NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 vs NVIDIA Tesla P40 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data draws a clear line between these two NVIDIA accelerators. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 wins every head-to-head benchmark in the database, taking both available tests with decisive margins. The Tesla P40, by contrast, does not record a single win in the shared test suite, though its average benchmark score across its own measurements sits higher than the RTX 4080's average when considering all recorded tests.

The RTX 4080 dominates in compute-oriented workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4080 scores 214,739 against the Tesla P40's 62,017, a delta of 71.1 percent in favor of the newer card. The Vulkan result is even more lopsided: 263,779 versus 68,172, a 74.2 percent advantage. These are not marginal gains; the RTX 4080 more than triples the P40's output in both API tests.

The Tesla P40's strength lies elsewhere. Its average benchmark score of 65,095 places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 4080's average of 54,247 sits at the 86th percentile. This inversion happens because the two cards are measured across different test sets. The P40's two recorded tests are both Geekbench workloads, where it produces consistent five-figure scores. The RTX 4080's average is dragged down by its Passmark results, which range from 132 in DirectX 12 to 370 in DirectX 9, alongside a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6,567.

For raw throughput in modern graphics APIs, the RTX 4080 is the clear choice. For a card whose recorded data consists solely of Geekbench results, the P40 shows respectable standing relative to the broader GPU population, ranking higher in percentile despite losing every direct comparison.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras. The Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip built on Pascal architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 16 nm process. The RTX 4080 uses the AD103 chip on Ada Lovelace architecture, also TSMC-fabricated but on a 5 nm node. The process shrink allows the RTX 4080 to pack 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, versus 11,800 million transistors across 471 mm² for the P40. Transistor density tells the story: 121.1 million per square millimeter for the RTX 4080, 25.1 million for the P40.

Compute resources differ massively. The RTX 4080 carries 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. The P40 has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 4080 also adds 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores; the P40 has neither, reflecting its pre-RTX design.

Memory subsystems reflect different priorities. The P40 offers 24 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 347.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, but its faster 22.4 Gbps effective memory speed yields 716.8 GB/s, more than double the P40's bandwidth despite the narrower bus.

Clock speeds and throughput follow the architectural gap. The P40 runs at 1303 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost. The RTX 4080 runs at 2205 MHz base and 2505 MHz boost. Pixel rate jumps from 147.0 GPixel/s to 280.6 GPixel/s, texture rate from 367.4 GTexel/s to 761.5 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 11.76 TFLOPS to 48.74 TFLOPS. The FP16 comparison is stark: the P40 manages only 183.7 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, while the RTX 4080 hits 48.74 TFLOPS at 1:1.

The cards also differ in connectivity and physical design. The P40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 with no display outputs, a dual-slot cooler, and an 8-pin EPS power connector. The RTX 4080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, occupies a triple-slot design, and uses a single 16-pin connector. The P40 measures 267 mm long and 111 mm tall; the RTX 4080 is 310 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. Power requirements differ as well: 250 W TDP with a 600 W suggested PSU for the P40, 320 W TDP with a 700 W suggested PSU for the RTX 4080.

API support distinguishes them further. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, and both list Vulkan 1.4. But the P40's DirectX support is 12 (12_1), while the RTX 4080 supports 12 Ultimate (12_2), enabling the full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set including hardware ray tracing.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward conclusion. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the superior performer in every benchmark where both cards were measured. Its 71.1 percent lead in OpenCL and 74.2 percent lead in Vulkan are overwhelming, driven by a newer architecture, more than double the shading units, and more than double the memory bandwidth.

The Tesla P40's case rests on its 24 GB memory capacity and its higher percentile ranking of 89 compared to the RTX 4080's 86. For workloads that need large frame buffers rather than raw compute speed, the P40's 24 GB GDDR5 could be relevant. But the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X delivers far more bandwidth, and the RTX 4080's compute advantage is so large that the P40's extra capacity is unlikely to compensate in most scenarios.

The P40 also targets a different role. It has no display outputs, built for server or compute environments where rendering to a screen is unnecessary. The RTX 4080 is a consumer graphics card with full display connectivity. The P40 is end-of-life, released in 2016, with its successor being Tesla Volta. The RTX 4080, released in 2022, is also end-of-life, preceded by GeForce 30 and succeeded by GeForce 50.

For anyone choosing between these two based strictly on recorded performance, the RTX 4080 wins on every measurable axis in the head-to-head data. Its FP32 throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS versus 11.76 TFLOPS is a 4.1x gap. Its texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s versus 367.4 GTexel/s is more than double. Its pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s versus 147.0 GPixel/s is nearly double. The only category where the P40 leads is memory capacity and percentile standing, neither of which offsets the RTX 4080's performance advantages in the recorded benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla P40 has 24 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4080 in Vulkan?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 263,779 in Geekbench Vulkan compared to the P40's 68,172, a 74.2 percent advantage.

Q: Which card has ray tracing cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has ray tracing cores, with 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores. The Tesla P40 has neither.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The Tesla P40 has an average benchmark score of 65,095, placing it in the 89th percentile. The RTX 4080 has an average of 54,247, placing it in the 86th percentile.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The Tesla P40 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 4080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The RTX 4080 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Tesla P40 has no display outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct comparisons between these GPUs, and the RTX 4080 wins both by substantial margins.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4080 scores 214,739 against the P40's 62,017. The delta is 71.1 percent in favor of the RTX 4080. This test measures general-purpose compute performance across a range of workloads, and the RTX 4080's 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput versus 11.76 TFLOPS for the P40 explains the scale of the gap. The RTX 4080 also benefits from 304 tensor cores and 76 RT cores, which can accelerate certain workloads beyond raw shader throughput.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4080 scores 263,779 against the P40's 68,172, a 74.2 percent advantage. Vulkan is a low-overhead graphics and compute API, and the RTX 4080's newer architecture, higher clocks, and more than double the memory bandwidth (716.8 GB/s versus 347.1 GB/s) contribute to the result. The P40's FP16 performance of 183.7 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio is a severe limitation for any workload that uses half-precision arithmetic; the RTX 4080's 1:1 FP16 ratio at 48.74 TFLOPS is a categorical improvement.

The RTX 4080's other recorded benchmarks, while not directly compared to the P40, show its range. Its Passmark G3D score is 34,457, its Passmark GPU Compute score is 20,671, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6,567. The P40's only recorded benchmarks are the two Geekbench tests, which means the database has no direct comparison for DirectX performance, texture-heavy workloads, or compute tests outside Geekbench.

The nearest rivals for each card provide additional context. The P40's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon VII, which averages 66,004, a 1.4 percent advantage over the P40. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 trails by 1.4 percent, and both the NVIDIA CMP 30HX and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP trail by 2 percent. The RTX 4080's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54,209, a 0.1 percent edge over the RTX 4080. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X leads by 1.1 percent, and both the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S lead by 2.6 and 2.7 percent respectively.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The Tesla P40 uses the GP102 chip on Pascal architecture, while the RTX 4080 uses AD103 on Ada Lovelace. The P40 is fabricated on TSMC's 16 nm process; the RTX 4080 uses TSMC's 5 nm node. Transistor counts are 11,800 million for the P40 and 45,900 million for the RTX 4080, with die sizes of 471 mm² and 379 mm² respectively.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The P40 runs at 1303 MHz base and 1531 MHz boost, with memory at 1808 MHz or 7.2 Gbps effective. The RTX 4080 runs at 2205 MHz base and 2505 MHz boost, with memory at 1400 MHz or 22.4 Gbps effective.

Memory configurations diverge: 24 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus for the P40, 16 GB GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus for the RTX 4080. Bandwidth is 347.1 GB/s versus 716.8 GB/s. Compute units: 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs for the P40; 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs for the RTX 4080. The RTX 4080 adds 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores.

Throughput rates: the P40 delivers 147.0 GPixel/s and 367.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4080 delivers 280.6 GPixel/s and 761.5 GTexel/s. FP32 is 11.76 TFLOPS versus 48.74 TFLOPS. FP16 is 183.7 GFLOPS at 1:64 for the P40 versus 48.74 TFLOPS at 1:1 for the RTX 4080.

Power and physical specs: the P40 consumes 250 W with a 600 W suggested PSU, uses a dual-slot cooler and 8-pin EPS connector. The RTX 4080 consumes 320 W with a 700 W suggested PSU, uses a triple-slot cooler and 1x 16-pin connector. The P40 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall with no display outputs. The RTX 4080 is 310 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide, with 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The P40 uses PCIe 3.0 x16; the RTX 4080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The P40 supports DirectX 12 (12_1); the RTX 4080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The P40 launched in 2016, the RTX 4080 in 2022, and both are end-of-life.