AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20m Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and NVIDIA Tesla K20m represent two very different eras and purposes in GPU design. The RX 5600 XT is a modern consumer gaming card built on a 7 nm process, while the Tesla K20m is a compute-oriented accelerator from 2013 built on 28 nm. The benchmark data shows a clear performance gap, with the RX 5600 XT winning both shared tests by significant margins, but the Tesla’s architecture and feature set tell a distinct story about its intended workload.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is the clear winner in every benchmark where both cards appear. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 5600 XT scores 68537 against the Tesla K20m’s 16241, a 322% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 5600 XT posts 56218 versus 21936, a 156.3% lead. These results indicate that the RX 5600 XT is overwhelmingly faster in general-purpose compute and modern graphics API workloads. Its win count stands at 2, with the Tesla K20m failing to secure a single victory in the head-to-head tests.

The Tesla K20m, however, is positioned for a different role. It has no display outputs, meaning it is not designed for gaming or desktop use. Its strengths lie in professional compute tasks that rely on its 2496 shading units and 208 texture mapping units. While the data shows it loses decisively in raw throughput, its architecture was built for high-performance computing (HPC) and scientific simulations where driver optimizations and specific libraries matter more than consumer benchmarks. The RX 5600 XT, with its 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs, is better suited for rasterization and DirectX 12 titles.

For a user choosing between these two, the decision is straightforward: the RX 5600 XT is the superior choice for any workload involving graphics, gaming, or modern API support. The Tesla K20m, despite its age, may still hold relevance in legacy compute environments where its Kepler architecture and 5 GB of GDDR5 memory are sufficient, but the benchmark data provides no evidence of it winning in any tested scenario.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The RX 5600 XT uses AMD’s RDNA 1.0 architecture on the Navi 10 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It packs 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M / mm². In contrast, the Tesla K20m uses NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture on the GK110 chip, built on a 28 nm process, also by TSMC. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a much larger 561 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of only 12.6M / mm².

These process differences explain the performance gap. The RX 5600 XT’s smaller, denser transistor design allows for higher clock speeds and efficiency. Its base clock is 1130 MHz with a boost of 1560 MHz, while the Tesla K20m has no listed base or boost clocks in the data. The memory subsystems also differ: the RX 5600 XT uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the Tesla K20m has 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus, providing 208.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Feature support further separates them. The RX 5600 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the Tesla K20m supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RX 5600 XT also includes display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the Tesla K20m has no outputs. The bus interface differs as well: PCIe 4.0 x16 for the AMD card versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for the NVIDIA card, which can impact data transfer speeds in bandwidth-sensitive workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two shared benchmarks are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the RX 5600 XT dominates both. In OpenCL, the RX 5600 XT scores 68537, which is 322% higher than the Tesla K20m’s 16241. This is an enormous margin, reflecting the combined benefits of newer architecture, faster memory, and higher clock speeds. The RX 5600 XT’s FP32 throughput is 7.188 TFLOPS, exactly double the Tesla’s 3.524 TFLOPS, which correlates with the compute benchmark results.

In Vulkan, the RX 5600 XT scores 56218 against 21936, a 156.3% lead. Vulkan is a modern low-overhead API, and the RX 5600 XT’s support for Vulkan 1.4 gives it a distinct advantage over the Tesla’s older 1.2.175 implementation. The Tesla K20m also lacks FP16 support entirely, with a null value in that field, while the RX 5600 XT delivers 14.38 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). This makes the AMD card more versatile for mixed-precision workloads.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the RX 5600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20713 across all tests, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, 0.2% delta), Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.6% delta), Intel Arc B570 (20556, 0.8% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.9% delta). The Tesla K20m, meanwhile, has an average score of 19089, sitting in the 64th percentile, with rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049, 0.2% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19036, 0.3% delta), NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030, 0.3% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (19164, -0.4% delta). The deltaPct values show that both cards are tightly clustered with their respective peers, but the absolute gap between the two is substantial—over 1600 points in average score.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT delivers 7.188 TFLOPS FP32, which is more than double the Tesla K20m’s 3.524 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the Tesla K20m support FP16 compute?

A: No. The Tesla K20m has no FP16 data listed (null value), while the RX 5600 XT offers 14.38 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 5600 XT has 288.0 GB/s bandwidth from 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, versus the Tesla K20m’s 208.0 GB/s from 5 GB GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus.

Q: Can the Tesla K20m be used for display output?

A: No. The Tesla K20m has no display outputs, whereas the RX 5600 XT includes 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RX 5600 XT has 41.0M transistors per mm², compared to the Tesla K20m’s 12.6M per mm², due to its 7 nm process.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 5600 XT averages 20713 across all tests, while the Tesla K20m averages 19089, a difference of 1624 points.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT | NVIDIA Tesla K20m |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | Kepler |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 10,300 million | 7,080 million |

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 41.0M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1130 MHz | Not listed |

| Boost Clock | 1560 MHz | Not listed |

| Game Clock | 1375 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 5 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 320 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 208.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 2496 |

| TMUs | 144 | 208 |

| ROPs | 64 | 40 |

| Pixel Rate | 99.84 GPixel/s | 36.71 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 224.6 GTexel/s | 146.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.188 TFLOPS | 3.524 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 14.38 TFLOPS (2:1) | Not listed |

| TDP | 150 W | 225 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2020-01-20 | 2013-01-04 |

| Launch MSRP | 279 USD | 3,199 USD |

The RX 5600 XT is built on a far more advanced process with higher clocks, faster memory, and modern API support, while the Tesla K20m offers more shading units and TMUs but is hampered by older technology and a higher power draw. The launch MSRP difference is substantial, with the Tesla costing 3,199 USD at launch versus 279 USD for the AMD card, reflecting their different market positions.