AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and NVIDIA Tesla K20c represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The benchmark data illustrates a significant performance gulf, with the RX 7800 XT winning the only shared benchmark by a wide margin. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 7800 XT scores 18,290, which is 59.3% ahead of the Tesla K20c’s 11,479. This single data point sets the tone for a comparison defined by generational progress. While both cards occupy the 51st percentile of all GPUs, their average benchmark scores—11,627 for the RX 7800 XT versus 11,479 for the Tesla K20c—show the RX 7800 XT leading by 1.3% in the aggregate. The RX 7800 XT’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, which trails by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, which leads by 1.8%, indicating a tightly contested mid-range segment. Conversely, the Tesla K20c’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, which leads by 0.4%, while the RX 7800 XT leads it by 1.3%.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are decisively one-sided. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers a score of 18,290, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20c manages 11,479. This translates to a 59.3% performance advantage for the RX 7800 XT, a massive lead that reflects the fundamental differences in their compute architectures and processing capabilities. In practical terms, this means the RX 7800 XT can handle OpenCL workloads nearly 1.6 times faster than the Tesla K20c, a significant margin for any compute task. The RX 7800 XT’s wins tally is 1, while the Tesla K20c has 0 wins in the head-to-head comparison. This lopsided result is consistent with their respective positioning: the RX 7800 XT is a modern consumer graphics card optimized for a broad range of workloads, while the Tesla K20c is an older compute-oriented accelerator. The delta of 59.3% is not a marginal improvement but a generational leap, underscoring how far GPU compute performance has come since the Tesla K20c's release.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Navi 32 chip, and is fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process. This advanced node allows for a transistor count of 28,100 million packed into a 346 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 81.2M per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA Tesla K20c uses the older Kepler architecture, specifically the GK110 chip, on a 28 nm process. Its transistor count is 7,080 million on a larger 561 mm² die, resulting in a much lower density of 12.6M per mm². The difference in fabrication technology is a primary driver of the performance gap, as the 5 nm process enables significantly more transistors in a smaller area, leading to higher efficiency and throughput. Clock speeds also differ substantially. The RX 7800 XT operates at a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2124 MHz, and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The Tesla K20c’s core clocks are not specified in the data. The RX 7800 XT features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, along with 60 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Tesla K20c has fewer resources: 2496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 40 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. This disparity in raw compute resources is reflected in their theoretical performance figures, with the RX 7800 XT delivering 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 and the Tesla K20c at 3.524 TFLOPS FP32. Memory subsystems also differ significantly. The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K20c is equipped with 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding 208.0 GB/s. The RX 7800 XT’s memory clock is 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective), while the Tesla K20c’s memory runs at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective). These differences in memory capacity and bandwidth further cement the RX 7800 XT’s advantage in data-intensive workloads. Additionally, the RX 7800 XT supports PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the Tesla K20c uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, limiting its data transfer rates to the host system.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT has an average benchmark score of 11,627, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla K20c’s average of 11,479.

Q: How much faster is the RX 7800 XT in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RX 7800 XT scores 18,290 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 59.3% higher than the Tesla K20c’s score of 11,479.

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

A: The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the Tesla K20c has 5 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Do both cards support the same version of DirectX?

A: No, the RX 7800 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla K20c supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RX 7800 XT has 3840 shading units, compared to 2496 on the Tesla K20c.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The RX 7800 XT is listed as "Active" in production, while the Tesla K20c is "End-of-life".

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the clear performance winner. Its 59.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and its higher average benchmark score of 11,627 versus 11,479 indicate superior compute capability. The RX 7800 XT also offers significantly more memory (16 GB vs 5 GB), a larger shading unit count (3840 vs 2496), and a much higher pixel rate (233.3 GPixel/s vs 36.71 GPixel/s) and texture rate (583.2 GTexel/s vs 146.8 GTexel/s). For anyone considering a GPU for general compute or modern workloads, the RX 7800 XT is the only viable choice from this comparison. The Tesla K20c, with its 3.524 TFLOPS FP32 and 208.0 GB/s bandwidth, is a legacy compute card that is end-of-life. Its only potential advantage lies in niche scenarios where its specific Kepler architecture might be required for older software compatibility, but the data shows no performance scenario where it outperforms the RX 7800 XT. The RX 7800 XT’s active production status and support for modern APIs like Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate make it a future-proof option. The Tesla K20c’s lack of display outputs also limits its use to headless compute servers, whereas the RX 7800 XT offers a full suite of display outputs including HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1. Therefore, the RX 7800 XT is the superior choice for virtually any application, from gaming to compute, based on the available facts.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | NVIDIA Tesla K20c |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Kepler |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 28,100 million | 7,080 million |

| Die Size | 346 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 81.2M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 5 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 320 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 624.1 GB/s | 208.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 2496 |

| TMUs | 240 | 208 |

| ROPs | 96 | 40 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 60 | null |

| Pixel Rate | 233.3 GPixel/s | 36.71 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 583.2 GTexel/s | 146.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 37.32 TFLOPS | 3.524 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 37.32 TFLOPS (1:1) | null |

| TDP | 263 W | 225 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 | No outputs |

| DirectX Version | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Version | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-09-05 | 2012-11-11 |

| Launch MSRP | 499 USD | 3,199 USD |