comparison is even more lopsided: the RX 6800 XT delivers 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla P4 delivers only 89.12 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio). The Pascal architecture's FP16 performance is negligible by modern standards.

Memory subsystems also diverge. The RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla P4 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800 XT provides more than double the memory capacity and 2.7 times the bandwidth. Clock speeds follow the same trend: the RX 6800 XT runs at a base of 1825 MHz and boosts to 2250 MHz, while the Tesla P4 runs at 886 MHz base and 1114 MHz boost. The pixel rate for the RX 6800 XT is 288.0 GPixel/s versus 71.30 GPixel/s for the Tesla P4, and texture rates are 648.0 GTexel/s versus 178.2 GTexel/s.

Feature support reflects the generational split. The RX 6800 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla P4 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6800 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the Tesla P4 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The RX 6800 XT has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C), while the Tesla P4 has no display outputs, reflecting its server-oriented design. The Tesla P4 is also a single-slot card at 168 mm length, while the RX 6800 XT is a dual-slot card at 267 mm.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6800 XT wins every recorded benchmark where both cards have data. Its strengths are most pronounced in compute-heavy workloads: the Geekbench OpenCL score of 171,304 versus 34,947 shows the RDNA 2.0 architecture excels at general-purpose GPU compute. The Vulkan score of 136,875 versus 40,309 confirms this advantage extends to modern graphics APIs. For gaming and real-time rendering, the RX 6800 XT's ray tracing cores, higher pixel rate (288.0 GPixel/s), and texture rate (648.0 GTexel/s) make it the clear choice.

The Tesla P4's only practical advantages come from its form factor and power profile. It is a single-slot card with no power connectors, drawing 75 W, while the RX 6800 XT is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 300 W TDP. The Tesla P4's suggested PSU is 250 W, versus 700 W for the RX 6800 XT. For dense server deployments or low-power environments, the Tesla P4 fits where the RX 6800 XT cannot. It also has a shorter length (168 mm versus 267 mm), which helps in compact chassis.

However, in every performance metric in the database, the RX 6800 XT wins outright. The Tesla P4's FP32 throughput (5.704 TFLOPS), pixel rate (71.30 GPixel/s), and texture rate (178.2 GTexel/s) are all far below the RX 6800 XT's figures. The Tesla P4's FP16 performance (89.12 GFLOPS) is effectively non-functional for modern workloads that rely on half-precision math. The RX 6800 XT's 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 makes it 465 times faster in that specific metric.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in OpenCL than the NVIDIA Tesla P4?

A: The RX 6800 XT scores 171,304 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Tesla P4 scores 34,947. This represents a 390.2% advantage for the AMD card.

Q: Does the Tesla P4 have any ray tracing capability?

A: No. The Tesla P4 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database, while the RX 6800 XT has 72 dedicated RT cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 6800 XT has 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR6, while the Tesla P4 has 192.3 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR5. The AMD card offers 2.7 times the bandwidth.

Q: Can the Tesla P4 output video to a display?

A: No. The Tesla P4 has no display outputs, while the RX 6800 XT includes 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 48,477, compared to 37,628 for the Tesla P4. The RX 6800 XT sits in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla P4 is in the 81st.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The RX 6800 XT has a TDP of 300 W with a suggested PSU of 700 W, while the Tesla P4 has a TDP of 75 W with a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | NVIDIA Tesla P4 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 26,800 million | 7,200 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 314 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 51.5M / mm² | 22.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1825 MHz | 886 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2250 MHz | 1114 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 192.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 288 | 160 |

| ROPs | 128 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 72 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 288.0 GPixel/s | 71.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 648.0 GTexel/s | 178.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 20.74 TFLOPS | 5.704 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1) | 89.12 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 300 W | 75 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | No outputs |

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

| Length | 267 mm | 168 mm |

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the superior performer by every measurable metric in the database. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 390.2% and 239.6%, has 3.6 times the FP32 throughput, 4 times the memory capacity, and 2.7 times the bandwidth. Its 72 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support make it suitable for modern gaming and real-time rendering workloads. The RX 6800 XT also holds a higher average benchmark score (48,477 versus 37,628) and a higher percentile rank (85th versus 81st).

The NVIDIA Tesla P4 is not a competitive alternative for any performance-oriented task. Its sole advantages are physical: single-slot design, 75 W power draw, no external power connectors, and a shorter 168 mm length. These characteristics make it appropriate for space-constrained or power-limited server environments where the RX 6800 XT's dual-slot, 300 W design cannot be accommodated. The Tesla P4 also lacks display outputs, confirming its role as a compute-only accelerator for inference or low-power deployment.

For anyone choosing between these two cards for general GPU work, gaming, or compute, the data points unequivocally to the RX 6800 XT. The Tesla P4 should only be selected when the physical constraints of the installation site take precedence over all performance considerations. Even then, the Tesla P4's 89.12 GFLOPS FP16 performance and 5.704 TFLOPS FP32 throughput represent a severe limitation for modern workloads. The verdict is clear: the RX 6800 XT wins on performance, features, and capability, while the Tesla P4 wins only on power efficiency and physical footprint.