Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Tesla P40

AMD

Radeon Pro Vega 56

2017Core: 1138 MHzBoost: 1250 MHz
VS
NVIDIA

Tesla P40

2016Core: 1303 MHzBoost: 1531 MHz

Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Tesla P40 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Tesla P40: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon Pro Vega 56

2017

Why buy it

  • Costs $5,300 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
  • Delivers 1364.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 30.3 vs 2.1 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $5,699 MSRP).
  • Draws 210W instead of 250W, a 40W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with Unknown vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2017 hardware with Unknown of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Tesla P40

2016

Why buy it

  • 100+% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs Unknown).
  • Radeon Pro Vega 56 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Tesla P40 is the less risky modern option long term.

Trade-offs

  • 2016 hardware with 24 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • 1328.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $5,699 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.1 vs 30.3 G3D/$ ($5,699 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
  • 19% higher power demand at 250W vs 210W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon Pro Vega 56 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.5% in PassMark G3D (12,104 vs 11,808), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Tesla P40 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 24 GB vs Unknown of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon Pro Vega 56 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $5,300 cheaper on MSRP at $399 vs $5,699, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1364.1% (30.3 vs 2.1), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and lighter 1440p, Radeon Pro Vega 56 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Tesla P40 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Tesla P40 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

Radeon Pro Vega 56

The Radeon Pro Vega 56 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 14 2017. It features the GCN 5.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1138 MHz to 1250 MHz. It has 3584 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 210W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,104 points. Launch price was $399.

NVIDIA

Tesla P40

The Tesla P40 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 13 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1303 MHz to 1531 MHz. It has 3840 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,808 points. Launch price was $5,699.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 12,104 and the Tesla P40 reaches 11,808 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro Vega 56 is built on GCN 5.0 while the Tesla P40 uses Pascal, both on 14 nm vs 16 nm. Shader units: 3,584 (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 3,840 (Tesla P40). Raw compute: 8.96 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 11.76 TFLOPS (Tesla P40). Boost clocks: 1250 MHz vs 1531 MHz.

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
G3D Mark Score
12,104+3%
11,808
Architecture
GCN 5.0
Pascal
Process Node
14 nm
16 nm
Shading Units
3584
3840+7%
Compute (TFLOPS)
8.96 TFLOPS
11.76 TFLOPS+31%
Boost Clock
1250 MHz
1531 MHz+22%
ROPs
64
96+50%
TMUs
224
240+7%
L1 Cache
0.88 MB
1.4 MB+59%
L2 Cache
4 MB+33%
3 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon Pro Vega 56 has 0 MB of VRAM, while the Tesla P40 carries 24 GB. Tesla P40 gives you 100+% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon Pro Vega 56 and 256-bit on the Tesla P40. L2 Cache: 4 MB (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 3 MB (Tesla P40) — the Radeon Pro Vega 56 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
VRAM Capacity
Shared System RAM
24 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR6
Bus Width
128-bit
256-bit+100%
L2 Cache
4 MB+33%
3 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 12.1 (Tesla P40). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
DirectX
12.1
12.1
Vulkan
1.1
1.1
OpenGL
4.6+2%
4.5
Max Displays
4
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 4.0 (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs NVENC 4.0 (2x) (Tesla P40). Decoder: UVD 7.0 vs PureVideo HD VP6. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Tesla P40).

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
Encoder
VCE 4.0
NVENC 4.0 (2x)
Decoder
UVD 7.0
PureVideo HD VP6
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro Vega 56 draws 210W versus the Tesla P40's 250W — a 17.4% difference. The Radeon Pro Vega 56 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 1W (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 500W (Tesla P40). Power connectors: Integrated vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 267mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 85°C.

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
TDP
210W-16%
250W
Recommended PSU
1W-100%
500W
Power Connector
Integrated
PCIe-powered
Length
267mm
267mm
Height
111mm
112mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
85°C
85°C
Perf/Watt
57.6+22%
47.2
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon Pro Vega 56 came in at $399, while the Tesla P40 launched at $5699. On MSRP, Radeon Pro Vega 56 was 93% cheaper ($5300 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 30.3 (Radeon Pro Vega 56) vs 2.1 (Tesla P40) — the Radeon Pro Vega 56 offers 1342.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon Pro Vega 56 (2017 vs 2016).

FeatureRadeon Pro Vega 56Tesla P40
MSRP
$399-93%
$5699
Performance per Dollar
30.3+1343%
2.1
Codename
Vega 10
GP102
Release
August 14 2017
September 13 2016
Ranking
#222
#227

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