NVIDIA Tesla M2075

# NVIDIA Tesla M2075: A Fermi-Era Compute Card with Legacy Implications

The NVIDIA Tesla M2075 is a professional compute accelerator built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, utilizing the GF110 chip fabricated on TSMC's 40 nm process. It carries a transistor count of 3,000 million across a die size of 520 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 5.8 million transistors per square millimeter. Released on July 24, 2011, as part of the Tesla Fermi generation (x20xx series), this card now holds end-of-life production status. Its benchmark percentile places it at the 50th percentile against all GPUs, indicating a mid-pack position in the broader historical performance landscape, though it has no average benchmark score or nearest rivals recorded in the data. This analysis examines what the known specifications imply about its compute capabilities, memory subsystem, power requirements, and feature set.

Benchmark Performance

The Tesla M2075 delivers a peak FP32 performance of 1,027.7 GFLOPS, which translates to just over 1 teraflop of single-precision compute throughput. This figure is derived from its 448 shading units operating at the listed memory clock-derived core configuration, with a pixel rate of 16.07 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 32.14 GTexel/s. In the context of its 2011 release, this level of FP32 output positioned it as a serious compute-oriented card, though the data shows no direct benchmark scores or rival comparisons to contextualize it against contemporaries.

Without nearestRivals data, the percentile ranking of 50 against all GPUs becomes the primary comparative anchor. This suggests that the M2075 sits exactly in the middle of the historical GPU distribution, neither a standout performer nor a laggard. The lack of an average benchmark score (recorded as 0) further complicates direct performance interpretation, but the raw compute figures indicate a card capable of substantial floating-point workloads. The FP32 output of 1,027.7 GFLOPS, when considered alongside the 448 shading units, implies a per-shader efficiency that was typical for Fermi-generation parts, compute-heavy but not optimized for the rasterization-focused tasks that dominated consumer cards of the era.

The pixel and texture rates tell a secondary story. With 48 ROPs driving 16.07 GPixel/s and 56 TMUs delivering 32.14 GTexel/s, the M2075 shows balanced throughput for a card of its class. However, these numbers are modest by later standards, and the 50th percentile ranking suggests that in mixed workloads, including both compute and graphics, the card performs adequately but not exceptionally. The data indicates that for pure compute tasks, the FP32 figure is the headline metric, while the pixel and texture rates serve as supporting evidence of its overall processing capability.

Who Should Consider It

Given its 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 150.3 GB/s bandwidth, the Tesla M2075 is suited for workloads that require large memory capacity rather than extreme bandwidth. The 6 GB frame buffer is substantial for a 2011 card, suggesting it could handle high-resolution textures and large datasets in scientific or engineering compute tasks. However, the 150.3 GB/s bandwidth is a constraint for memory-intensive operations, meaning that workloads relying on rapid data movement would see bottlenecks. For resolution-based recommendations, the card's pixel rate of 16.07 GPixel/s indicates it could manage 1080p output with reasonable settings, but higher resolutions like 1440p or 4K would likely strain its capabilities, especially in modern titles that demand more from the GPU.

The absence of display outputs, the data explicitly lists "No outputs", confirms that this is a compute-only card, not intended for direct display connectivity. This makes it suitable for server environments, compute clusters, or as a secondary processing unit where rendering output is handled by other hardware. The 50th percentile ranking suggests it is a middle-tier option for compute tasks, adequate for entry-level scientific computing, data analysis, or rendering workloads that do not require cutting-edge performance. Users with legacy compute applications designed for Fermi architecture might find it serviceable, but those seeking modern feature support would need to look elsewhere given its DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 API support, with no Vulkan support listed.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals field is empty, meaning no direct competitor comparisons are available from the data. This absence is notable, it suggests that either the card was in a unique market position or that the benchmark database lacks sufficient data points for this product. Without rival names, scores, or deltaPct values, the analysis must rely solely on the internal specifications and the overall percentile ranking. The 50th percentile against all GPUs provides a coarse comparison point, indicating that roughly half of all GPUs in the database outperform it and half underperform it. This positions the M2075 as a median performer historically, which is consistent with its Fermi-era origins and end-of-life status. The lack of rival data means that specific percentage deltas, such as being "30% ahead of X", cannot be stated, and the analysis must remain qualitative regarding its competitive standing.

FAQ

Q: What is the FP32 compute performance of the Tesla M2075?

A: The card delivers 1,027.7 GFLOPS of FP32 compute throughput, derived from its 448 shading units.

Q: How much memory does the M2075 have and what type is it?

A: It features 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 150.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Q: Does the Tesla M2075 support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 at the 11_0 feature level, along with OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan is not supported.

Q: What power connectors does the M2075 require?

A: It needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, with a suggested power supply rating of 550 W.

Q: Is the Tesla M2075 still in production?

A: No, the card is marked as end-of-life, with a release date of July 24, 2011.

Q: What is the pixel fill rate of this card?

A: The pixel rate is 16.07 GPixel/s, while the texture rate is 32.14 GTexel/s.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Tesla M2075 has no dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores listed in its specifications. This is consistent with its Fermi 2.0 architecture, which predates the introduction of such specialized hardware in NVIDIA's lineup. The absence of RT cores means that any ray tracing workloads would have to rely on the general-purpose shading units (448 in total), which would be inefficient for modern ray-traced rendering. Similarly, the lack of tensor cores means no dedicated AI acceleration for deep learning tasks. The API support includes DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan support, limiting its compatibility with modern cross-platform graphics APIs. For compute tasks, the FP32 output of 1,027.7 GFLOPS is the primary feature, though the card's architecture lacks the specialized units that would make it competitive for contemporary ray tracing or machine learning workloads. The feature set is thus firmly rooted in its 2011 origins, offering general-purpose compute without modern acceleration technologies.

Power and Cooling

The Tesla M2075 has a thermal design power (TDP) of 225 W, which is substantial for a card of its era. It requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, and the suggested power supply rating is 550 W. The dual-slot cooling design indicates that it occupies two expansion slots, which is typical for compute cards with higher power draw. The card's physical dimensions are 248 mm in length (9.8 inches), making it a full-length card that requires adequate clearance in a chassis. The 225 W TDP, combined with the 550 W PSU recommendation, suggests that the card draws significant power under load, and users must ensure their power supply can handle the peak demand. The dual-slot cooler is designed to dissipate the heat generated by the GF110 chip, which packs 3,000 million transistors into a 520 mm² die. Given its end-of-life status, power efficiency is not a strength, the 40 nm process node from TSMC is relatively old by modern standards, and the 225 W TDP reflects the less efficient manufacturing process of that era.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the Tesla M2075 comprises 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 150.3 GB/s. The memory clock is listed at 783 MHz, with an effective data rate of 3.1 Gbps. This configuration was high-end for its time, offering a large capacity that could accommodate substantial datasets for compute workloads. The 384-bit bus width is a key feature, as it provides a wide path for data transfer, though the 150.3 GB/s bandwidth is moderate by contemporary standards. For high-resolution workloads, the 6 GB capacity is advantageous, it allows for larger textures and more complex scenes to be held in memory without spilling to system RAM. However, the bandwidth limitation means that at high resolutions with heavy texture detail, the card may struggle to feed the shading units fast enough, potentially creating a bottleneck. The pixel rate of 16.07 GPixel/s further suggests that high-resolution output (beyond 1080p) would be challenging, as the card's fill rate is not designed for modern high-refresh or high-resolution displays. In compute applications, the 6 GB capacity is the standout feature, while the 150.3 GB/s bandwidth is adequate but not exceptional, making the card best suited for capacity-sensitive tasks rather than bandwidth-intensive ones.