AMD Radeon Pro 555 vs NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a sharply split picture between the AMD Radeon Pro 555 and the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm. In the Geekbench Metal test, the AMD Radeon Pro 555 delivers a decisive victory, scoring 16,236 against the Tesla K20Xm's 8,035. That is a delta of 102.1% — the AMD part more than doubles the NVIDIA card's Metal output. This is the single largest margin in either direction across the available tests. The Radeon Pro 555's Metal result also sits above its own average benchmark score of 13,407, indicating Metal is a particularly strong workload for this GPU.

The Geekbench OpenCL test flips the narrative completely. Here, the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm posts 17,215, while the AMD Radeon Pro 555 manages only 11,682. The delta of -32.1% shows the NVIDIA card holding a 47.4% raw-score advantage over its rival. Notably, the Tesla K20Xm's OpenCL score is far higher than its Metal score — a gap of 9,180 points — suggesting the card's architecture is heavily optimized for compute-oriented APIs rather than graphics-centric ones. The Radeon Pro 555, by contrast, shows more balanced results across the two tests, with its OpenCL score trailing its Metal score by 4,554 points.

Looking at overall averages, the AMD Radeon Pro 555 holds a slim lead. Its average benchmark score of 13,407 edges out the Tesla K20Xm's 12,625. That is a difference of 782 points, or roughly 6.2%. The percentile rankings tell a similar story: the Radeon Pro 555 sits at the 54th percentile among all GPUs, while the Tesla K20Xm sits at the 52nd. Both cards are mid-pack performers by this metric, but the AMD part holds a modest but consistent edge in aggregate.

The rival comparisons reinforce this positioning. The AMD Radeon Pro 555's nearest competitor is the NVIDIA P106-090, which scores 13,470 — a delta of only -0.5%, meaning the two are effectively tied. Other near neighbors include the AMD Radeon HD 8950M at 13,376 (0.2% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 5500M at 13,356 (0.4% behind). The Tesla K20Xm's closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT at 12,710, which trails by 0.7%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 sits 1.2% ahead, and the GeForce GTX 590 is 1.6% ahead. Notably, the AMD Radeon Pro 455 — a sibling part in the same Pro lineup — scores 12,831, which is 1.6% ahead of the Tesla K20Xm. This places the Tesla card in a cluster of older and mid-range GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 555 sits among slightly faster company.

The Verdict

The data does not crown a single overall winner; it identifies two different tools for two different jobs. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 is the clear choice for Metal-based workloads. Its 102.1% lead in that test is not a marginal edge — it is a fundamental advantage. Any application that relies on Apple's Metal API will see substantially better performance on the Radeon part. The card's 54th percentile ranking and higher average score (13,407 vs. 12,625) also make it the safer pick for mixed or unspecified workloads.

The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm, conversely, is the compute specialist. Its OpenCL score of 17,215 is the highest single-test result in this comparison, and it beats the Radeon Pro 555 by 32.1% in that specific benchmark. For users running OpenCL-heavy compute tasks — scientific simulations, data processing, or similar GPU-accelerated workloads — the Tesla card is the stronger option despite its lower average and percentile standing. Its 6 GB of memory versus 2 GB also gives it a capacity advantage for large datasets, though that is a specification detail rather than a benchmark result.

For a general-purpose user who cannot predict which API will be used, the data leans toward the AMD Radeon Pro 555. Its average score is higher, its percentile is higher, and it wins the more common graphics-oriented benchmark (Metal) by a wide margin. The Tesla K20Xm is a niche pick: it wins OpenCL decisively but loses Metal almost as decisively. The 1-1 split in wins (one benchmark each) masks the fact that the AMD card's win is far larger in percentage terms than the NVIDIA card's — 102.1% versus 32.1%. If the workloads are weighted toward Metal, the Radeon is the only rational choice. If they are exclusively OpenCL, the Tesla is the only rational choice. In between, the averages favor AMD.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design eras and philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 is built on the Polaris 21 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 3,000 million transistors into a die size of 123 mm², yielding a transistor density of 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm uses the GK110 chip with the Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 7,080 million transistors spread across a much larger 561 mm² die, giving a lower transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The process node advantage is clear: AMD's 14 nm process allows roughly double the transistor density of NVIDIA's 28 nm process.

The memory subsystems diverge sharply. The Radeon Pro 555 offers 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 81.60 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K20Xm offers 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 249.6 GB/s — more than three times the bandwidth. The memory clock rates are similar (1275 MHz versus 1300 MHz), but the wider bus is the deciding factor. The compute resources also favor NVIDIA heavily on paper: the Tesla K20Xm has 2,688 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, versus the Radeon Pro 555's 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This translates into a large theoretical throughput advantage for NVIDIA in raw pixel rate (40.99 GPixel/s versus 13.60 GPixel/s), texture rate (164.0 GTexel/s versus 40.80 GTexel/s), and FP32 compute (3.935 TFLOPS versus 1,305.6 GFLOPS).

However, the real-world benchmarks do not reflect this theoretical dominance. The Tesla K20Xm's FP32 output is roughly three times the Radeon's, yet it only wins OpenCL by 47.4% and loses Metal by 102.1%. This suggests that the Kepler architecture's compute capabilities are not being fully utilized in these particular benchmark tests, or that the Radeon's newer GCN 4.0 design is more efficient per FLOP in certain workloads. The Radeon Pro 555 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (1,305.6 GFLOPS), while the Tesla K20Xm has no FP16 data listed — a potential advantage for the AMD card in mixed-precision workloads. The power envelope is equally lopsided: the Radeon Pro 555 consumes 75 W and is an integrated GPU (IGP) with no power connectors, while the Tesla K20Xm draws 235 W, requires a 550 W suggested power supply, and occupies a dual-slot form factor. The Tesla card also has no display outputs, making it a compute-only device, whereas the Radeon's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent" — reflecting its intended use in laptops.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 555 has an average benchmark score of 13,407, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm's 12,625. The AMD card also ranks at the 54th percentile among all GPUs, versus the NVIDIA card's 52nd percentile.

Q: How large is the AMD card's Metal benchmark advantage?

A: In the Geekbench Metal test, the AMD Radeon Pro 555 scores 16,236 against the Tesla K20Xm's 8,035, a delta of 102.1%. The AMD card more than doubles the NVIDIA card's score in this test.

Q: What is the Tesla K20Xm's strongest benchmark result?

A: The Tesla K20Xm's best result is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 17,215. This is 32.1% higher than the Radeon Pro 555's OpenCL score of 11,682, and it is the highest single-test score in this comparison.

Q: Do the two cards have different memory capacities?

A: Yes. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 81.60 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 249.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 555 has a TDP of 75 W and is an integrated GPU with no power connectors. The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm has a TDP of 235 W and requires a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count and die size?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm has 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon Pro 555 has 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. Despite the lower count, the AMD card achieves a higher transistor density of 24.4M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm².

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 555 wins decisively in Metal-based applications. Its 16,236 Metal score versus 8,035 for the Tesla K20Xm represents a 102.1% advantage, making it the clear choice for any workload that leverages Apple's Metal graphics API. This includes many macOS-native creative applications, game engines, and graphics rendering tasks. The AMD card's higher average score (13,407 versus 12,625) and better percentile rank (54th versus 52nd) also suggest it is the more consistently capable GPU across mixed workloads. Its lower power draw (75 W versus 235 W) and integrated form factor make it suitable for portable systems where thermal and power constraints are tight. The card's FP16 support at 1:1 ratio — matching its FP32 output of 1,305.6 GFLOPS — is a further advantage for applications that can use half-precision math.

The NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm wins in OpenCL compute workloads. Its 17,215 OpenCL score beats the Radeon's 11,682 by 32.1%, and it is the single highest benchmark result in this entire comparison. The card's 6 GB memory capacity and 249.6 GB/s bandwidth provide substantial headroom for large datasets that would exceed the Radeon's 2 GB frame buffer. Its 2688 shading units and 224 TMUs give it massive parallel throughput potential for compute-heavy tasks like scientific simulation, data analysis, and machine learning inference — assuming those tasks are dispatched through OpenCL. The Tesla card's dual-slot design, 550 W suggested power supply, and lack of display outputs indicate it is intended for dedicated compute nodes rather than interactive graphics work. For users running OpenCL-specific workloads on a desktop workstation with adequate power delivery, the Tesla K20Xm's compute advantage is significant. For everything else — especially anything touching Metal — the AMD Radeon Pro 555 is the superior part.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 555 | NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm |

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

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Kepler |

| Chip | Polaris 21 | GK110 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 3,000 million | 7,080 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.4M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 81.60 GB/s | 249.6 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1275 MHz / 5.1 Gbps effective | 1300 MHz / 5.2 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 768 | 2688 |

| TMUs | 48 | 224 |

| ROPs | 16 | 48 |

| Pixel Rate | 13.60 GPixel/s | 40.99 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 40.80 GTexel/s | 164.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,305.6 GFLOPS | 3.935 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 1,305.6 GFLOPS (1:1) | Not listed |

| TDP | 75 W | 235 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | Not listed |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2017-06-04 | 2012-11-11 |

| Predecessor | Not listed | Tesla Fermi |

| Successor | Not listed | Tesla Maxwell |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 7,699 USD |