AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA Tesla M60 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970 has an average benchmark score of 34,541, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 30,490. The HD 7970 sits at the 79th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the M60's 75th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the only head-to-head benchmark available?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541 against the Tesla M60's 29,506, giving AMD a 17.1% lead. This is the sole head-to-head result, and the HD 7970 wins it.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card according to the recorded data?

A: The HD 7970's nearest rival is the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB, which scores 34,561, a mere 0.1% difference. The Tesla M60's closest rival is the NVIDIA CMP 70HX, which scores 30,476, essentially identical at 0% delta.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M60 has a pixel rate of 75.39 GPixel/s, more than double the AMD Radeon HD 7970's 29.60 GPixel/s. This reflects the M60's 64 ROPs versus the HD 7970's 32 ROPs.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970 offers 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 384-bit bus, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 provides 160.4 GB/s from a 256-bit bus. The HD 7970 leads by a significant margin despite having less memory.

Q: Which card supports the Vulkan API version 1.4?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M60 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The M60 also supports DirectX 12 (12_1) versus the HD 7970's DirectX 12 (11_1).

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon HD 7970 and NVIDIA Tesla M60 represent two distinct architectural generations from their respective manufacturers. The HD 7970 is built on AMD's Graphics Core Next 1.0 architecture, using the Tahiti chip, and belongs to the Southern Islands (HD 7900) generation. In contrast, the Tesla M60 employs NVIDIA's Maxwell 2.0 architecture, built around the GM204 chip, from the Tesla Maxwell (Mxx) generation.

Both GPUs are fabricated on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, but the similarities end there. The HD 7970 packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The Tesla M60 contains more transistors at 5,200 million, spread across a larger 398 mm² die, giving it a slightly higher density of 13.1M per mm². This indicates that NVIDIA's Maxwell design is more transistor-dense per unit area.

The core configurations differ in a key way: both cards have 2,048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units, but the ROP counts diverge sharply. The HD 7970 has 32 ROPs, while the Tesla M60 has 64 ROPs, doubling the pixel throughput capability. The M60's base clock is 557 MHz with a boost of 1,178 MHz, whereas the HD 7970's clock data does not list base or boost values, only a memory clock of 1,375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The M60's memory runs at 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

Feature support also separates the two. The HD 7970 provides display outputs including DVI, HDMI 1.4a, and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connections, making it a consumer-facing card. The Tesla M60 has no display outputs at all, positioning it as a compute-only accelerator. In API support, the M60 reaches DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970 maxes out at DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 7970 wins decisively in raw compute throughput as measured by the database's benchmark suite. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 34,541 outperforms the Tesla M60's 29,506 by 17.1%. This suggests the HD 7970 is better suited for OpenCL-based workloads that stress general compute performance, such as scientific simulation or data-parallel processing. The card also holds an edge in memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s versus 160.4 GB/s, which can benefit memory-bound applications.

The NVIDIA Tesla M60, by contrast, wins in architectural features that favor newer API adoption and rasterization throughput. Its DirectX 12 (12_1) support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility make it more future-proof for software leveraging the latest graphics APIs. The M60's 75.39 GPixel/s pixel rate, driven by 64 ROPs, is more than double the HD 7970's 29.60 GPixel/s, indicating superior performance in fill-rate-limited scenarios like high-resolution rendering or heavy post-processing effects. Its texture rate of 150.8 GTexel/s also exceeds the HD 7970's 118.4 GTexel/s.

The M60 also offers more memory capacity at 8 GB versus 3 GB, which is advantageous for large datasets or workloads that require holding substantial working sets in VRAM. However, its lower bandwidth suggests that capacity comes at the cost of speed. The M60's higher FP32 throughput of 4.825 TFLOPS versus the HD 7970's 3.789 TFLOPS further positions it as a stronger candidate for peak floating-point compute, even though the benchmark results tell a different story in practice.

Specification Differences

The recorded data highlights several key specification differences between the AMD Radeon HD 7970 and NVIDIA Tesla M60:

• Transistors: 4,313 million (HD 7970) vs 5,200 million (M60)
• Die Size: 352 mm² (HD 7970) vs 398 mm² (M60)
• Memory Size: 3 GB (HD 7970) vs 8 GB (M60)
• Memory Bus Width: 384 bit (HD 7970) vs 256 bit (M60)
• Memory Bandwidth: 264.0 GB/s (HD 7970) vs 160.4 GB/s (M60)
• Memory Clock: 1,375 MHz (HD 7970) vs 1,253 MHz (M60)
• ROP Count: 32 (HD 7970) vs 64 (M60)
• Pixel Rate: 29.60 GPixel/s (HD 7970) vs 75.39 GPixel/s (M60)
• Texture Rate: 118.4 GTexel/s (HD 7970) vs 150.8 GTexel/s (M60)
• FP32: 3.789 TFLOPS (HD 7970) vs 4.825 TFLOPS (M60)
• TDP: 250 W (HD 7970) vs 300 W (M60)
• Power Connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin (HD 7970) vs 1x 8-pin (M60)
• Suggested PSU: 600 W (HD 7970) vs 700 W (M60)
• Display Outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 (HD 7970) vs No outputs (M60)
• DirectX Support: 12 (11_1) (HD 7970) vs 12 (12_1) (M60)
• Vulkan Support: 1.2.170 (HD 7970) vs 1.4 (M60)
• Length: 275 mm (HD 7970) vs 267 mm (M60)
• Release Date: 2012-01-08 (HD 7970) vs 2015-08-29 (M60)

Both cards share the same 28 nm process, PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, dual-slot design, 2,048 shading units, and 128 TMUs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct comparison between these two GPUs, and it is a decisive win for the AMD Radeon HD 7970. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the HD 7970 scores 34,541, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29,506. This translates to a 17.1% advantage for AMD. The delta is substantial, placing the HD 7970 in a different performance tier despite the M60's higher theoretical FP32 throughput.

Contextualizing this result against each card's nearest rivals clarifies the standings. The HD 7970's score of 34,541 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB's 34,561, a difference of only 0.1% in the T1000's favor. It also sits close to the NVIDIA A2 (34,690, 0.4% higher), the NVIDIA TITAN V (34,355, 0.5% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207, 1% lower). The HD 7970's performance cluster is tightly packed, suggesting it competes with modern entry-level and mid-range workstation cards.

The Tesla M60's 29,506 OpenCL score places it alongside the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (30,476, 0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (30,433, 0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (30,095, 1.3% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (29,945, 1.8% higher). The M60's score is notably lower than the HD 7970's, and its nearest rivals are all within a 2% band, indicating it performs in a lower tier.

The M60 does have a Vulkan benchmark score of 31,473, but the HD 7970 lacks any recorded Vulkan result, so a direct comparison in that API is not possible from the data. The OpenCL result remains the only head-to-head metric, and it favors the HD 7970 by a wide margin.

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear picture for compute-oriented workloads: the AMD Radeon HD 7970 outperforms the NVIDIA Tesla M60 by 17.1% in the sole Geekbench OpenCL test. With a score of 34,541 versus 29,506, the HD 7970 also sits at a higher percentile (79th versus 75th) and holds a significant memory bandwidth advantage (264.0 GB/s versus 160.4 GB/s). For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute performance, the HD 7970 is the stronger choice based on recorded results.

However, the NVIDIA Tesla M60 is not without merits. It offers double the memory capacity (8 GB versus 3 GB), a 4.825 TFLOPS FP32 rating versus 3.789 TFLOPS, and more than double the pixel rate (75.39 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s). Its support for DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 makes it more aligned with modern API requirements, while the HD 7970 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The M60 also has no display outputs, confirming its role as a server-side compute accelerator, whereas the HD 7970 includes multiple display connections.

The verdict depends on the use case. If the workload is OpenCL-centric and benefits from higher bandwidth and a proven 17.1% benchmark lead, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is the data-backed pick. If the application demands larger memory capacity, newer API feature levels, or higher fill rates for rendering tasks, the NVIDIA Tesla M60 offers those capabilities, but its lower OpenCL score suggests it may not deliver the same compute performance in practice. The database's single head-to-head result gives the edge to AMD, but the M60's architectural advantages in ROPs, pixel rate, and API support make it a viable alternative for specific tasks.