AMD Radeon RX 580 vs NVIDIA Tesla K10 Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is decisively one-sided in the only head-to-head test available. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 37,453 against the NVIDIA Tesla K10's 14,029. That is a 62.5% advantage for the RX 580, meaning the AMD card delivers roughly 2.7 times the compute throughput in this workload. The delta is stark enough that no amount of driver tuning or workload selection is likely to close the gap.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RX 580's nearest rivals cluster around its average score of 12,928. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits just 0.1% behind, the GTX 1660 SUPER trails by 0.4%, and the AMD Radeon 740M comes in 0.5% behind. The Tesla K10's average benchmark score of 14,029 places it slightly higher than the RX 580's average, but that single OpenCL score is the only data point for the K10. The RX 580's OpenCL result alone is more than double the K10's, so the K10's higher average is misleading—it reflects a lack of comparable test coverage rather than genuine superiority.

In terms of overall GPU population placement, the Tesla K10 sits at the 55th percentile, while the RX 580 lands at the 53rd percentile. These are nearly identical positions, but the percentile ranking masks the massive gap in the head-to-head compute test. The K10's position is buoyed by its single strong OpenCL score, whereas the RX 580's percentile is dragged down by weaker results in specific API tests like Passmark DirectX 9 (124) and Passmark DirectX 10 (46).

# Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is fundamental. The Tesla K10 is built on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture, using the GK104 chip fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0 million per square millimeter. The RX 580, by contrast, uses AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture with the Polaris 20 chip, built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process. It crams 5,700 million transistors into a smaller 232 mm² die, achieving a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter—more than double the K10's density.

The compute resources diverge sharply. The K10 fields 1,536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 580 counters with 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. That is 50% more shading units and 12.5% more texture units on the AMD side, with equal ROP counts. The FP32 throughput reflects this: the K10 delivers 2.289 TFLOPS, while the RX 580 hits 6.175 TFLOPS—approximately 2.7 times higher. The RX 580 also offers FP16 at 6.175 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the K10 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory subsystems also differ meaningfully. The K10 comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, running at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 580 doubles capacity to 8 GB, keeps the same 256-bit bus, but runs memory at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) for 256.0 GB/s—60% more bandwidth. Pixel and texture rates scale accordingly, with the RX 580 at 42.88 GPixel/s and 193.0 GTexel/s versus the K10's 23.84 GPixel/s and 95.36 GTexel/s.

API support shows the generational gap. The K10 supports DirectX 12 at feature level 11_0, while the RX 580 supports full DirectX 12 at 12_0. Vulkan support also differs, with the K10 at version 1.2.175 and the RX 580 at 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

# Where Each One Wins

The RX 580 wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark by a wide margin, but the data also shows areas where the K10 holds its own. The K10's single Geekbench OpenCL score of 14,029 is higher than the RX 580's average benchmark score of 12,928, which suggests that in pure OpenCL compute tasks, the K10 might outperform the RX 580's average across all its benchmarks. However, the RX 580's OpenCL score of 37,453 demolishes that notion—the K10's best result is less than half of what the RX 580 achieves in the same test.

Where the K10 might have a niche is in its Kepler architecture's compute characteristics. It was designed for Tesla workloads, which historically favor certain compute patterns. But with only one benchmark result available, there is no data to substantiate any particular strength beyond that single OpenCL score.

The RX 580 demonstrates broad capability across multiple APIs. Its Passmark G3D score of 8,813 and Passmark GPU Compute score of 3,488 indicate solid general-purpose rendering and compute performance. The Geekbench Metal score of 45,235 and Vulkan score of 45,173 show strong cross-platform performance. The RX 580 also excels in legacy DirectX tests, scoring 124 in Passmark DirectX 9, which is notably higher than its DirectX 11 score of 60 and DirectX 12 score of 43.

The RX 580's 8 GB memory capacity gives it a clear advantage in workloads that exceed the K10's 4 GB frame buffer. The 60% higher memory bandwidth also benefits texture-heavy scenes and compute tasks that stream large datasets. The K10's dual-slot form factor with no display outputs positions it purely as a compute accelerator, while the RX 580 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it a viable graphics card for displays.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla K10 | AMD Radeon RX 580 |

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

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 4.0 |

| Chip | GK104 | Polaris 20 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 3,540 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.0M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | — | 1257 MHz |

| Boost Clock | — | 1340 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 160.0 GB/s | 256.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 128 | 144 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| FP32 | 2.289 TFLOPS | 6.175 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | — | 6.175 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 225 W | 185 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 450 W |

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

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.3 |

| Length | 272 mm (10.7 inches) | 241 mm (9.5 inches) |

| Release Date | 2012-04-30 | 2017-04-17 |

| Launch MSRP | 5,099 USD | 229 USD |

# FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 is dramatically faster, scoring 37,453 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Tesla K10's 14,029. That is a 62.5% advantage for the RX 580.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RX 580 supports DirectX 12 at feature level 12_0, while the Tesla K10 only supports DirectX 12 at feature level 11_0. This means the RX 580 is compatible with newer DirectX 12 features.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The Tesla K10 has 4 GB of GDDR5, while the RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5. Both use a 256-bit memory bus, but the RX 580's memory runs faster, providing 256.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 160.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher power requirements?

A: The Tesla K10 has a 225 W TDP and requires a 550 W power supply, while the RX 580 has a 185 W TDP and suggests a 450 W power supply. The K10 also needs both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, whereas the RX 580 only needs a single 8-pin.

Q: Can either card output video to a display?

A: Only the RX 580 has display outputs, offering 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Tesla K10 has no display outputs, making it a compute-only accelerator.

Q: What are the release dates for these cards?

A: The Tesla K10 was released on 2012-04-30, while the RX 580 came out nearly five years later on 2017-04-17. Both are now end-of-life products.

# The Verdict

The data paints an unambiguous picture: the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the superior product for virtually any workload. Its 62.5% lead in the head-to-head OpenCL benchmark is overwhelming, and its architectural advantages—50% more shading units, 2.7 times the FP32 throughput, double the memory capacity, and 60% more bandwidth—leave the Tesla K10 in a different performance class entirely.

The K10's only claim to relevance is its 55th percentile placement versus the RX 580's 53rd, but that ranking comes from a single benchmark score. When directly compared, the RX 580 more than doubles the K10's compute output. The K10's 5,099 USD launch MSRP against the RX 580's 229 USD launch MSRP further underscores the generational gulf; the RX 580 achieves far more at a fraction of the cost.

For builders and system integrators choosing between these two, the RX 580 is the clear pick. It offers modern API support with DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3, display outputs for general use, lower power consumption at 185 W versus 225 W, and a smaller footprint at 241 mm versus 272 mm. The only scenario where the K10 might be considered is if a system specifically requires Kepler-based compute characteristics or has a proprietary workload tuned for that architecture—but the benchmark data does not support any such advantage.

The RX 580's broad benchmark suite shows it handles legacy DirectX 9 workloads well (124 in Passmark DX9) and modern APIs even better, with strong Vulkan and Metal scores. Its 8 GB frame buffer future-proofs it for larger textures and datasets. The Tesla K10, with 4 GB and no display outputs, is a relic of a different era in GPU computing. For anyone building a system today with these two options, the RX 580 wins on every measurable axis.