AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has an average benchmark score of 13543, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20c has an average score of 11479. The RX 9070 XT leads by roughly 18% in average performance across the database.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the only head-to-head benchmark available?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 17428, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20c scores 11479. That is a 51.8% advantage for the AMD card, the sole directly comparable test in the database.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card according to the database?

A: The RX 9070 XT's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7770M with an average score of 13536, a 0.1% difference. The Tesla K20c's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M at 11261, a 1.9% difference. Other close competitors for the RX 9070 XT include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13515 and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 at 13407.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is listed as Active, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20c is End-of-life. The RX 9070 XT was released on 2025-03-05, and the Tesla K20c was released on 2012-11-11.

Q: What are the memory configurations of the two cards?

A: The RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla K20c has 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support modern graphics APIs?

A: The RX 9070 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla K20c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175, so the AMD card has newer API support, particularly in Vulkan.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. In the only directly comparable benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9070 XT is 51.8% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla K20c. The average benchmark score difference is also substantial, with the RX 9070 XT at 13543 versus 11479 for the Tesla K20c.

Buyers choosing between these two should note the wider context. The RX 9070 XT is an Active product from the Radeon RX 9000 series, built on RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process. The Tesla K20c is an End-of-life workstation part from 2012, built on Kepler architecture with a 28 nm process. The Tesla K20c has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for typical desktop use, while the RX 9070 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs.

The verdict is straightforward: the RX 9070 XT is the superior card for any workload that appears in the benchmark database. The Tesla K20c was a compute-oriented part in its era, but its only recorded benchmark score is far behind, and its percentile ranking among all GPUs is 51, compared to 55 for the RX 9070 XT. For anyone choosing between these two today, the RX 9070 XT is the only sensible pick based on the recorded measurements.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 17428, and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c scores 11479. The RX 9070 XT wins by 51.8%, which is a decisive margin. This result aligns with the broader average benchmark scores: the RX 9070 XT averages 13543 across all tests, while the Tesla K20c averages 11479.

Looking at the nearest rivals provides additional context. The RX 9070 XT's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13536, which is only 0.1% behind. The Tesla K20c's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M at 11261, which the Tesla card beats by 1.9%. Interestingly, the RX 9070 XT's average score is also higher than the Tesla K20c's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M at 11528, by roughly 17.5%.

In other database tests, the RX 9070 XT records strong results across multiple workloads. Its Geekbench Vulkan score is 65879, its Passmark G3D score is 26795, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 15864. It also posts 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260, a Passmark G2D score of 1328, and DirectX scores of 353 (DX9), 292 (DX11), 154 (DX10), and 78 (DX12). The Tesla K20c has no recorded scores in any of these tests, so the head-to-head comparison is limited to OpenCL.

The conclusion from the head-to-head data: the RX 9070 XT dominates in the one test where both cards have measurements, and it has a much larger benchmark footprint overall. The Tesla K20c only appears once in the database, which limits the depth of comparison but does not change the outcome.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. The RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla K20c uses 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 9070 XT delivers over three times the memory bandwidth.

Clock speeds are also different. The RX 9070 XT has a base clock of 1660 MHz, a boost clock of 2970 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a memory clock of 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). The Tesla K20c has no recorded base or boost clocks in the database, only a memory clock of 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective).

Compute resources differ significantly. The RX 9070 XT has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 64 ray tracing cores. The Tesla K20c has 2496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 40 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. The pixel rate of the RX 9070 XT is 380.2 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 760.3 GTexel/s. The Tesla K20c manages 36.71 GPixel/s and 146.8 GTexel/s.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W with 2x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 700 W. The Tesla K20c has a TDP of 225 W with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RX 9070 XT uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Tesla K20c uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The RX 9070 XT has display outputs, while the Tesla K20c has none. The Tesla K20c is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, while the RX 9070 XT has no recorded dimensions.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous. The RX 9070 XT is built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, part of the Navi IV (RX 9000) generation, using the Navi 48 chip. It is manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC, with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. That works out to a transistor density of 151.0 million transistors per square millimeter.

The Tesla K20c is built on Kepler architecture, part of the Tesla Kepler (Kxx) generation, using the GK110 chip. It is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die. That gives a transistor density of 12.6 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 9070 XT packs over seven times more transistors into a smaller die, which explains the massive performance difference.

The RX 9070 XT includes 64 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla K20c. The RX 9070 XT also records FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The Tesla K20c records FP32 performance of 3.524 TFLOPS and no FP16 figure. The RX 9070 XT is roughly 13.8 times faster in FP32 compute.

The RX 9070 XT also supports newer API versions: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla K20c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Tesla K20c's predecessor is Tesla Fermi and its successor is Tesla Maxwell, while the RX 9070 XT's predecessor is Navi III and it has no recorded successor. The RX 9070 XT is an Active product; the Tesla K20c is End-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT wins in every measured category. It has the higher average benchmark score, the higher percentile ranking, and the only head-to-head benchmark victory. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 17428 is 51.8% above the Tesla K20c's 11479.

The RX 9070 XT is the clear choice for any workload that appears in the database. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is suited to modern workloads, and its 64 ray tracing cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Its newer API support, including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, means it can run current graphics software and games. Its display outputs allow direct connection to monitors.

The Tesla K20c wins in one narrow sense: it is the only card with a recorded length in the database, at 267 mm. It also has a lower TDP of 225 W compared to 304 W for the RX 9070 XT, and its suggested PSU is 550 W versus 700 W. For a system with limited power delivery, the Tesla K20c places fewer demands on the power supply.

In terms of nearest rivals, the RX 9070 XT sits in a cluster of older mid-range cards, all within 1% of its average score. The Tesla K20c also sits near a group of mid-range cards, with its closest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M at 1.9% behind. Both cards are near the middle of the overall GPU distribution, but the RX 9070 XT is four percentile points higher.

The use-case split is therefore lopsided. For anyone needing display output, modern API support, ray tracing, or high compute throughput, the RX 9070 XT is the only option with data supporting it. The Tesla K20c may appeal to a niche user with a 550 W power supply and no need for display outputs, but its single benchmark score puts it far behind. The database records one win for the RX 9070 XT and zero for the Tesla K20c, and the specifications reinforce that outcome.