AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT vs NVIDIA Tesla P40: this matchup pits a modern, power-efficient mobile GPU against a legacy compute-focused accelerator. The data shows a clear single-benchmark victory for the AMD part, but the Tesla P40 counters with vastly more memory and a different architectural purpose. The Radeon RX 6650M XT wins the only shared benchmark decisively, yet the P40 remains relevant for workloads that prioritize capacity over raw compute speed. Below is a breakdown of where each card stands based strictly on the benchmark and specification data.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT wins the only head-to-head benchmark recorded: Geekbench OpenCL. It scores 76,904 points against the Tesla P40's 62,017 points, a 24% advantage. This is a straightforward win for the Radeon in general-purpose compute performance as measured by OpenCL. The RX 6650M XT also holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs, sitting at the 91st percentile versus the P40's 89th. Its average benchmark score of 76,904 is also its only recorded score, so this OpenCL result defines its entire performance profile.

The NVIDIA Tesla P40 wins in areas not covered by the benchmark but clearly visible in the specification sheet. It has 24 GB of GDDR5 memory, exactly three times the 8 GB of the Radeon. It also offers 347.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is 35.6% higher than the Radeon's 256.0 GB/s. The P40's 384-bit memory bus is triple the width of the Radeon's 128-bit bus. For datasets that exceed 8 GB, the P40 is the only choice here. Furthermore, the P40 is a dual-slot card with an 8-pin EPS power connector and a suggested 600 W power supply, while the RX 6650M XT is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and a 120 W TDP. The P40 also has no display outputs, making it a pure compute accelerator, whereas the Radeon's outputs are portable-device dependent, indicating it is designed for laptops.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is substantial. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip on the older Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at the same foundry. This process difference is stark: 7 nm versus 16 nm. The Radeon packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 46.7 million per mm². The Tesla P40 has slightly more transistors at 11,800 million, but they are spread across a much larger 471 mm² die, yielding a density of only 25.1 million per mm².

Clock speeds reflect the newer process. The Radeon runs at a base clock of 2068 MHz, a game clock of 2162 MHz, and a boost clock of 2416 MHz. The Tesla P40 is far slower in raw clock terms, with a base of 1303 MHz and a boost of 1531 MHz. The Radeon also has modern features the P40 lacks entirely: 32 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The P40 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The Radeon's FP16 performance is 19.79 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the P40's FP16 is a paltry 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio). This makes the Radeon vastly superior for any workload using half-precision math. The P40 does have more raw shading units (3840 vs 2048), more TMUs (240 vs 128), and more ROPs (96 vs 64), but the Radeon's higher clocks and newer architecture overcome that deficit in the OpenCL test.

Memory architectures differ fundamentally. The Radeon uses 8 GB of GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the P40 uses 24 GB of GDDR5 at 1808 MHz (7.2 Gbps effective). The P40's wider bus (384-bit vs 128-bit) gives it the bandwidth advantage. The Radeon uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the P40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The P40 supports Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6, same as the Radeon, but its DirectX support is older.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single recorded head-to-head benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla P40 scores 62,017 points. This gives the Radeon a 24% victory. To contextualize this, look at the nearest rivals for each card. The Radeon's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, which scores 77,712 points, just 1% higher. The Radeon is also 2.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940 points) and 3.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396 points). This places the Radeon in a performance tier with high-end desktop-class GPUs despite its mobile IGP form factor.

The Tesla P40's nearest rivals tell a different story. Its average benchmark score is 65,095 points (averaging its OpenCL and Vulkan results). The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 scores 64,212 points, which is 1.4% lower. The AMD Radeon VII scores 66,004 points, which is 1.4% higher than the P40. The NVIDIA CMP 30HX scores 63,842 points, 2% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP also scores 63,830 points, 2% lower. The P40's 24% deficit against the Radeon RX 6650M XT is far larger than any delta among its nearest rivals, confirming that the Radeon is in a higher performance class for OpenCL compute.

The Radeon also has a Vulkan score of 68,172 for the P40, but no Vulkan score is recorded for the Radeon, so no comparison can be made there. The P40's OpenCL score of 62,017 is its lower benchmark result, while its Vulkan score of 68,172 is higher. This suggests the P40 performs better under Vulkan, but without a Radeon Vulkan score, it is impossible to draw a head-to-head conclusion.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is the faster card for general compute as measured by OpenCL. It beats the Tesla P40 by 24% and ranks in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, compared to the P40's 89th. If your workload fits within 8 GB of memory and relies on FP32 or FP16 compute, the Radeon is the clear choice. It also offers modern features like ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and a 7 nm process that delivers a 120 W TDP — a fraction of the P40's 250 W. The Radeon is end-of-life, but so is the P40.

The NVIDIA Tesla P40 is the right pick only if you need 24 GB of memory. That is its sole advantage in this comparison, but it is a decisive one for large models or datasets that cannot be split. The P40 also has higher memory bandwidth (347.1 GB/s vs 256.0 GB/s) and a wider 384-bit bus, which helps in memory-bound tasks. However, its FP16 performance is negligible (183.7 GFLOPS vs 19.79 TFLOPS), and it lacks ray tracing cores. The P40 is a dual-slot card requiring a 600 W power supply and an 8-pin EPS connector, while the Radeon is an IGP with no connectors. The P40 has no display outputs, so it cannot drive a monitor. The Radeon's display outputs are portable-device dependent, meaning it can drive displays in a laptop.

Do not buy the P40 for gaming or general compute unless you specifically need over 8 GB of VRAM. Do not buy the Radeon if your workload exceeds 8 GB. The Radeon's 24% OpenCL lead is substantial, but it is meaningless if the data does not fit in memory. The P40's 24 GB capacity is its entire reason to exist. The Radeon's launch MSRP is not listed, while the P40's launch MSRP was 5,699 USD. The data does not support any other conclusion.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904 points in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 24% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40's score of 62,017 points.

Q: Does the NVIDIA Tesla P40 have any advantage over the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT?

A: Yes, the P40 has 24 GB of GDDR5 memory versus 8 GB of GDDR6 on the Radeon. It also has higher memory bandwidth (347.1 GB/s vs 256.0 GB/s) and a wider 384-bit memory bus versus 128-bit.

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

A: The Tesla P40 offers 347.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 35.6% higher than the Radeon RX 6650M XT's 256.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the Tesla P40 support ray tracing?

A: No. The P40 has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The Radeon RX 6650M XT has 32 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card has a higher FP16 (half-precision) performance?

A: The Radeon RX 6650M XT has 19.79 TFLOPS FP16 performance (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla P40 has only 183.7 GFLOPS FP16 (1:64 ratio). The Radeon is vastly superior in this metric.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon RX 6650M XT has a 120 W TDP and uses no power connectors (it is an IGP). The Tesla P40 has a 250 W TDP, requires an 8-pin EPS connector, and recommends a 600 W power supply.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT | NVIDIA Tesla P40 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 11,800 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 471 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 46.7M / mm² | 25.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2068 MHz | 1303 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2416 MHz | 1531 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 347.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 128 | 240 |

| ROPs | 64 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 32 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 9.896 TFLOPS | 11.76 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 19.79 TFLOPS (2:1) | 183.7 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 120 W | 250 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 8-pin EPS |

| Suggested PSU | None listed | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

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

| Release Date | 2022-01-03 | 2016-09-12 |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 5,699 USD |