AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA Tesla C2070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark database contains a single comparative OpenCL workload, the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisive. The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 posts a score of 9,716, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M reaches 8,462. This translates to a 14.8% advantage for the NVIDIA part, a meaningful gap in compute-oriented tasks. The Tesla C2070 takes the sole win in the head-to-head comparison, with the AMD card recording zero victories in the matched tests.

Context from the nearest rivals underscores the significance of this margin. The Tesla C2070 lands between the NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9,724 and the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 at 9,665, with deltas of -0.1% and +0.5% respectively. Its score is also 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 and 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. For the AMD Radeon HD 8870M, the score sits near the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 at 8,458, the AMD Radeon 880M at 8,436, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX at 8,427, with deltas of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.4% respectively. The Intel Arc A380 trails at 8,558, putting the AMD card 1.1% behind that part.

The percentile data reinforces this ordering. The Tesla C2070 ranks in the 47th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Radeon HD 8870M sits in the 43rd percentile. In practical terms, the Tesla C2070 outpaces the Radeon HD 8870M by roughly 1,254 raw points, a gap that the closest comparable rival relationships cannot bridge. The benchmark results show a clear winner, but the margin is not overwhelming; it is a solid, consistent lead rather than a generational stomping.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies and process generations. The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 uses the GF100 chip, built on the Fermi architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 40 nm process. The die is large at 529 mm², housing 3,100 million transistors, which works out to a transistor density of 5.9 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M uses the Venus chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a newer 28 nm process. Its die is much smaller at 123 mm², containing 1,500 million transistors, yielding a higher density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The manufacturing node advantage belongs to AMD, but the raw transistor count and die area belong to NVIDIA.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Tesla C2070 carries 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 143.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon HD 8870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, producing 72.00 GB/s. The Tesla C2070's memory bandwidth is nearly double that of the AMD part, a critical factor for compute-heavy workloads. Clock speeds tell a different story: the Radeon HD 8870M runs at a base of 725 MHz with a boost of 775 MHz, while the Tesla C2070 reports no base or boost clock in the database. Its memory clock is listed as 747 MHz, translating to 3 Gbps effective, whereas the AMD part runs memory at 1,125 MHz, or 4.5 Gbps effective.

Compute resources are split by design. The Tesla C2070 has 448 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The Radeon HD 8870M has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. The higher shading unit count on the AMD card does not translate to a win in the benchmark, likely due to the NVIDIA part's superior memory subsystem and raw fill rates. The Tesla C2070 achieves a pixel rate of 16.07 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 32.14 GTexel/s, while the Radeon HD 8870M posts 12.40 GPixel/s and 31.00 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is close: the Tesla C2070 reaches 1,027.7 GFLOPS, the Radeon HD 8870M hits 992.0 GFLOPS, a 35.7 GFLOPS difference in favor of NVIDIA.

API support also diverges. The Tesla C2070 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed. The Radeon HD 8870M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The AMD part has broader modern API coverage, especially Vulkan, which could matter for certain workloads, though the benchmark data does not test that aspect. The Tesla C2070 uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the Radeon HD 8870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16, a bandwidth advantage for AMD on the bus interface.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows only one test, so the win distribution is simple: the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 wins the OpenCL compute test outright. That means for any task that relies on general-purpose GPU compute, as measured by Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla C2070 is the stronger part. Its higher bandwidth, larger memory pool, and superior fill rates give it an edge in workloads that stress memory throughput and pixel/texture processing.

The AMD Radeon HD 8870M does not win any recorded benchmark, but its architecture suggests niches where it could compete, based on the data available. It has a higher shading unit count at 640 versus 448, which in theory benefits shader-bound tasks. Its boost clock of 775 MHz offers a defined performance ceiling, whereas the Tesla C2070 has no listed boost clock. The AMD part also supports Vulkan 1.2.170, a feature the Tesla C2070 lacks entirely, which could enable certain modern applications to run on the AMD card but not the NVIDIA card. Its PCIe 3.0 interface doubles the bus bandwidth of the Tesla C2070's PCIe 2.0, which may reduce transfer bottlenecks in some scenarios.

The Radeon HD 8870M also consumes far less power, though no TDP figure is listed for it. The Tesla C2070 has a TDP of 238 W, a dual-slot cooler, and requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, plus a 550 W suggested PSU. The AMD part lists no power connectors, slot width, or PSU requirement, indicating it is a mobile-oriented chip designed for lower power envelopes. For users with power or space constraints, the AMD card is the only viable option, but the benchmark data does not quantify its efficiency advantage.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for compute performance: the NVIDIA Tesla C2070. It wins the only recorded benchmark by 14.8%, holds a 4-percentile advantage in the database ranking, and delivers nearly double the memory bandwidth of the AMD Radeon HD 8870M. Its higher pixel rate and texture rate further cement its position for rendering and compute tasks that depend on those metrics. The Tesla C2070 also carries 6 GB of memory versus 2 GB, which is a substantial capacity advantage for large datasets.

The AMD Radeon HD 8870M is not without merit, but its strengths lie outside the measured benchmark. It has more shading units, a newer process node, and Vulkan support, making it a more modern part in some respects. Its smaller die and higher transistor density suggest better manufacturing efficiency, and the absence of a TDP figure indicates a lower power draw. However, none of those characteristics translate into a benchmark win in the database. For anyone choosing strictly on recorded performance, the Tesla C2070 is the better GPU.

The verdict for different user profiles follows directly from the data. A user prioritizing raw OpenCL compute, memory bandwidth, or memory capacity should select the NVIDIA Tesla C2070. A user constrained by power, space, or requiring Vulkan support would need the AMD Radeon HD 8870M, accepting a 14.8% performance deficit in the measured workload. The Tesla C2070 is end-of-life, as is the Radeon HD 8870M, so availability is a separate consideration outside the benchmark scope.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 scores 9,716, which is 14.8% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 8870M's score of 8,462.

Q: How does the Tesla C2070 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Tesla C2070 is 0.1% below the NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9,724, 0.5% above the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 at 9,665, 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 at 9,653, and 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 at 9,780.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 8870M support Vulkan?

A: Yes, the Radeon HD 8870M supports Vulkan 1.2.170, while the Tesla C2070 has no Vulkan support listed in the database.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two GPUs?

A: The Tesla C2070 has a memory bandwidth of 143.4 GB/s, while the Radeon HD 8870M has 72.00 GB/s, giving the NVIDIA part a 71.4 GB/s advantage.

Q: How many shading units does each GPU have?

A: The Tesla C2070 has 448 shading units, while the Radeon HD 8870M has 640 shading units, a difference of 192 in favor of the AMD card.

Q: What process nodes are the two GPUs manufactured on?

A: The Tesla C2070 uses a 40 nm process, while the Radeon HD 8870M uses a 28 nm process, both from TSMC.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla C2070 | AMD Radeon HD 8870M |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GF100 | Venus |

| Architecture | Fermi | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 3,100 million | 1,500 million |

| Die Size | 529 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 5.9M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 725 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 775 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 747 MHz (3 Gbps effective) | 1,125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 143.4 GB/s | 72.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 448 | 640 |

| TMUs | 56 | 40 |

| ROPs | 48 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 16.07 GPixel/s | 12.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 32.14 GTexel/s | 31.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,027.7 GFLOPS | 992.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 238 W | Not listed |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not listed |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | Not listed |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI | Not listed |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_0) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan Support | Not listed | 1.2.170 |

| Dimensions | 248 mm (9.8 inches) | Not listed |

| Release Date | 2011-07-24 | 2013-03-31 |

| Predecessor | Tesla | London |

| Successor | Tesla Kepler | Gem System |