Tesla P40 vs GTX 780 Max-Q
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | Tesla P40 | GTX 780 Max-Q | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 4,116 | 1,015 | +305.5% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 47 | 26 | +80.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 27 | 14 | +92.9% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 15 | 7 | +114.3% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 11.8 | 2.9 | +305.5% |
| VRAM | 24 GB GDDR5 | 3 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 346 | 336 | +3.0% |
| TDP (W) | 250 | 112 | — |
- Tesla P40 averages 27 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 93% faster.
- GTX 780 Max-Q draws less power (112W vs 250W).
Verdict: Tesla P40 or GTX 780 Max-Q?
Tesla P40 advantages
- 1440p gaming (+48%)
- 4K gaming (+53%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+75%)
- Video memory (+88%)
GTX 780 Max-Q advantages
- Power efficiency (+55%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the Tesla P40 if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the GTX 780 Max-Q if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the Tesla P40 if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
Tesla P40 vs GTX 780 Max-Q: which should you choose?
Tesla P40 — NVIDIA desktop graphics card (2016, Pascal) with 24 GB of GDDR5, averaging 27 fps at 1440p.
GTX 780 Max-Q — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2013, Kepler) with 3 GB of GDDR5, averaging 14 fps at 1440p.
Tesla P40 vs GTX 780 Max-Q: Tesla P40 is faster for gaming. Tesla P40 averages 27 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 93% faster. GTX 780 Max-Q draws less power (112W vs 250W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the Tesla P40 averages 27 fps against 14. At 4K (15 vs 7 fps) VRAM (24GB vs 3GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 250 W versus 112 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tesla P40 better than the GTX 780 Max-Q?
Tesla P40 is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. Tesla P40 averages 27 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 93% faster.
What is the main difference between the Tesla P40 and the GTX 780 Max-Q?
Tesla P40 averages 27 fps at 1440p versus 14 fps — about 93% faster. GTX 780 Max-Q draws less power (112W vs 250W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the Tesla P40 if you game at 1440p. Choose the GTX 780 Max-Q if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.