AMD FirePro D300 vs NVIDIA Tesla K20m Comparison

The AMD FirePro D300 and NVIDIA Tesla K20m represent two divergent approaches to professional computing from the same 28 nm TSMC process generation, and their benchmark results show a clear split based on workload type. The data reveals a 20.2% victory for the AMD card in OpenCL compute, while the NVIDIA card answers with a 9.9% win in Vulkan graphics-adjacent workloads, leaving the head-to-head tally at one win apiece. Their average benchmark scores, 19637 for the FirePro D300 and 19089 for the Tesla K20m, place both at the 64th percentile of all GPUs, indicating they are closely matched overall despite their architectural differences.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking discrepancy emerges in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the AMD FirePro D300 scores 19515 against the Tesla K20m's 16241. This 20.2% margin is substantial and places the AMD card firmly ahead in raw compute throughput as measured by this benchmark. The FirePro D300's OpenCL score sits comfortably above its own average benchmark score of 19637, suggesting this is a representative result for the card. In contrast, the Tesla K20m's OpenCL score of 16241 is notably below its average of 19089, indicating that this particular workload does not play to the NVIDIA card's strengths.

The tables turn in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the Tesla K20m scores 21936 compared to the FirePro D300's 19759. This 9.9% advantage for NVIDIA is significant, and notably, the Vulkan result is the Tesla K20m's best benchmark showing by a wide margin — over 3500 points higher than its OpenCL score. The FirePro D300's Vulkan score of 19759 is only marginally above its OpenCL result, suggesting the AMD card performs more consistently across these two API workloads. The delta of 244 points between the two Vulkan scores is smaller in absolute terms than the 3274-point gap in OpenCL, but the percentage difference tells a different story.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, the FirePro D300's average score of 19637 places it within 0.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19602) and 0.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (19765). It even edges out the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX by 1.2% (19410) and trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40m by 1.2% (19885). The Tesla K20m's average of 19089 puts it within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049) and 0.3% of both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19036) and NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030), while falling 0.4% short of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (19164). These tight margins around the 19000-19600 range reinforce that both cards operate in a similar performance tier, despite their divergent architecture philosophies.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data supports a clear workload-based division. The AMD FirePro D300 takes the compute-focused OpenCL test decisively, leveraging its GCN 1.0 architecture to deliver 2.176 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute throughput, combined with a 162.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from its 256-bit GDDR5 bus, appears well-suited to the OpenCL workload's characteristics. The FirePro D300's 1280 shading units and 80 texture units provide a solid foundation for parallel compute tasks that scale with shader count.

The NVIDIA Tesla K20m wins the Vulkan test, a result that likely stems from its significantly larger silicon — 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die versus the FirePro D300's 2,800 million transistors on 212 mm². The Tesla K20m's 2496 shading units and 208 texture units nearly double the AMD card's counts, and its 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus delivers 208.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This hardware advantage in raw resources translates to superior performance in the Vulkan workload, despite the Kepler architecture being older in design philosophy.

It is notably the Tesla K20m carries a launch MSRP of 3,199 USD, a figure that reflects its positioning as a high-end compute accelerator with no display outputs. The FirePro D300, by contrast, offers 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, making it a more versatile workstation card despite its smaller memory pool. The data shows the FirePro D300 excels in OpenCL-heavy environments while the Tesla K20m dominates Vulkan-based tasks, and neither card demonstrates weakness in its winning category — the margins are decisive in both directions.

The Verdict

The choice between these two cards depends entirely on the intended workload, according to the benchmark evidence. For users running OpenCL-based compute applications, the AMD FirePro D300 is the clear pick — its 20.2% advantage in that benchmark is too large to ignore, and its 64th percentile standing matches the Tesla K20m while achieving this with a lower 150 W TDP and single-slot form factor. The FirePro D300's 2 GB memory and 2.176 TFLOPS FP32 performance are sufficient for many professional compute tasks, and the inclusion of display outputs adds flexibility for mixed-use environments.

For Vulkan-centric workloads, the NVIDIA Tesla K20m is the superior option. Its 9.9% edge in that benchmark, combined with 5 GB of memory and 3.524 TFLOPS FP32 performance, makes it a more capable card for graphics-oriented tasks that leverage the Vulkan API. The Tesla K20m's 208.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 36.71 GPixel/s pixel rate support its higher texture rate of 146.8 GTexel/s, which is more than double the FirePro D300's 68.00 GTexel/s. However, the lack of display outputs means this card is strictly for compute or render-farm duty, not desktop workstation use.

The data does not declare an overall winner — the 1-1 split in head-to-head benchmarks and the similar average scores (19637 vs 19089, a difference of only 2.9%) suggest these are complementary tools rather than direct competitors. The FirePro D300 offers better OpenCL compute efficiency, while the Tesla K20m provides more raw resources for Vulkan and memory-intensive workloads. The Tesla K20m's higher TDP of 225 W and dual-slot design, along with its 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors and 550 W suggested PSU, indicate it demands a more substantial power delivery system than the FirePro D300's 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro D300 has an average benchmark score of 19637, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla K20m's 19089, a difference of 548 points or approximately 2.9%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The AMD FirePro D300 scores 19515 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 16241. This gives the AMD card a 20.2% advantage in this benchmark.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD FirePro D300 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 162.6 GB/s bandwidth, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m has 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 21936 in Geekbench Vulkan, outperforming the AMD FirePro D300's 19759 by 9.9%.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The AMD FirePro D300 has a 150 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m has a 225 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Do both cards support the same API versions?

A: No. The AMD FirePro D300 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Tesla K20m supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Architecture Differences

The two cards embody fundamentally different architectural philosophies from the same 28 nm TSMC process node. The AMD FirePro D300 uses the Pitcairn chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, containing 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die with a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². The NVIDIA Tesla K20m uses the GK110 chip based on Kepler architecture, packing 7,080 million transistors onto a 561 mm² die with a slightly lower density of 12.6M per mm². This 2.5x transistor advantage for NVIDIA translates directly into the resource gap: 2496 shading units and 208 TMUs for the Tesla K20m versus 1280 shading units and 80 TMUs for the FirePro D300.

Memory subsystems also differ substantially. The FirePro D300 operates its GDDR5 memory at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit interface, yielding 162.6 GB/s. The Tesla K20m runs its GDDR5 at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) on a 320-bit bus for 208.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card's 5 GB capacity is 2.5 times larger than the AMD card's 2 GB, a critical factor for large datasets. Pixel and texture throughput follow the same pattern: the Tesla K20m achieves 36.71 GPixel/s and 146.8 GTexel/s, while the FirePro D300 manages 27.20 GPixel/s and 68.00 GTexel/s.

Physical and interface differences are equally pronounced. The FirePro D300 is a single-slot card measuring 242 mm (9.5 inches) with 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and a 150 W TDP, requiring a 450 W PSU. The Tesla K20m is a dual-slot card at 267 mm (10.5 inches) with no display outputs, a 225 W TDP, 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors, and a 550 W PSU recommendation. The FirePro D300 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Tesla K20m uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface. Their generations reflect their release timing: the FirePro D300 belongs to the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation released in January 2014, while the Tesla K20m is part of the Tesla Kepler (Kxx) generation from January 2013. Both are end-of-life products, with the FirePro D300 succeeding FirePro Terascale and preceding Radeon Instinct, and the Tesla K20m succeeding Tesla Fermi and preceding Tesla Maxwell.