AMD Radeon R9 M275X vs NVIDIA Tesla C2070 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R9 M275X and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly three years of process technology evolution. The data shows a clear overall winner in raw benchmark performance, but a closer look reveals that each card was engineered for a distinct purpose, making the specification differences as important as the performance delta. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the AMD Radeon R9 M275X decisively outperforms the NVIDIA Tesla C2070, but the Tesla counters with a massive memory capacity advantage that tells a different story about their intended workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance. In this test, the AMD Radeon R9 M275X scores 11,200 points against the NVIDIA Tesla C2070's 9,716 points. That is a 15.3% advantage for the AMD card, a substantial margin that places it firmly ahead in synthetic compute workloads. The AMD card's average benchmark score of 10,582 also exceeds the Tesla's 9,716, reinforcing its overall performance lead.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, the AMD Radeon R9 M275X sits at the 49th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 6600S at an average score of 10,629, a mere 0.4% difference. This places the R9 M275X in tight competition with modern entry-level parts. The Tesla C2070, by contrast, sits at the 47th percentile, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9,724 points, just 0.1% higher. This shows that while the Tesla is older, it still holds its own against much newer professional cards.

The 15.3% delta in the head-to-head test is significant. It indicates that in raw computational throughput, the newer GCN architecture of the AMD card provides a decisive edge over the Fermi-based Tesla. However, the benchmark only tells part of the story. The Tesla's 6 GB of memory dwarfs the AMD card's 2 GB, which suggests that the Tesla was designed for datasets that would completely overwhelm the AMD card's frame buffer. In a compute scenario that fits within 2 GB, the AMD card wins handily; in a scenario requiring more than 2 GB, the Tesla would be the only option.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture using the Venus chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 1,500 million transistors on a die size of 123 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 uses the older Fermi architecture with the GF100 chip, manufactured on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. It packs 3,100 million transistors onto a much larger 529 mm² die, giving a transistor density of just 5.9 million per square millimeter.

This process difference is the root of the performance disparity. The 28 nm node allows the AMD chip to pack more transistors per area and run at higher efficiency. The AMD card has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. The Tesla, despite having more total transistors, has fewer shading units at 448, but compensates with more TMUs at 56 and significantly more ROPs at 48. This suggests the Tesla was designed with different workload characteristics in mind, favoring texture-heavy and pixel-heavy operations.

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The AMD card runs at a base clock of 900 MHz with a boost clock of 925 MHz, while the Tesla's core clock is not specified in the data. Memory clocks show a stark contrast: the AMD card runs its GDDR5 memory at 1,125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), while the Tesla runs at 747 MHz (3 Gbps effective). Despite the lower memory clock, the Tesla's 384-bit memory bus gives it a bandwidth of 143.4 GB/s, nearly double the AMD card's 72.00 GB/s from its 128-bit bus. This is a critical architectural divergence: the AMD card relies on higher clock speeds, while the Tesla leverages a wider memory interface for bandwidth-intensive tasks.

The API support also differs. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Tesla supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but has no Vulkan support listed. This makes the AMD card more versatile for modern applications that utilize Vulkan, while the Tesla is limited to older API pathways.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M275X wins in scenarios that favor raw compute throughput and modern API support. Its 1,184.0 GFLOPS of FP32 performance exceeds the Tesla's 1,027.7 GFLOPS, giving it an edge in general-purpose compute workloads that fit within its 2 GB memory capacity. The higher clock speeds and newer architecture also make it more efficient at shader-bound tasks, as evidenced by its 37.00 GTexel/s texture rate compared to the Tesla's 32.14 GTexel/s. The AMD card also has a higher pixel rate at 14.80 GPixel/s versus the Tesla's 16.07 GPixel/s, but the Tesla's advantage here is marginal.

The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 wins in memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 6 GB of GDDR5 memory is triple the AMD card's 2 GB, making it the clear choice for large datasets, scientific computing, or any workload that requires holding more data on the card. The 143.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth is nearly double the AMD card's 72.00 GB/s, which is critical for memory-bound operations like matrix multiplications or large database queries. The Tesla also has more TMUs (56 vs 40) and ROPs (48 vs 16), giving it an advantage in certain rendering pipelines. However, its lack of Vulkan support and lower OpenCL score make it less suitable for modern general-purpose compute.

For gaming or consumer workloads, the AMD card is the obvious winner. Its higher OpenCL score, modern API support, and lower power requirements make it more suitable for interactive applications. The Tesla, with its dual-slot design, 238 W TDP, and 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors, is clearly built for a workstation or server environment where power consumption is less of a concern and compute density is paramount.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M275X scores 11,200 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 15.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla C2070's score of 9,716.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is three times the 2 GB found on the AMD Radeon R9 M275X. The Tesla also has a wider 384-bit memory bus compared to the AMD card's 128-bit bus.

Q: What are the power requirements for the Tesla C2070?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 has a TDP of 238 W, requires a dual-slot cooler, and needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector. A 550 W power supply is suggested. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X does not have a listed TDP.

Q: Which GPU supports Vulkan?

A: Only the AMD Radeon R9 M275X supports Vulkan, with version 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 has no Vulkan support listed, though both cards support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: How do the pixel and texture rates compare?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla C2070 has a higher pixel rate at 16.07 GPixel/s versus the AMD card's 14.80 GPixel/s. However, the AMD card has a higher texture rate at 37.00 GTexel/s compared to the Tesla's 32.14 GTexel/s.

Q: What is the bus interface difference?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M275X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X uses the Venus chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 uses the GF100 chip with Fermi architecture. The process nodes differ significantly: 28 nm for AMD versus 40 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor counts are 1,500 million for AMD versus 3,100 million for NVIDIA, with die sizes of 123 mm² and 529 mm² respectively, giving transistor densities of 12.2M/mm² and 5.9M/mm².

Clock speeds show the AMD card running at 900 MHz base and 925 MHz boost, while the Tesla's core clocks are not specified. Memory clocks are 1,125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) for AMD versus 747 MHz (3 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA. Memory configurations are starkly different: 2 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth for AMD, versus 6 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 143.4 GB/s bandwidth for NVIDIA.

The compute units also differ: AMD has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while NVIDIA has 448 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Pixel rates are 14.80 GPixel/s for AMD and 16.07 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, while texture rates are 37.00 GTexel/s and 32.14 GTexel/s respectively. FP32 performance is 1,184.0 GFLOPS for AMD versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS for NVIDIA.

Power and physical specifications are only listed for the Tesla: 238 W TDP, dual-slot width, 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors, 550 W suggested PSU, and a length of 248 mm (9.8 inches). The AMD card has no listed TDP, slot width, or power connectors. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for NVIDIA. The Tesla also has a single DVI display output, while the AMD card's display outputs are not specified. Release dates differ by roughly two and a half years, with AMD launching on January 27, 2014, and NVIDIA on July 24, 2011.