AMD Radeon RX 7700 vs NVIDIA Tesla K40c Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla K40c and AMD Radeon RX 7700 represent two very different eras of GPU design. The K40c is a compute-oriented accelerator from the Kepler generation, built on a 28 nm process, while the RX 7700 is a modern consumer graphics card based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and a 5 nm node. The recorded benchmark data shows a decisive overall advantage for the AMD card, but the comparison is far from simple. The Tesla K40c still occupies a specific niche in the database, and its legacy features matter for certain workloads. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 wins the only shared benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by a massive margin, scoring 106028 against 17468. That is a performance difference of roughly 83.5 percent in favor of the RX 7700. The RX 7700 also holds a higher average benchmark score across its recorded tests, though its percentile ranking sits slightly lower than the K40c's. This article breaks down the architecture, the benchmark results, and the practical implications of choosing between these two cards.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for nearly any modern workload: the AMD Radeon RX 7700. In the only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded, the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 7700 scores 106028, while the Tesla K40c scores 17468. That is a difference of 83.5 percent, which is not a marginal improvement but a generational leap. The RX 7700 also brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, a 624.1 GB/s memory bandwidth, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, features that make it suitable for current gaming and general-purpose compute. The Tesla K40c, by contrast, has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth, and only DirectX 12 (11_0) support. For anyone building a system today, the RX 7700 is the obvious choice from the recorded data.

However, the Tesla K40c is not without a role. Its percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database is 61, which is higher than the RX 7700's percentile of 58. This is partly because the K40c's average benchmark score of 17468 is bolstered by its single recorded test, while the RX 7700's average score of 15852 is pulled down by lower scores in some legacy DirectX tests. The K40c also has a higher transistor density per square millimeter in terms of its architecture age, and it was designed for compute tasks that prioritize double-precision or specific Kepler-era optimizations. The launch MSRP of the K40c was 7,699 USD, a figure that reflects its enterprise positioning at release. For legacy compute environments that rely on Kepler-specific code or for archival systems, the K40c remains a functional option. For any new purchase, the RX 7700 dominates the measured metrics.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c uses the GK180 chip, built on the Kepler architecture and manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a die size of 561 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 uses the Navi 32 chip, based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, also manufactured by TSMC but on a 5 nm process. It packs 28,100 million transistors into a smaller die of 346 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 81.2 million per square millimeter. This density difference is staggering and explains much of the performance gap.

The compute resources also differ significantly. The K40c has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. The RX 7700 has fewer shading units at 2,560, fewer TMUs at 160, but more ROPs at 96. The RX 7700 also includes 40 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the K40c. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the K40c runs at a base clock of 745 MHz and a boost clock of 876 MHz, while the RX 7700 runs at 1900 MHz base, 2459 MHz boost, and a game clock of 2041 MHz. The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The K40c uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7700 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 624.1 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory type and higher effective speed of 19.5 Gbps give the RX 7700 more than double the bandwidth.

Feature support also separates the two. The K40c supports PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 7700 supports PCIe 4.0 x16. The RX 7700 has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C), while the K40c has no display outputs at all, indicating its compute-only design. The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the K40c is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6. The RX 7700 also delivers FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, both at 25.18 TFLOPS, while the K40c only lists FP32 at 5.046 TFLOPS. The power profiles differ as well: the K40c has a TDP of 245 W and requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, while the RX 7700 has a TDP of 200 W and requires two 8-pin connectors. Both cards are dual-slot and share the same length of 267 mm, but the RX 7700 adds height and width dimensions of 135 mm and 50 mm, respectively.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 wins in almost every measurable category from the database. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 106028 is 83.5 percent higher than the K40c's 17468. In the Passmark suite, the RX 7700 records a G3D score of 20974, a GPU compute score of 10963, and a G2D score of 1206. It also scores 261 in DirectX 9, 186 in DirectX 11, 96 in DirectX 12, and 92 in DirectX 10 tests. These numbers indicate strong performance across both modern and legacy APIs. The RX 7700 also has a higher pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s, compared to the K40c's 52.56 GPixel/s and 210.2 GTexel/s. In memory bandwidth, the RX 7700's 624.1 GB/s is more than double the K40c's 288.4 GB/s. The RX 7700 also supports ray tracing, which the K40c does not.

The Tesla K40c's advantages are narrower and more historical. Its percentile ranking of 61 is higher than the RX 7700's 58, which suggests that in the database's broader context, the K40c's single benchmark places it in a slightly better relative position compared to all GPUs. However, this is a statistical artifact of the limited test data. The K40c also has a wider memory bus at 384 bits, though the RX 7700's higher bandwidth negates this advantage. For workloads that specifically require Kepler architecture features or that were optimized for the GK180 chip, the K40c could still be relevant. The K40c's FP32 performance of 5.046 TFLOPS is far below the RX 7700's 25.18 TFLOPS, but for certain scientific computing tasks that rely on older CUDA libraries, the K40c might integrate more easily with legacy software stacks. The K40c is also end-of-life, while the RX 7700 is active in production, meaning the latter has ongoing driver support and availability.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 106028, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468. The RX 7700 leads by 83.5 percent.

Q: Does the Tesla K40c support ray tracing?

A: No. The K40c has no ray tracing cores listed in its specifications. The RX 7700 includes 40 ray tracing cores.

Q: What are the memory capacities of these two cards?

A: The Tesla K40c has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7700 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher TDP?

A: The Tesla K40c has a TDP of 245 W, while the RX 7700 has a TDP of 200 W. Both recommend a 550 W power supply.

Q: Can the Tesla K40c output video to a display?

A: No. The K40c has no display outputs. The RX 7700 has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C outputs.

Q: Which card has better DirectX support?

A: The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the K40c supports only DirectX 12 (11_0). The RX 7700 also supports Vulkan 1.4, compared to the K40c's Vulkan 1.2.175.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark shared between the two cards in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The results are lopsided. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 106028, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468. The percentage difference, as recorded, is 83.5 percent in favor of the RX 7700. This single result encapsulates the generational gap between the two architectures. The RX 7700's FP32 throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS is roughly five times the K40c's 5.046 TFLOPS, and its memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is more than double the K40c's 288.4 GB/s. These hardware advantages translate directly into the OpenCL score.

Beyond that shared test, the RX 7700 has a broader set of recorded benchmarks. Its Passmark G3D score of 20974 indicates strong overall 3D rendering performance. Its Passmark GPU compute score of 10963 shows solid general-purpose compute capability. The RX 7700 also scores 261 in the DirectX 9 Passmark test, 186 in DirectX 11, 96 in DirectX 12, and 92 in DirectX 10. These scores, while lower than the G3D result, demonstrate that the card handles legacy APIs without issue. The K40c has no Passmark scores recorded, so no direct comparison is possible for those tests. The RX 7700 also achieves a pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s, both far exceeding the K40c's 52.56 GPixel/s and 210.2 GTexel/s. In every measured metric, the RX 7700 outperforms the K40c, often by wide margins.

Specification Differences

The specifications that differ between the two cards are numerous. The process node differs: 28 nm for the K40c versus 5 nm for the RX 7700. Transistor counts are 7,080 million versus 28,100 million. Die size is 561 mm² for the K40c and 346 mm² for the RX 7700, leading to transistor densities of 12.6 million per mm² and 81.2 million per mm², respectively. The base clock is 745 MHz on the K40c and 1900 MHz on the RX 7700. Boost clocks are 876 MHz and 2459 MHz, respectively. The RX 7700 also has a game clock of 2041 MHz, which the K40c lacks. Memory configurations differ: 12 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus versus 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 288.4 GB/s versus 624.1 GB/s. The effective memory speed is 6 Gbps for the K40c and 19.5 Gbps for the RX 7700.

The shading units count is 2880 for the K40c and 2560 for the RX 7700. TMUs are 240 versus 160, and ROPs are 48 versus 96. The RX 7700 has 40 ray tracing cores, while the K40c has none. Pixel rates are 52.56 GPixel/s versus 236.1 GPixel/s. Texture rates are 210.2 GTexel/s versus 393.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 5.046 TFLOPS versus 25.18 TFLOPS. The RX 7700 also lists FP16 at 25.18 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the K40c has no FP16 listing. TDP values are 245 W and 200 W. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin for the K40c, and 2x 8-pin for the RX 7700. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the K40c and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RX 7700. Display outputs are absent on the K40c but present on the RX 7700: 1x HDMI 12.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. DirectX support is 12 (11_0) for the K40c and 12 Ultimate (12_2 for the RX 7700. Vulkan support is 1.2.175 for the K40c and 1.2.175 for the RX 7700. The release dates differ, with the K40c released on October 7, 2013, and the RX 7700 released on September 17, 2025. The K40c is end-of-life, while the RX 7700 is active. The K40c has a launch MSRP of 7,699 USD, while the RX 7700 has no recorded launch MSRP. Dimensions are identical in length at 267 mm, but the RX 7700 also has height and width dimensions of 135 mm and 50 mm, which are not recorded for the K40c. Both cards are dual-slot.