AMD Radeon R9 370X vs NVIDIA Tesla K80 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a split decision between these two end-of-life cards. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon R9 370X posts a score of 25,893, while the NVIDIA Tesla K80 records 18,620. That gives AMD a 28.1% advantage in this compute workload, a substantial margin that places the R9 370X clearly ahead in raw OpenCL throughput.

The tables turn completely in the Vulkan test. Here the Tesla K80 scores 19,111 against the R9 370X's 9,018. The delta is a massive 111.9% in NVIDIA's favor, meaning the Tesla K80 more than doubles the AMD card's Vulkan performance. This is not a marginal victory; it is a dominant one.

Looking at the aggregate picture, the Tesla K80 holds an average benchmark score of 18,866 across its recorded tests, while the R9 370X averages 15,862. The NVIDIA card sits at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the AMD card sits at the 58th percentile. Despite losing the OpenCL contest badly, the Tesla K80's overwhelming Vulkan advantage lifts its overall standing above the R9 370X.

The Tesla K80's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 at 18,789 (0.4% behind the K80), the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation at 18,954 (0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 at 19,030 (0.9% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 at 19,036 (0.9% ahead). This places the K80 in a tight cluster where small percentage swings separate cards, and its average score sits within 1% of four modern and professional alternatives.

The R9 370X's nearest rivals tell a similar story of tight grouping. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15,852 (0.1% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16,014 (1% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15,679 (1.2% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129 (1.7% ahead). The R9 370X therefore slots into a competitive band of cards that includes much newer hardware, though its absolute scores trail the Tesla K80's neighborhood by roughly 3,000 points.

The OpenCL result deserves closer scrutiny. The R9 370X's 25,893 score is not merely a win; it is a 28.1% blowout. In a database where rival cards often sit within a point or two of each other, a delta of this size indicates a fundamental advantage in how the AMD architecture handles OpenCL workloads. Conversely, the Vulkan result is even more extreme: a 111.9% delta means the Tesla K80 is performing at roughly double the level of the AMD card. Neither card is well-rounded across both APIs, and the data suggests that the choice between them depends heavily on the software environment.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural lineages entirely. The NVIDIA Tesla K80 uses the GK210 chip, built on the Kepler 2.0 architecture, part of the Tesla Kepler (Kxx) generation. The AMD Radeon R9 370X uses the Trinidad chip, built on GCN 1.0, part of the Pirate Islands (R9 300) generation. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the similarities end there.

The transistor counts differ dramatically. The Tesla K80 packs 7,100 million transistors onto a 561 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.7 million transistors per square millimeter. The R9 370X contains 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, with a density of 13.2 million per square millimeter. The K80's die is roughly 2.6 times larger in area and carries 2.5 times more transistors, making it a much more complex chip.

Clock speeds tell the opposite story. The R9 370X runs at a base clock of 980 MHz and a boost clock of 1,030 MHz. The Tesla K80 runs at just 562 MHz base and 824 MHz boost. The AMD card's base clock is nearly double the K80's base clock. This clock advantage helps explain why the R9 370X can outperform the K80 in OpenCL despite having far fewer compute resources on paper.

The memory subsystems also diverge. The Tesla K80 offers 12 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 240.6 GB/s of bandwidth at a memory clock of 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The R9 370X offers 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 179.2 GB/s at 1,400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective). The K80 has six times the memory capacity and roughly 34% more bandwidth, though the AMD card runs its memory at a higher clock speed.

Compute unit counts favor the NVIDIA card. The Tesla K80 has 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The K80 therefore has roughly 1.95 times the shading units, 2.6 times the TMUs, and 1.5 times the ROPs. Pixel rate on the K80 is 42.85 GPixel/s versus 32.96 GPixel/s on the R9 370X, and texture rate is 171.4 GTexel/s versus 82.40 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 4.113 TFLOPS for the K80 and 2.637 TFLOPS for the R9 370X.

The power profiles differ substantially. The Tesla K80 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with a single 8-pin power connector. The R9 370X has a TDP of 180 W, requires a 450 W suggested PSU, and uses two 6-pin connectors. Both are dual-slot cards, but the K80 draws 120 W more under load.

API support is broadly similar. Both cards support DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan, with the K80 at Vulkan 1.2.175 and the R9 370X at Vulkan 1.2.170. The Tesla K80 has no display outputs, as it is a compute-oriented accelerator, while the R9 370X offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2.

Where Each One Wins

The R9 370X wins decisively in OpenCL compute. Its 25,893 score against the K80's 18,620 represents a 28.1% lead, and this is the workload where the AMD card's higher clocks and GCN architecture shine. For applications that rely on OpenCL, the R9 370X is the clear choice between these two, despite its smaller memory footprint and lower raw compute specifications.

The Tesla K80 wins decisively in Vulkan. Its 19,111 score against the R9 370X's 9,018 is a 111.9% advantage, meaning the K80 delivers more than double the Vulkan performance. This makes the K80 the better option for any Vulkan-based workload, and the margin is so large that it dominates the overall average benchmark comparison.

For general compute density, the Tesla K80's larger memory pool (12 GB versus 2 GB) and higher bandwidth (240.6 GB/s versus 179.2 GB/s) make it better suited for large datasets. The R9 370X's 2 GB capacity is a hard constraint for many modern workloads, whereas the K80 can hold significantly more data on-card.

The R9 370X wins on physical footprint and power requirements. It is 221 mm long (8.7 inches) with a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches), compared to the K80's 267 mm length (10.5 inches). The R9 370X draws 180 W versus 300 W, and it requires a 450 W PSU rather than 700 W. For systems with power or space constraints, the AMD card is easier to integrate.

The Tesla K80 wins on aggregate performance. Its average benchmark score of 18,866 places it at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 370X's 15,862 places it at the 58th percentile. The K80 also sits in a tighter competitive band in the database, within 1% of cards like the RTX 2070 and RX 6600, whereas the R9 370X's band includes the RX 7700 and RTX 3060 Ti at similar distances.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The Tesla K80 uses the GK210 chip on Kepler 2.0 architecture, while the R9 370X uses the Trinidad chip on GCN 1.0. The K80 has 7,100 million transistors on a 561 mm² die; the R9 370X has 2,800 million on 212 mm². Transistor density is 12.7M per mm² for NVIDIA and 13.2M per mm² for AMD.

Clock speeds: the K80 runs at 562 MHz base and 824 MHz boost, while the R9 370X runs at 980 MHz base and 1,030 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1,253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the K80 and 1,400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective) for the R9 370X.

Memory: the K80 has 12 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.6 GB/s bandwidth; the R9 370X has 2 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s. The K80 has 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 48 ROPs; the R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Pixel rate is 42.85 GPixel/s for the K80 versus 32.96 GPixel/s for the R9 370X. Texture rate is 171.4 GTexel/s versus 82.40 GTexel/s. FP32 is 4.113 TFLOPS versus 2.637 TFLOPS.

Power: the K80 has a 300 W TDP with 1x 8-pin connector and a 700 W suggested PSU; the R9 370X has a 180 W TDP with 2x 6-pin connectors and a 450 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot.

Physical: the K80 is 267 mm long; the R9 370X is 221 mm long and 111 mm tall. The K80 has no display outputs; the R9 370X has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. Both use PCIe 3.0 x16.

Release dates differ: the K80 launched in November 2014, while the R9 370X launched in August 2015. The K80's predecessor is Tesla Fermi and its successor is Tesla Maxwell. The R9 370X's predecessor is Volcanic Islands and its successor is Arctic Islands. The R9 370X has a launch MSRP of 199 USD; the K80 has no recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in OpenCL workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 370X. It scores 25,893 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Tesla K80's 18,620, a 28.1% advantage.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan workloads?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K80. It scores 19,111 in Geekbench Vulkan versus the R9 370X's 9,018, a 111.9% advantage.

Q: How do the cards compare on memory capacity?

A: The Tesla K80 has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the R9 370X has 2 GB on a 256-bit bus. The K80 also has higher bandwidth at 240.6 GB/s versus 179.2 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher raw compute specifications?

A: The Tesla K80. It has 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and 4.113 TFLOPS FP32, compared to the R9 370X's 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 2.637 TFLOPS.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Tesla K80 has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with one 8-pin connector. The R9 370X has a 180 W TDP and requires a 450 W suggested PSU with two 6-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: Only the AMD Radeon R9 370X has display outputs: 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The NVIDIA Tesla K80 has no display outputs.