NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla K40c Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data draws a clear line between these two NVIDIA accelerators. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti wins the only head-to-head benchmark in the database, and it wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1080 Ti records a score of 67,929 against the Tesla K40c's 17,468. That is a delta of 74.3 percent in favor of the GTX 1080 Ti. There are no benchmark categories in the database where the Tesla K40c comes out ahead. The K40c has exactly zero wins in the head-to-head comparison; the GTX 1080 Ti has one.

The Tesla K40c's single recorded benchmark is the same Geekbench OpenCL test, where it posts 17,468. That places it at the 61st percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 17,468. The GTX 1080 Ti, by contrast, carries a much broader benchmark portfolio. It records 67,929 in Geekbench OpenCL, 40,511 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 30,624 in Geekbench Metal. In Passmark tests, it scores 18,600 in G3D, 9,632 in GPU Compute, 939 in G2D, 231 in DirectX 9, 151 in DirectX 11, 118 in DirectX 10, and 66 in DirectX 12. Its average score across all recorded tests is 15,548, which puts it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs.

The use-case split is straightforward. The GTX 1080 Ti dominates every workload where both have data, and it brings support for multiple modern graphics APIs that the K40c cannot match. The Tesla K40c, meanwhile, is a compute-oriented card with a single benchmark data point and no display outputs. For any task represented in the database, the GTX 1080 Ti is the stronger choice.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different NVIDIA architectures and different manufacturing nodes. The Tesla K40c uses the GK180 chip, built on the Kepler architecture, and is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,080 million transistors into a die size of 561 mm², giving a transistor density of 12.6 million transistors per mm². The GTX 1080 Ti uses the GP102 chip, built on the Pascal architecture, and is fabricated on a 16 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, yielding a density of 25.1 million transistors per mm². The Pascal card therefore fits roughly 67 percent more transistors into a smaller die, which reflects the denser 16 nm node.

The compute resources differ substantially. The Tesla K40c has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The GTX 1080 Ti has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. The GTX 1080 Ti has more shading units and far more ROPs, while the K40c has slightly more TMUs. Neither card includes ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

Clock speeds also diverge. The Tesla K40c runs at a base clock of 745 MHz with a boost clock of 876 MHz. The GTX 1080 Ti runs at a base clock of 1,481 MHz with a boost clock of 1,582 MHz. That is nearly double the base frequency. Memory clocks differ too. The K40c uses 1,502 MHz memory with 6 Gbps effective transfer, while the GTX 1080 Ti uses 1,376 MHz memory with 11 Gbps effective transfer. The GTX 1080 Ti's memory runs at a higher effective speed despite a lower physical clock, because it uses a different memory type.

API support is another differentiator. The Tesla K40c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 1080 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 1080 Ti has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. The K40c has no display outputs, while the GTX 1080 Ti provides 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 1080 Ti is also a full dual-slot card with defined dimensions of 267 mm length, 112 mm height, and 40 mm width, while the K40c lists only its 267 mm length.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one direct head-to-head benchmark exists in the database, and it is a complete rout. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1080 Ti scores 67,929 while the Tesla K40c scores 17,468. The delta is 74.3 percent in favor of the GTX 1080 Ti. In raw terms, the GTX 1080 Ti delivers roughly 3.9 times the OpenCL score of the K40c. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap.

The GTX 1080 Ti's other recorded benchmarks reinforce this picture. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 40,511 and Geekbench Metal score of 30,624 indicate strong performance across multiple compute and graphics interfaces. The K40c has no recorded scores in Vulkan or Metal. The GTX 1080 Ti's Passmark G3D score of 18,600 and GPU Compute score of 9,632 show balanced performance between graphics and compute workloads. Its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 231, DirectX 11 score of 151, DirectX 10 score of 118, and DirectX 12 score of 66 show that it handles older API workloads well, though DirectX 12 performance is lower relative to the other API scores.

When compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the GTX 1080 Ti sits in a tight cluster. Its average score of 15,548 is 0.2 percent above the AMD Radeon R9 M380, 0.8 percent below the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, 1.7 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, and 1.7 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580. The Tesla K40c's average score of 17,468 is 0.2 percent below the AMD Radeon Pro 460, 0.5 percent below the AMD Radeon Pro 560, 0.7 percent below the AMD Radeon 780M, and 1 percent below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. These clusters show that the K40c, despite its age, still lands near modern integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs in OpenCL compute, while the GTX 1080 Ti competes with mid-range Pascal-era and later cards.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the only shared benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is faster. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 67,929 versus the Tesla K40c's 17,468, a delta of 74.3 percent in favor of the GTX 1080 Ti.

Q: Does the Tesla K40c win any benchmark category?

A: No. The head-to-head comparison records zero wins for the Tesla K40c and one win for the GTX 1080 Ti.

Q: How do the memory systems compare?

A: The Tesla K40c has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus with 484.4 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1080 Ti delivers higher bandwidth despite a smaller bus and less capacity.

Q: What are the transistor and die differences?

A: The Tesla K40c uses 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die built on a 28 nm process. The GTX 1080 Ti uses 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die built on a 16 nm process. The GTX 1080 Ti achieves a transistor density of 25.1 million per mm² versus 12.6 million per mm² for the K40c.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Tesla K40c supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Do either of these cards have display outputs?

A: The Tesla K40c has no display outputs. The GTX 1080 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla K40c | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti |

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

| Architecture | Kepler | Pascal |

| Chip | GK180 | GP102 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 11,800 million |

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 471 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 25.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 745 MHz | 1,481 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 876 MHz | 1,582 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1,502 MHz, 6 Gbps effective | 1,376 MHz, 11 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 11 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5X |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 352 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.4 GB/s | 484.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2,880 | 3,584 |

| TMUs | 240 | 224 |

| ROPs | 48 | 88 |

| Pixel Rate | 52.56 GPixel/s | 139.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 210.2 GTexel/s | 354.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.046 TFLOPS | 11.34 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | None | 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 245 W | 250 W |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 600 W |

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

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | 267 mm length | 267 mm length, 112 mm height, 40 mm width |

| Release Date | 2013-10-07 | 2017-03-09 |

| Launch MSRP | 7,699 USD | 699 USD |

The Verdict

The benchmark data points to one clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the superior card in every measurable category where both have data. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 67,929 dwarfs the Tesla K40c's 17,468, a 74.3 percent margin. It has more shading units, more ROPs, higher clocks, higher pixel rate, higher texture rate, double the FP32 throughput, and nearly 70 percent more memory bandwidth. It also supports newer APIs, has display outputs, and comes with a larger set of recorded benchmark results.

The Tesla K40c does retain some distinct characteristics. It has 12 GB of memory versus 11 GB, a 384-bit bus versus 352-bit, and more TMUs. It also has a lower TDP of 245 W versus 250 W, though the suggested PSU is also lower at 550 W versus 600 W. But none of these advantages translate into a benchmark win in the database. The K40c's single score of 17,468 places it at the 61st percentile, just slightly below cards like the AMD Radeon Pro 460 and AMD Radeon 780M. Its nearest rivals all sit within 1 percent of its score, indicating that it performs at a level comparable to modern entry-level GPUs despite its age.

For users choosing between these two, the data is unambiguous. The GTX 1080 Ti should be the pick for anyone prioritizing compute performance, graphics API support, or display connectivity. The Tesla K40c's larger memory capacity and wider bus do not compensate for its massive performance deficit in the only recorded comparison. The GTX 1080 Ti is also the more practical card overall, with a lower launch MSRP of 699 USD compared to the K40c's 7,699 USD, though both are now end-of-life products. The GTX 1080 Ti wins on performance, features, and measured results across the board.