NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A and NVIDIA Tesla K20c occupy different corners of the GPU landscape, yet both are end-of-life products with identical overall percentile rankings. The GeForce GTX 960A, a Maxwell-based mobile module, edges out the Kepler-based Tesla K20c in the single available benchmark, scoring 11,998 to 11,479 on Geekbench OpenCL, a 4.5% advantage. This slim margin, however, belies substantial architectural and specification differences that determine which card suits which workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the results are close. The GeForce GTX 960A scores 11,998, while the Tesla K20c scores 11,479. This gives the GTX 960A a 4.5% lead — a meaningful but not overwhelming margin. In context, the GTX 960A sits 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (11,960) and 1.3% above the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (11,842). It also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11,680) by 2.7% and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (11,627) by 3.2%. The Tesla K20c, conversely, trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11,528) by 0.4%, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (11,627) by 1.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11,680) by 1.7%. It only beats the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M (11,261) by 1.9%.

The delta between the two cards is smaller than the variance seen against their respective rival pools. For instance, the GTX 960A's 3.2% lead over the RX 7800 XT is narrower than its 4.5% lead over the Tesla K20c. The Tesla K20c, meanwhile, is within 1.3% of the RX 7800 XT, a card that the GTX 960A beats by 3.2%. This suggests the performance gap between the two contenders is real but modest, and their placement among rivals overlaps significantly.

Where Each One Wins

The GeForce GTX 960A wins the sole benchmark, making it the clear choice for general compute workloads as measured by Geekbench OpenCL. Its 640 shading units and 40 texture mapping units, combined with a boost clock of 1176 MHz, deliver 1.505 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This is sufficient to edge out the Tesla K20c in a test that exercises raw compute throughput. The GTX 960A also benefits from lower power requirements, with a 75 W TDP versus the Tesla's 225 W, and it requires no external power connectors, making it far easier to integrate into portable or power-constrained systems.

The Tesla K20c, despite losing the benchmark, wins decisively in raw specifications that favor memory-intensive and parallel workloads. Its 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus provides 208.0 GB/s of bandwidth, more than double the GTX 960A's 80.19 GB/s. With 2496 shading units and 208 TMUs, the Tesla K20c offers 3.524 TFLOPS of FP32 performance — more than twice the GTX 960A's output. Its 36.71 GPixel/s pixel rate and 146.8 GTexel/s texture rate are similarly superior. The data suggests that while the Tesla K20c loses on the specific OpenCL test, its hardware is designed for higher-throughput scenarios that the benchmark may not fully capture.

Architecture Differences

The GeForce GTX 960A uses the GM107 chip, built on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture, while the Tesla K20c uses the GK110 chip, based on the older Kepler architecture. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, and both have the same transistor density of 12.6M / mm². The similarities end there. The GM107 contains 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, while the GK110 packs 7,080 million transistors onto a 561 mm² die — nearly four times as many transistors on a die almost four times larger. This gives the Tesla K20c a massive hardware advantage in raw compute resources.

Architecturally, Maxwell is more efficient per transistor, which explains how the GTX 960A achieves competitive benchmark scores despite having only about a quarter of the Tesla's shading units. The Tesla K20c's Kepler design, while older, was engineered for high-throughput computing, as reflected in its higher pixel and texture rates. Feature-wise, both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 960A supports Vulkan 1.4, whereas the Tesla K20c is limited to Vulkan 1.2.175. The Maxwell card also has a 75 W TDP, a stark contrast to the Tesla's 225 W, highlighting a major efficiency difference.

Specification Differences

The most striking specification differences lie in memory and compute resources. The GeForce GTX 960A has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 80.19 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla K20c offers 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus, delivering 208.0 GB/s. Memory clocks differ slightly: 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the GTX 960A versus 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) for the Tesla K20c. The Tesla's 208 texture units dwarf the GTX 960A's 40, and its 40 ROPs double the GTX 960A's 16. The Tesla also has 2496 shading units versus 640.

Clock speeds are not fully specified for the Tesla K20c — its base and boost clocks are listed as null — but the GTX 960A runs at 1097 MHz base and 1176 MHz boost. The Tesla compensates with higher fill rates: 36.71 GPixel/s and 146.8 GTexel/s versus 18.82 GPixel/s and 47.04 GTexel/s. The GTX 960A uses an MXM-B (3.0) interface with no power connectors, while the Tesla K20c uses PCIe 2.0 x16 and requires a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power setup. The Tesla also specifies a 550 W suggested PSU, whereas the GTX 960A lists none. Physically, the Tesla is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length, while the GTX 960A is an MXM module with no listed dimensions. The Tesla has no display outputs, while the GTX 960A's outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent."

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A scores 11,998, which is 4.5% higher than the Tesla K20c's 11,479.

Q: How does the Tesla K20c compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Tesla K20c trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M by 0.4%, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT by 1.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 by 1.7%. It beats the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M by 1.9%.

Q: What are the memory differences between the two cards?

A: The GeForce GTX 960A has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla K20c has 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Tesla K20c have more shading units?

A: Yes, the Tesla K20c has 2496 shading units, compared to 640 on the GeForce GTX 960A.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GeForce GTX 960A has a 75 W TDP and requires no power connectors, while the Tesla K20c has a 225 W TDP and needs a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Which card supports newer Vulkan?

A: The GeForce GTX 960A supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Tesla K20c supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

The Verdict

The data indicates that the GeForce GTX 960A is the better choice for users who prioritize the Geekbench OpenCL score, as it wins the only direct benchmark by 4.5%. It also offers superior efficiency, with a 75 W TDP and no power connectors, making it suitable for portable or low-power systems. Its support for Vulkan 1.4 is a minor but relevant advantage for modern API compatibility.

The Tesla K20c, however, is the stronger card for workloads that leverage raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth. Its 3.524 TFLOPS FP32 performance, 208.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 5 GB memory capacity are far ahead of the GTX 960A's figures. The Tesla's 2496 shading units and 208 TMUs provide a hardware foundation that, while not reflected in the single benchmark win, positions it for memory-heavy or highly parallel tasks. Its 267 mm dual-slot form factor and 225 W TDP indicate a workstation-class card, not a mobile solution.

In practical terms, the GTX 960A wins on benchmark score and power efficiency, while the Tesla K20c wins on raw specifications and memory capacity. Neither card is current — both are end-of-life — but their strengths are distinct. Users needing a compact, low-power module with competitive compute scores should choose the GeForce GTX 960A. Users requiring maximum memory bandwidth and shading unit count for compute-heavy applications, and who can accommodate a dual-slot card with a 550 W PSU, should select the Tesla K20c. The Tesla K20c also has a launch MSRP of 3,199 USD, which was noted at release.