AMD Radeon R9 370X vs NVIDIA Tesla K20m Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between the two accelerators, with each securing one victory in the available head-to-head tests. The AMD Radeon R9 370X dominates in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 25893 against the NVIDIA Tesla K20m's 16241, a decisive margin of 37.3% in AMD's favor. This indicates that in compute workloads leveraging the OpenCL API, the R9 370X is substantially faster, making it the better choice for tasks that rely on that particular interface.

Conversely, the NVIDIA Tesla K20m takes the Vulkan test with a score of 21936 versus the R9 370X's 9018, a staggering 143.2% advantage. This massive swing suggests that Vulkan-based workloads, which often favor higher geometry throughput and specific driver optimizations, are a clear strength for the Tesla K20m. The database also shows the Tesla K20m has a higher overall percentile ranking at 64 compared to the R9 370X's 58, indicating slightly better standing among all GPUs in the broader database.

For use-case selection, the data points to the R9 370X for OpenCL-centric applications like general-purpose compute, cryptocurrency mining, or older compute frameworks. The Tesla K20m, with its Vulkan dominance and higher average benchmark score of 19089 versus 15862, appears better suited for modern graphics APIs, particularly in scenarios where Vulkan performance is critical, such as certain game engines or emerging compute standards. The R9 370X also offers display outputs, making it a viable option for a workstation needing both compute and display, while the Tesla K20m has no outputs, requiring a secondary GPU for any visualization.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different design philosophies from their respective manufacturers. The NVIDIA Tesla K20m uses the GK110 chip, built on the Kepler architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. This chip packs 7,080 million transistors into a die size of 561 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon R9 370X, by contrast, uses the Trinidad chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, also on TSMC's 28 nm process, but with only 2,800 million transistors on a much smaller 212 mm² die, resulting in a higher density of 13.2 million per square millimeter.

These architectural choices lead to vastly different resource allocations. The Tesla K20m features 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 40 raster operation units (ROPs). The R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card clearly prioritizes raw compute throughput with nearly double the shader count, while the AMD card uses a leaner configuration. Cache hierarchies and memory subsystems also differ fundamentally: the Tesla K20m uses a 320-bit memory bus with 5 GB of GDDR5, while the R9 370X uses a narrower 256-bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR5.

Clock speeds tell another story. The Tesla K20m has no recorded base or boost clock in the database, only memory clocked at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective). The R9 370X has a base clock of 980 MHz and a boost clock of 1030 MHz, with memory at 1400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective). The AMD card runs its cores at higher frequencies, but the NVIDIA card compensates with more cores and a wider memory bus, achieving 208.0 GB/s bandwidth versus the R9 370X's 179.2 GB/s.

Power and interface differences are also notable. The Tesla K20m has a 225 W TDP, requires a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 550 W power supply. The R9 370X has a 180 W TDP, uses two 6-pin connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The Tesla K20m uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the R9 370X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, giving the AMD card a more modern interconnect. Physically, the Tesla K20m is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 221 mm (8.7 inches) for the R9 370X, and the AMD card has a recorded height of 111 mm (4.4 inches).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head comparison is the Vulkan test. The Tesla K20m scores 21936, which is 143.2% higher than the R9 370X's 9018. This is not a marginal difference; it represents more than doubling the performance. The data indicates that the Kepler architecture, despite its age, has strong Vulkan driver support or architectural advantages in this API. This result alone shifts the overall average benchmark score significantly, as the Tesla K20m's average of 19089 is 20.4% higher than the R9 370X's 15862.

In OpenCL, the tables turn completely. The R9 370X scores 25893, which is 37.3% higher than the Tesla K20m's 16241. This is a substantial margin that suggests AMD's GCN architecture is better optimized for OpenCL workloads, likely due to the design's focus on compute shaders and asynchronous compute. The R9 370X's higher clock speeds (1030 MHz boost) and newer PCIe 3.0 interface may also contribute to this result, although the Tesla K20m has more shading units and higher memory bandwidth.

When placed in context of their nearest rivals, the two cards sit in different performance tiers. The Tesla K20m's average score of 19089 places it just 0.2% above the GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049) and 0.3% above the Radeon RX 6600 (19036), while being 0.4% below the GeForce GTX 780 (19164). The R9 370X's average of 15862 is 0.1% above the Radeon RX 7700 (15852) and 1.2% above the Radeon Pro W5500 (15679), but 1% below the Radeon RX 9060 (16014) and 1.7% below the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129). These deltas show that the Tesla K20m competes with modern midrange cards, while the R9 370X sits slightly lower, closer to entry-level modern offerings.

The texture and pixel rates reinforce the compute-centric nature of the Tesla K20m. It achieves 146.8 GTexel/s and 36.71 GPixel/s, while the R9 370X achieves 82.40 GTexel/s and 32.96 GPixel/s. The Tesla K20m leads in both metrics, though the pixel rate gap is smaller, suggesting the R9 370X is relatively more balanced in rasterization tasks.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in OpenCL workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 370X is significantly faster in OpenCL, scoring 25893 compared to the NVIDIA Tesla K20m's 16241, a 37.3% advantage. This makes it the clear choice for OpenCL-based compute tasks.

Q: What about Vulkan performance?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m dominates in Vulkan, scoring 21936 versus the R9 370X's 9018, a 143.2% lead. This is the largest performance gap recorded between the two cards in any test.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m has 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus, while the AMD Radeon R9 370X has 2 GB on a 256-bit bus. The Tesla K20m also has higher memory bandwidth at 208.0 GB/s versus 179.2 GB/s.

Q: Do both cards support modern APIs?

A: Yes. The Tesla K20m supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The R9 370X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The R9 370X has a slightly higher DirectX feature level.

Q: Which card has a higher overall benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m has a higher average benchmark score of 19089, compared to the AMD Radeon R9 370X's 15862. The Tesla K20m also ranks higher in the percentile of all GPUs at 64 versus 58.

Q: Can either card output video to a display?

A: Only the AMD Radeon R9 370X has display outputs, offering 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The NVIDIA Tesla K20m has no display outputs, making it a compute-only accelerator.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the NVIDIA Tesla K20m is the stronger overall performer, with a higher average benchmark score (19089 vs 15862), a better percentile ranking (64 vs 58), and a decisive win in Vulkan. It also offers more memory (5 GB vs 2 GB), higher memory bandwidth (208.0 GB/s vs 179.2 GB/s), more shading units (2496 vs 1280), and higher texture and pixel rates. For users prioritizing modern graphics APIs, compute density, or memory capacity, the Tesla K20m is the superior choice.

The AMD Radeon R9 370X, however, wins the OpenCL benchmark by a wide margin (25893 vs 16241) and offers lower power consumption (180 W vs 225 W), a smaller physical footprint (221 mm vs 267 mm), a PCIe 3.0 interface, and display outputs. It also has a lower suggested power supply requirement (450 W vs 550 W). For users running OpenCL-specific workloads, needing a card that can also drive displays, or operating within tighter power and space constraints, the R9 370X presents a compelling alternative.

The data suggests that the Tesla K20m is a compute-first accelerator with strong Vulkan performance, ideal for server environments or workstations where display output is handled by another GPU. The R9 370X is more versatile for desktop use, balancing compute capability with display functionality and lower power draw. Neither card is a clear winner across all metrics; the choice depends on whether the workload favors OpenCL or Vulkan, and whether display output and power efficiency take precedence over raw compute throughput.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla K20m | AMD Radeon R9 370X |

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

| Chip | GK110 | Trinidad |

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 1.0 |

| Generation | Tesla Kepler (Kxx) | Pirate Islands (R9 300) |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 2,800 million |

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 212 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 13.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not recorded | 980 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not recorded | 1030 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) | 1400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 5 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 320 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 208.0 GB/s | 179.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2496 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 208 | 80 |

| ROPs | 40 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 36.71 GPixel/s | 32.96 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 146.8 GTexel/s | 82.40 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.524 TFLOPS | 2.637 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 225 W | 180 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 450 W |

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

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.175 | 1.2.170 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 221 mm (8.7 inches) |

| Height | Not recorded | 111 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Release Date | 2013-01-04 | 2015-08-26 |

| Predecessor | Tesla Fermi | Volcanic Islands |

| Successor | Tesla Maxwell | Arctic Islands |

| Launch MSRP | 3,199 USD | 199 USD |