AMD Radeon RX 560X vs NVIDIA Tesla K20m Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla K20m and AMD Radeon RX 560X are two very different graphics cards from different eras and market segments, yet their average benchmark scores place them in a similar performance class. The data shows a near-even split in the head-to-head benchmarks: the AMD card wins one test, and the NVIDIA card wins the other. The Tesla K20m holds a 0.2% average score advantage over the RX 560X (19089 vs 18626), but the RX 560X is a significantly more modern and efficient design. This comparison is about choosing between raw compute throughput and modern feature support.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two cards split the two available benchmark tests, with each taking a decisive victory in different workloads. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 560X scores 17020, which is 4.6% higher than the Tesla K20m’s 16241. This is a clear win for the AMD card, and it aligns with the RX 560X’s more modern architecture and higher clock speeds. The delta is notable because the Tesla K20m has significantly more shading units, but the RX 560X still manages to outperform it in this compute-oriented test.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells the opposite story, with the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scoring 21936 against the RX 560X’s 20231. This represents an 8.4% advantage for the NVIDIA card, which is a substantial margin. The Vulkan result is particularly interesting because it suggests the Kepler architecture handles the lower-level API overhead better than the GCN 4.0 implementation in this specific test, despite the RX 560X having a newer Vulkan API version. The Tesla K20m’s win here is its largest victory and demonstrates that its older design still has considerable compute strength.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the Tesla K20m’s average score of 19089 places it in the 64th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, which scores 19049, a 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 560X, with an average score of 18626, sits in the 62nd percentile. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT at 18685, which is 0.3% higher. The RX 560X is also 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA Tesla K80. These percentile rankings show that while the two cards are close in overall performance, the Tesla K20m has a slight edge in the aggregate statistics.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is massive, stemming from different design philosophies and fabrication processes. The Tesla K20m uses the GK110 chip on the Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This chip contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 560X uses the Polaris 21 chip on GCN 4.0, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 3,000 million transistors on a much smaller 123 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The data shows the AMD chip is more than twice as dense, reflecting the newer manufacturing node.

The compute configurations are equally divergent. The Tesla K20m packs 2496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 40 ROPs. The RX 560X has 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer than half the shading units, the RX 560X achieves competitive performance due to its higher clock speeds, which are listed at 1175 MHz base and 1275 MHz boost. The Tesla K20m’s base and boost clocks are not provided in the data, but its memory clock is 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) compared to the RX 560X’s 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card compensates with a 320-bit memory bus and 5 GB of GDDR5, delivering 208.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 560X uses a 128-bit bus with 4 GB and 112.0 GB/s. The Tesla K20m also has a significant advantage in pixel rate (36.71 GPixel/s vs 20.40 GPixel/s) and texture rate (146.8 GTexel/s vs 81.60 GTexel/s), as well as FP32 throughput (3.524 TFLOPS vs 2.611 TFLOPS). The RX 560X does support FP16 at 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1), a feature the Tesla K20m lacks.

Power and interface differences are stark. The Tesla K20m has a 225 W TDP, requires a 550 W PSU, and needs both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector. The RX 560X has a 75 W TDP, requires only a 250 W PSU, and draws all power from the PCIe slot with no external connectors. The Tesla K20m uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the RX 560X uses PCIe 3.0 x8. The AMD card also has display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the Tesla K20m has no display outputs at all, marking it as a compute-only accelerator.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the choice between these cards depends heavily on the workload and platform constraints. The Tesla K20m is the stronger compute card in terms of raw specifications, with higher FP32 throughput, texture rate, pixel rate, and memory bandwidth. It also wins the Vulkan benchmark by 8.4%. However, it is a large, power-hungry card with no display outputs and a 225 W TDP. The RX 560X, while losing on raw specs, wins the OpenCL benchmark by 4.6%, offers a modern feature set including FP16 support, and operates at just 75 W with no additional power connectors. For a builder needing a compute accelerator with maximum throughput and who has the power and space budget, the Tesla K20m is the data-backed choice. For anyone needing a card that can also output video, fits in a small case, and runs on a minimal PSU, the RX 560X is the practical pick. The data does not support a universal winner, only a workload-specific one.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla K20m | AMD Radeon RX 560X |

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

| Chip | GK110 | Polaris 21 |

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

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

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 123 mm² |

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

| Base Clock | Not provided | 1175 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not provided | 1275 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps) | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps) |

| Memory Size | 5 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 320 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 208.0 GB/s | 112.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2496 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 208 | 64 |

| ROPs | 40 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 36.71 GPixel/s | 20.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 146.8 GTexel/s | 81.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.524 TFLOPS | 2.611 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not provided | 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 225 W | 75 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

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

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.3 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 170 mm (6.7 inches) |

| Release Date | 2013-01-04 | 2018-04-10 |

| Launch MSRP | 3,199 USD | Not provided |

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m has a higher average benchmark score of 19089, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 560X’s 18626.

Q: How much faster is the RX 560X in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RX 560X scores 17020, which is 4.6% higher than the Tesla K20m’s 16241.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The Tesla K20m has a TDP of 225 W, while the RX 560X has a TDP of 75 W. The RX 560X also requires no external power connectors, unlike the Tesla K20m’s 6-pin and 8-pin setup.

Q: Does the Tesla K20m support FP16 computations?

A: No. The data lists FP16 support only for the RX 560X, at 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1). The Tesla K20m’s FP16 performance is not provided.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The Tesla K20m has 2496 shading units, while the RX 560X has 1024. Despite this, the RX 560X wins the OpenCL benchmark.

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

A: No. The Tesla K20m has no display outputs, whereas the RX 560X includes 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA Tesla K20m Wins:

• Vulkan Compute: The Tesla K20m scores 21936 in Geekbench Vulkan, beating the RX 560X by 8.4%. This is its strongest victory.
• Raw Compute Throughput: The data shows the Tesla K20m has higher FP32 (3.524 TFLOPS vs 2.611 TFLOPS), texture rate (146.8 GTexel/s vs 81.60 GTexel/s), and pixel rate (36.71 GPixel/s vs 20.40 GPixel/s).
• Memory Bandwidth: With a 320-bit bus and 5 GB of GDDR5, the Tesla K20m delivers 208.0 GB/s, nearly double the RX 560X’s 112.0 GB/s.
• Overall Average Score: The Tesla K20m’s average benchmark score of 19089 is 463 points higher than the RX 560X’s 18626.

AMD Radeon RX 560X Wins:

• OpenCL Compute: The RX 560X scores 17020 in Geekbench OpenCL, beating the Tesla K20m’s 16241 by 4.6%.
• Efficiency: The RX 560X has a 75 W TDP with no external power connectors, versus the Tesla K20m’s 225 W TDP and dual power connectors. The suggested PSU is also 250 W versus 550 W.
• Modern Features: The RX 560X supports FP16 (2.611 TFLOPS), has a newer Vulkan API version (1.3 vs 1.2.175), and supports DirectX 12 (12_0) versus the Tesla K20m’s DirectX 12 (11_0).
• Physical Footprint: The RX 560X is 170 mm long, substantially shorter than the Tesla K20m’s 267 mm, and has display outputs for video connectivity.
• Transistor Density: The RX 560X’s 14 nm process yields a density of 24.4M / mm², compared to the Tesla K20m’s 12.6M / mm² on 28 nm.