AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K80 Comparison

The Verdict

The data splits this comparison cleanly by workload type. The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the overwhelming choice for any Vulkan-based rendering or gaming workload, delivering a 325.4% higher Geekbench Vulkan score than the NVIDIA Tesla K80. The NVIDIA Tesla K80, however, wins the OpenCL compute test by 45.7%, making it the stronger option for compute-focused applications that rely on OpenCL. The RX 6650 XT also holds a higher overall benchmark percentile (65th vs 63rd) and a higher average benchmark score (19765 vs 18866), but the head-to-head results show a 1-1 split. For a buyer prioritizing modern graphics APIs and gaming, the RX 6650 XT is the clear pick. For raw OpenCL compute throughput in a dual-GPU accelerator, the Tesla K80 justifies its existence despite its age and architectural disadvantages.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different eras and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7M per mm². The NVIDIA Tesla K80 uses the GK210 chip with Kepler 2.0 architecture, also made by TSMC but on a much older 28 nm process. The K80 contains 7,100 million transistors spread across a larger 561 mm² die, giving it a significantly lower transistor density of just 12.7M per mm². The RX 6650 XT belongs to the Navi II (RX 6000) generation, while the Tesla K80 is part of the Tesla Kepler (Kxx) generation. The RX 6650 XT includes 32 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla K80, which has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The AMD card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla K80 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). Vulkan support also differs, with the RX 6650 XT at version 1.4 versus the K80's 1.2.175.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share only two benchmark results in the data, and they tell opposite stories. In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT scores 81,306 against the Tesla K80's 19,111. That is a 325.4% advantage for AMD, an enormous margin that reflects the architectural gulf between a modern RDNA 2.0 gaming GPU and a Kepler-era compute accelerator with no Vulkan-focused optimization. The RX 6650 XT's Vulkan result is more than four times higher, making it the definitive winner for any Vulkan-based rendering workload. In Geekbench OpenCL, the tables turn. The Tesla K80 scores 18,620 versus the RX 6650 XT's 10,111, a 45.7% lead for NVIDIA. The K80's OpenCL advantage likely stems from its dual-GPU design and compute-oriented Kepler architecture, which was built for scientific and data-center workloads. The RX 6650 XT also has a Geekbench Metal score of 97,969, though the Tesla K80 has no Metal result in the data, so no direct comparison is possible there.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 6650 XT has a base clock of 2055 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, while the Tesla K80 runs at a base of 562 MHz and a boost of 824 MHz. Memory configurations diverge sharply: the RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla K80 has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6650 XT uses a 7 nm process; the K80 uses 28 nm. Shading units favor NVIDIA at 2496 versus AMD's 2048, and texture mapping units also favor NVIDIA at 208 versus 128. The RX 6650 XT counters with 64 ROPs against the K80's 48. Pixel rate heavily favors AMD at 168.6 GPixel/s versus 42.85 GPixel/s, and texture rate favors AMD at 337.3 GTexel/s versus 171.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute favors AMD at 10.79 TFLOPS versus 4.113 TFLOPS, and the RX 6650 XT also offers FP16 at 21.59 TFLOPS (2:1), while the Tesla K80 has no listed FP16 capability. Power consumption differs significantly: the RX 6650 XT has a TDP of 176 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the Tesla K80 has a TDP of 300 W and a suggested PSU of 700 W. Both are dual-slot cards with a single 8-pin power connector. The RX 6650 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the K80 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are another major split — the RX 6650 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Tesla K80 has no display outputs at all. The K80 is physically longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches), while the RX 6650 XT's dimensions are not listed. Release dates are far apart: the RX 6650 XT launched on 2022-05-09, while the Tesla K80 launched on 2014-11-16. Both are end-of-life products. The RX 6650 XT has a launch MSRP of 399 USD; the Tesla K80 has no listed launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19,765, while the NVIDIA Tesla K80 scores 18,866, giving AMD a 899-point advantage.

Q: How does the Vulkan performance compare?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6650 XT scores 81,306 versus the Tesla K80's 19,111, a 325.4% difference in favor of AMD.

Q: Is the Tesla K80 better at any benchmark?

A: Yes. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla K80 scores 18,620 against the RX 6650 XT's 10,111, a 45.7% lead for NVIDIA.

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K80 has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6. However, the RX 6650 XT has higher memory bandwidth at 280.3 GB/s versus 240.6 GB/s.

Q: Can the Tesla K80 output video to a display?

A: No. The Tesla K80 has no display outputs, while the RX 6650 XT includes 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: What is the FP32 compute difference?

A: The RX 6650 XT delivers 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the Tesla K80 delivers 4.113 TFLOPS, making AMD roughly 2.6 times higher.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT wins decisively in Vulkan-based rendering, as shown by its 325.4% higher Geekbench Vulkan score. It also wins on pixel rate (168.6 GPixel/s vs 42.85 GPixel/s), texture rate (337.3 GTexel/s vs 171.4 GTexel/s), and FP32 compute (10.79 TFLOPS vs 4.113 TFLOPS). The RX 6650 XT is the only one of the two with display outputs, making it the sole option for any workload requiring a visual output. It also supports newer APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, and it offers FP16 compute at 21.59 TFLOPS. The RX 6650 XT has a higher percentile ranking at 65 versus the K80's 63, and it draws less power with a 176 W TDP versus 300 W. For gaming, modern graphics rendering, or any Vulkan-based application, the RX 6650 XT is the only reasonable choice from this data.

The NVIDIA Tesla K80 wins the OpenCL compute category with a 45.7% higher Geekbench OpenCL score. It also has more memory (12 GB vs 8 GB) and a wider memory bus (384 bit vs 128 bit), though its bandwidth is lower at 240.6 GB/s versus 280.3 GB/s. The K80 has more shading units (2496 vs 2048) and more texture mapping units (208 vs 128), though these advantages do not translate into higher texture or pixel rates. The K80 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface while the RX 6650 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which may matter in older systems. The Tesla K80's compute-oriented Kepler architecture, combined with its dual-GPU layout, makes it the stronger choice for OpenCL-based compute tasks like scientific simulation or data-center workloads. However, its lack of display outputs, lower clock speeds, and older 28 nm process limit its versatility. For users running OpenCL-heavy workloads in a server or compute environment, the Tesla K80 wins; for everything else, the RX 6650 XT dominates.