AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA Tesla C2075 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains a single head-to-head benchmark between these two cards, and it is a decisive one. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 scores 10,400 points, while the AMD Radeon 550X scores 8,866 points. That is a delta of 17.3% in favor of the Tesla C2075, a substantial margin for a compute-oriented workload.

Looking at the broader context, the Tesla C2075's OpenCL score places it at the 48th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in that test include the AMD Radeon RX 6500M at 10,362 points, which trails by only 0.4%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A at 10,273 points, which is 1.2% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 550X, despite its similar model numbering to the 550X, actually sits slightly ahead at 10,481 points, meaning the Tesla C2075 is 0.8% behind that particular card. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X rounds out the rival group at 10,582 points, putting the Tesla C2075 1.7% behind.

The AMD Radeon 550X has a different benchmark profile entirely. Its OpenCL score of 8,866 places it at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 8,918. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around that figure: the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8,863 (0.6% ahead of the 550X), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8,851 (0.8% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 scores 9,022 (1.2% behind), and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition scores 9,037 (1.3% behind). The 550X also has a Vulkan score of 8,970 in the database, which is slightly higher than its OpenCL result but still well below the Tesla C2075's single recorded OpenCL score.

The key takeaway from the benchmark data is that the Tesla C2075 wins the only direct comparison available, and it does so by a healthy 17.3%. However, the 550X's Vulkan result suggests it has additional capabilities not measured in the head-to-head, since the Tesla C2075 has no recorded Vulkan score at all. The OpenCL gap is large enough that even the 550X's better Vulkan showing would not close the divide in that specific test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the head-to-head OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla C2075 wins, scoring 10,400 points versus the AMD Radeon 550X's 8,866 points, a 17.3% advantage.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The Tesla C2075 sits within 1.7% of all four of its nearest rivals, ranging from 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6500M to 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M275X. The Radeon 550X also sits within 1.3% of all four of its nearest rivals, from 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 to 1.3% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 550X support any API that the Tesla C2075 does not?

A: Yes, the Radeon 550X supports Vulkan 1.3 and has a recorded Vulkan benchmark score of 8,970. The Tesla C2075 has no Vulkan support listed and no Vulkan benchmark score.

Q: What is the DirectX support difference between the two cards?

A: The Tesla C2075 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a newer feature level.

Q: Which card has the higher percentile rank among all GPUs?

A: The Tesla C2075 ranks at the 48th percentile, while the Radeon 550X ranks at the 45th percentile.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The Tesla C2075 was released in 2011, and the Radeon 550X was released in 2019.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural lineages. The NVIDIA Tesla C2075 is built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, using the GF110 chip, and belongs to the Tesla Fermi generation. It is fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 3,000 million transistors packed into a 520 mm² die. The transistor density works out to 5.8 million transistors per square millimeter, a figure that reflects the older manufacturing technology.

The AMD Radeon 550X, by contrast, uses the GCN 4.0 architecture with the Lexa chip, from the Polaris RX 500X generation. It is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a much smaller 103 mm² die. The transistor density is 21.4 million per square millimeter, nearly four times the density of the Tesla chip, which is exactly what the newer process node enables.

The compute resources are organized differently as well. The Tesla C2075 has 448 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The Radeon 550X has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units, the Tesla card has substantially more ROPs and TMUs, which affects how each card handles pixel throughput and texture work.

Memory architecture also differs sharply. The Tesla C2075 uses a 384-bit memory bus with 6 GB of GDDR5, delivering 150.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 550X uses a 128-bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR5, delivering 112.0 GB/s. The Tesla card's wider bus gives it a 34% bandwidth advantage, even though its memory clock is lower on a per-pin basis.

Feature support diverges in the API layer. The Tesla C2075 lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support. The Radeon 550X lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Radeon also supports half-precision floating point with a 1:1 ratio, offering 1,247.2 GFLOPS in FP16, while the Tesla card has no FP16 figure recorded. In FP32, the Radeon 550X actually leads with 1,247.2 GFLOPS versus the Tesla's 1,027.7 GFLOPS, a 21% advantage in raw single-precision compute.

The physical and power profiles are equally divergent. The Tesla C2075 is a 247 W card requiring a 550 W power supply, with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors. The Radeon 550X draws only 50 W, needs just a 250 W power supply, and requires no auxiliary power connectors. The Tesla is 248 mm long, while the Radeon is 145 mm. Both are dual-slot cards.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category in the database. The Tesla C2075 uses a 40 nm process, the Radeon 550X uses 14 nm. The Tesla has 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die; the Radeon has 2,200 million on 103 mm². Transistor density is 5.8M per mm² for the Tesla and 21.4M per mm² for the Radeon.

Clock behavior differs as well. The Tesla has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 783 MHz (3.1 Gbps effective). The Radeon has a base clock of 1082 MHz and a boost clock of 1218 MHz, with memory at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity and bus width are major differentiators: 6 GB on a 384-bit bus for the Tesla versus 2 GB on a 128-bit bus for the Radeon. Bandwidth is 150.3 GB/s versus 112.0 GB/s. Shading units are 448 versus 512, TMUs are 56 versus 32, and ROPs are 48 versus 16.

Pixel rate and texture rate both favor the Radeon: 19.49 GPixel/s versus 16.07 GPixel/s, and 38.98 GTexel/s versus 32.14 GTexel/s. FP32 compute also favors the Radeon at 1,247.2 GFLOPS versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS, and the Radeon adds FP16 at 1,247.2 GFLOPS while the Tesla has none recorded.

Power and cooling requirements are dramatically different: 247 W TDP with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU for the Tesla, versus 50 W TDP with no connectors and a 250 W suggested PSU for the Radeon. The bus interface differs too: PCIe 2.0 x16 for the Tesla, PCIe 3.0 x8 for the Radeon. Display outputs are a single DVI port on the Tesla, while the Radeon offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

DirectX support favors the Radeon (12_0 versus 11_0), and Vulkan support exists only on the Radeon. Release dates are far apart: July 2011 for the Tesla, March 2019 for the Radeon. The Tesla's predecessor is listed as Tesla and its successor as Tesla Kepler; the Radeon's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Vega.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload type and platform constraints. In the only direct benchmark recorded, the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 beats the AMD Radeon 550X by 17.3% in OpenCL. That is a substantial margin, and it aligns with the Tesla's positioning as a compute-oriented card from the Fermi era. The Tesla also holds a significant memory advantage: 6 GB versus 2 GB, a 384-bit bus versus 128-bit, and 150.3 GB/s versus 112.0 GB/s. For workloads that depend on memory capacity or bandwidth, the Tesla is the stronger choice by a wide margin.

However, the Radeon 550X wins on several other fronts. It delivers higher FP32 compute (1,247.2 GFLOPS versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS), higher pixel and texture rates, and adds FP16 support. It supports Vulkan 1.3, which the Tesla does not, and its DirectX 12 (12_0) feature level is newer than the Tesla's 11_0. It draws only 50 W versus 247 W, needs no auxiliary power connectors, and requires a 250 W power supply instead of 550 W. It is also 103 mm shorter, making it far easier to fit into small systems.

The percentile data favors the Tesla (48th versus 45th), but both cards are in the lower half of the database. Neither is a top performer by modern standards, and both are end-of-life products. The Tesla's 17.3% OpenCL win is the single most important performance datapoint, but it comes with a heavy power and size penalty.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Tesla C2075 wins in scenarios where compute throughput per benchmark matters most, specifically OpenCL workloads, where it leads by 17.3%. It also wins where memory capacity is critical: 6 GB versus 2 GB, and where memory bandwidth is a bottleneck, with 150.3 GB/s versus 112.0 GB/s. Its 48 ROPs versus 16 suggest it is better equipped for tasks involving heavy pixel operations, and its 56 TMUs versus 32 give it more texture processing capacity. The wider 384-bit bus is a structural advantage for large data sets.

The AMD Radeon 550X wins in efficiency and feature support. Its 50 W TDP makes it suitable for systems with modest power supplies (250 W suggested versus 550 W), and it requires no power connectors, simplifying installation. Its 14 nm process and smaller die make it a more modern part physically. It wins on raw FP32 compute (1,247.2 GFLOPS), FP16 compute (1,247.2 GFLOPS), pixel rate (19.49 GPixel/s), and texture rate (38.98 GTexel/s). It supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0), which the Tesla cannot match. Its display outputs are more versatile, with HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a alongside DVI, versus the Tesla's lone DVI port.

For a user choosing between these two, the decision hinges on what matters more. If the primary criterion is the recorded OpenCL benchmark, the Tesla C2075 is the winner by a 17.3% margin. If the primary criteria are power draw, modern API support, and physical footprint, the Radeon 550X is the better fit. The Tesla is a compute card from 2011 with a large memory pool and high bandwidth; the Radeon is a 2019 entry-level card with better efficiency and newer features. Each wins where its design priorities align with the workload.