NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs NVIDIA Tesla K80 Comparison

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and the Tesla K80 occupy entirely different corners of the NVIDIA ecosystem, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them within striking distance of one another. The GTX 1060 3 GB holds an average benchmark score of 19334, while the Tesla K80 trails slightly at 18866. This positions both cards in the 63rd and 64th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively, indicating that despite their generational and architectural gaps, they deliver comparable overall performance in the tested workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two cards reveals a clear split, with each winning one of the two shared tests. In the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB delivers a decisive victory, scoring 27001 against the Tesla K80's 18620. This represents a significant 45% advantage for the consumer card. The magnitude of this delta is substantial, suggesting that the GTX 1060 3 GB's architecture handles OpenCL compute workloads with far greater efficiency than the older Kepler-based Tesla. This result is particularly notable given that the Tesla K80 is a dual-GPU compute card designed for professional workloads, yet it falls far behind in this specific API test.

The tables turn in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the Tesla K80 takes the lead with a score of 19111, compared to the GTX 1060 3 GB's 17475. Here, the delta is 8.6% in favor of the Tesla K80. While this is a smaller margin than the OpenCL result, it demonstrates that the Tesla K80 retains a competitive edge in Vulkan-based applications. The GTX 1060 3 GB's Vulkan score of 17475 is actually lower than its OpenCL score, while the Tesla K80's Vulkan score is slightly higher than its OpenCL result, indicating that the older card scales better with this API.

When placed against their respective nearest rivals, both cards show remarkably tight clustering. The GTX 1060 3 GB's average score of 19334 is only 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (19410) and 0.8% above the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19177). It also edges out the GeForce GTX 780 (19164) by 0.9% and the Tesla K20m (19089) by 1.3%. This suggests that the GTX 1060 3 GB, despite its age and end-of-life status, holds its own against much newer hardware in synthetic benchmarks. Similarly, the Tesla K80's 18866 average places it within 0.4% of the GeForce RTX 2070 (18789) and just 0.5% below the RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18954). The K80 also trails the Quadro K6000 (19030) and Radeon RX 6600 (19036) by 0.9% each.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is substantial, rooted in different process nodes and design philosophies. The GTX 1060 3 GB is built on the Pascal architecture, specifically the GP106 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 16 nm process. In contrast, the Tesla K80 uses the Kepler 2.0 architecture with the GK210 chip, fabricated on the older 28 nm node. This process difference is immediately apparent in transistor density: the GTX 1060 3 GB packs 4,400 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 22.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The Tesla K80, despite having 7,100 million transistors, spreads them across a much larger 561 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 12.7 million transistors per square millimeter.

These architectural differences manifest in clock speeds and core configurations. The GTX 1060 3 GB operates at a base clock of 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1708 MHz, while the Tesla K80 runs at a significantly lower 562 MHz base and 824 MHz boost. However, the Tesla K80 compensates with a larger core configuration: 2496 shading units and 208 texture mapping units, compared to 1152 shading units and 72 TMUs on the GTX 1060 3 GB. Both cards feature 48 ROPs. The result is a fascinating trade-off: the GTX 1060 3 GB achieves a higher pixel rate of 81.98 GPixel/s versus 42.85 GPixel/s on the Tesla, but the Tesla's texture rate of 171.4 GTexel/s exceeds the GTX 1060 3 GB's 123.0 GTexel/s. In raw FP32 compute, the Tesla K80's 4.113 TFLOPS edges past the GTX 1060 3 GB's 3.935 TFLOPS, despite the massive clock speed disadvantage.

The memory subsystems also differ markedly. The GTX 1060 3 GB uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 192.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K80 offers 12 GB of GDDR5 across a 384-bit bus, achieving 240.6 GB/s. Memory clocks are 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) on the GTX 1060 3 GB versus 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) on the Tesla K80. The Tesla K80 also supports FP16 compute with a rated 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), while the GTX 1060 3 GB has no listed FP16 capability.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher average benchmark performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB holds an average benchmark score of 19334, while the NVIDIA Tesla K80 scores 18866, a difference of approximately 2.5% in favor of the GeForce card.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB is significantly faster in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 27001 versus the Tesla K80's 18620, giving the consumer card a 45% advantage in this test.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB uses a 16 nm process from TSMC, while the Tesla K80 uses TSMC's 28 nm node. The newer process allows the GTX 1060 3 GB to achieve a transistor density of 22.0M per mm² compared to 12.7M per mm² on the Tesla K80.

Q: Which card supports Vulkan with a higher version?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Tesla K80 supports Vulkan 1.2.175. Despite the older Vulkan version, the Tesla K80 scores higher in the Geekbench Vulkan test with 19111 versus 17475.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB has a TDP of 120 W and requires a 300 W power supply with a single 6-pin connector. The Tesla K80 has a TDP of 300 W, needs a 700 W power supply, and uses a single 8-pin connector.

Q: How does the Tesla K80 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The Tesla K80's average score of 18866 is 0.4% above the GeForce RTX 2070's 18789, showing that the older compute card remains competitive with newer consumer hardware in synthetic tests.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | NVIDIA Tesla K80 |

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

| Architecture | Pascal | Kepler 2.0 |

| Chip | GP106 | GK210 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 4,400 million | 7,100 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 22.0M / mm² | 12.7M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1506 MHz | 562 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1708 MHz | 824 MHz |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s | 240.6 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) | 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 1152 | 2496 |

| TMUs | 72 | 208 |

| Pixel Rate | 81.98 GPixel/s | 42.85 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 123.0 GTexel/s | 171.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.935 TFLOPS | 4.113 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64) | null |

| TDP | 120 W | 300 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 700 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Length | 250 mm (9.8 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Release Date | 2016-08-17 | 2014-11-16 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 900 | Tesla Fermi |

| Successor | GeForce 20 | Tesla Maxwell |

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a nuanced picture for potential users. The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is the clear winner in OpenCL workloads, posting a 45% higher score than the Tesla K80. For users whose primary applications leverage OpenCL, the GTX 1060 3 GB is the definitive choice, despite its smaller memory footprint of 3 GB versus the Tesla's 12 GB. Its superior pixel rate of 81.98 GPixel/s and lower power draw of 120 W make it more suitable for graphics-oriented tasks.

However, the Tesla K80 takes the Vulkan test with an 8.6% lead, and it offers advantages that the GTX 1060 3 GB cannot match. The K80's 12 GB memory capacity and 240.6 GB/s bandwidth provide substantial headroom for memory-intensive compute workloads. Its higher texture rate of 171.4 GTexel/s and slightly higher FP32 performance of 4.113 TFLOPS indicate that in certain compute scenarios, the older card remains competitive or superior. The K80 also aligns more closely with professional compute environments, given its lack of display outputs and its positioning in the Tesla product line.

The choice between these two cards depends heavily on workload characteristics. For general-purpose computing with a need for display output, the GTX 1060 3 GB offers better efficiency and higher performance in OpenCL. For dedicated compute deployments where memory capacity is paramount and Vulkan performance matters, the Tesla K80 is the more appropriate option. The data shows a 1% difference in percentile ranking (64th versus 63rd), suggesting that for most synthetic benchmarks, the two cards are effectively peers. Users should weigh the GTX 1060 3 GB's 45% OpenCL advantage against the Tesla K80's memory capacity and Vulkan edge when making their selection.