AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20m Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20m has an average benchmark score of 19089, while the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 17083. The Tesla K20m sits at the 64th percentile of all GPUs, whereas the RX 7600 XT is at the 60th percentile.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The RX 7600 XT records a Geekbench OpenCL score of 92426, which is 82.4% higher than the Tesla K20m's 16241. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards in any shared benchmark.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m is equipped with 5 GB of GDDR5. The RX 7600 XT also has a wider memory bandwidth at 288.0 GB/s compared to 208.0 GB/s on the Tesla.

Q: Which GPU has higher shading unit count?

A: The Tesla K20m has 2496 shading units, which exceeds the RX 7600 XT's 2048 shading units. However, the RX 7600 XT compensates with significantly higher clock speeds, boosting to 2755 MHz versus no listed boost clock for the Tesla.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The Tesla K20m is marked as end-of-life, with a release date of January 2013. The RX 7600 XT is listed as active, released in January 2024.

Q: Which GPU supports the newer DirectX version?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla K20m is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). The RX 7600 XT also supports Vulkan 1.4 versus Vulkan 1.2.175 on the Tesla.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split in use cases. For raw compute throughput in modern APIs, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT dominates the head-to-head benchmarks. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 48366 is 54.6% higher than the Tesla K20m's 21936, and its OpenCL score of 92426 is 82.4% higher. If the workload involves current graphics APIs, the RX 7600 XT is the consistent winner.

However, the Tesla K20m holds a higher average benchmark score overall (19089 versus 17083) and a better percentile rank (64th versus 60th). This suggests that the Tesla's older compute-oriented design, with 2496 shading units and a 320-bit memory bus, still performs competitively in legacy or compute-specific scenarios. The Tesla also has a much larger die (561 mm² versus 204 mm²) and more transistors per die area is lower (12.6M per mm² versus 65.2M per mm²), reflecting different design philosophies.

For modern gaming, graphics workloads, or any task requiring display outputs, the RX 7600 XT is the only option since the Tesla has no display outputs. The RX 7600 XT also offers 16 GB of VRAM versus 5 GB, which matters for large datasets. For pure compute in older APIs or where the Tesla's 225 W TDP is acceptable, the K20m remains viable. The verdict: the RX 7600 XT for contemporary workloads and graphics, the Tesla K20m for legacy compute tasks where its higher average score applies.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only two shared benchmarks exist between these cards, and the RX 7600 XT wins both.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7600 XT scores 92426 against the Tesla's 16241. This is a delta of 82.4% in favor of the AMD card. The margin is substantial, indicating that the RX 7600 XT's architecture, with its 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, far outpaces the Tesla's 3.524 TFLOPS in this workload. The RX 7600 XT also has a 1:1 FP16 ratio at 22.57 TFLOPS, while the Tesla has no listed FP16 capability, which may contribute to its compute advantage.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 7600 XT again wins with 48366 versus 21936, a 54.6% lead. The Vulkan gap is smaller than the OpenCL gap, but still decisive. The Tesla's Vulkan 1.2.175 support is older than the RX 7600 XT's Vulkan 1.4, and the driver maturity for modern APIs on a 2013 card likely limits its performance. The RX 7600 XT's 32 ray tracing cores also provide hardware acceleration that the Tesla lacks, though ray tracing performance is not directly measured in these shared tests.

The wins are evenly distributed in terms of count: the RX 7600 XT wins 2, the Tesla wins 0. There are no tests where the Tesla outperforms the RX 7600 XT in the direct comparison. The Tesla's higher average benchmark score comes from other tests in its broader benchmark suite, not from these head-to-head results.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification field.

Memory: The RX 7600 XT has 16 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla K20m has 5 GB GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has more capacity and bandwidth, but the Tesla has a wider bus.

Clocks: The RX 7600 XT has explicit base (1980 MHz), boost (2755 MHz), and game (2470 MHz) clocks. The Tesla lists only a memory clock of 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), with no base or boost clock specified.

Shading units: The Tesla has 2496, the RX 7600 XT has 2048. Texture mapping units: 208 versus 128. Raster operations units: 40 versus 64. The RX 7600 XT has more ROPs but fewer shading units and TMUs.

Compute rates: The RX 7600 XT delivers 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.57 TFLOPS FP16, while the Tesla delivers 3.524 TFLOPS FP32 and no listed FP16. Pixel rate: 176.3 GPixel/s versus 36.71 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 352.6 GTexel/s versus 146.8 GTexel/s.

Power and connectivity: The Tesla has a 225 W TDP with a suggested 550 W PSU and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors. The RX 7600 XT has a 190 W TDP with a suggested 450 W PSU and a single 8-pin connector.

Bus interface: The Tesla uses PCIe 2.0 x16, the RX 7600 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs: the Tesla has none, the RX 7600 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.1.

Dimensions: The Tesla is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long. The RX 7600 XT is 204 mm (8 inches) long and 115 mm (4.5 inches) high.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational and fundamental.

The Tesla K20m uses the GK110 chip based on the Kepler architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². Kepler was designed for compute acceleration, which is reflected in its high shading unit count and wide memory bus.

The RX 7600 XT uses the Navi 33 chip based on RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed "Hotpink Bonefish". It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, containing 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 65.2M per mm², over five times higher than the Tesla. RDNA 3.0 is a gaming-focused architecture with explicit support for ray tracing (32 RT cores) and a 1:1 FP16 ratio.

The Tesla has no RT cores or tensor cores listed. The RX 7600 XT has 32 RT cores but also no tensor cores. The Tesla supports DirectX 12 (11_0) while the RX 7600 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan versions differ: 1.2.175 on the Tesla versus 1.4 on the RX 7600 XT. OpenGL is the same at 4.6.

The die size difference is notable: 561 mm² versus 204 mm². The Tesla uses a much larger physical die to achieve its transistor count, while the RX 7600 XT packs more transistors into a smaller area through advanced process technology. The Tesla's generation is "Tesla Kepler (Kxx)" while the RX 7600 XT is "Navi III (RX 7000)". The Tesla's predecessor is Tesla Fermi and successor is Tesla Maxwell. The RX 7600 XT's predecessor is Navi II and successor is Navi IV.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT wins in every direct head-to-head benchmark recorded. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 92426 is 82.4% higher, and its Geekbench Vulkan score of 48366 is 54.6% higher. The RX 7600 XT also wins on memory capacity (16 GB versus 5 GB), bandwidth (288.0 GB/s versus 208.0 GB/s), FP32 throughput (22.57 TFLOPS versus 3.524 TFLOPS), and pixel rate (176.3 GPixel/s versus 36.71 GPixel/s). It has display outputs, making it suitable for any graphics or gaming application. Its 190 W TDP is lower than the Tesla's 225 W, and it requires a less powerful PSU (450 W versus 550 W).

The NVIDIA Tesla K20m wins on shading unit count (2496 versus 2048), TMU count (208 versus 128), and memory bus width (320-bit versus 128-bit). Its average benchmark score of 19089 exceeds the RX 7600 XT's 17083, and its percentile rank is higher (64th versus 60th). The Tesla also has a lower launch MSRP? No, the Tesla's launch MSRP is 3,199 USD versus 329 USD for the RX 7600 XT. The Tesla's higher average score suggests it performs well in certain compute workloads not covered by the head-to-head tests.

For users prioritizing modern graphics APIs, ray tracing, large VRAM capacity, or any display output, the RX 7600 XT is the clear choice. For users running legacy compute applications that favor Kepler's design, or where the Tesla's wider memory bus and higher shading unit count matter, the Tesla K20m retains a niche. The data shows the RX 7600 XT as the superior card for current workloads, while the Tesla's strengths are confined to its higher aggregate benchmark standing and specific architectural features.