NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 vs NVIDIA Tesla C2070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data delivers a decisive result. In the only directly comparable test, the GeForce OpenCL benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 scores 34,676 points against 9,716 for the NVIDIA Tesla C2070. This is a 72% deficit for the Tesla C2070, meaning the GTX 980 is roughly 3.6 times faster in this specific workload. The win count is equally lopsided: the GTX 980 takes 1 win, while the Tesla C2070 takes 0.

The GTX 980's OpenCL score is not just a win over its older rival. It sits far above the nearest rivals listed for the Tesla C2070, such as the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9,724) and the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 (9,665). The GTX 980's score of 34,676 places it in a different performance tier altogether. Meanwhile, the Tesla C2070's OpenCL score of 9,716 is within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 (9,653), showing it is competitive with that class of workstation card in this metric, but utterly outclassed by the GTX 980.

The average benchmark score tells a similar story, though it is slightly muted by the GTX 980's other test results. The GTX 980 has an average score of 8,167, while the Tesla C2070 averages 9,716. This inversion happens because the GTX 980's average is dragged down by its scores in several DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests and a GPU compute test, which are all far lower than its OpenCL result. For instance, the GTX 980 scores 53 in Passmark DirectX 10, 83 in DirectX 11, and 46 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark GPU compute score is 4,753. The Tesla C2070 has no recorded results for these tests, so its average rests entirely on its single OpenCL score.

The percentile rankings confirm the shift in standing. The Tesla C2070 lands in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 980 sits in the 43rd percentile. Despite the GTX 980's massive OpenCL advantage, its broader test suite pulls its overall standing slightly below that of the Tesla C2070. The GTX 980's nearest rivals by average score are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M (8,135), the AMD Radeon R9 M360 (8,129), and the NVIDIA GeForce 945M (8,099), which are all mobile or low-power parts. This suggests that the GTX 980's average is heavily influenced by legacy DirectX tests where it does not excel.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations built by the same foundry. The Tesla C2070 uses the GF100 chip based on the Fermi architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The GTX 980 uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. The transistor counts reflect the process node difference. The Tesla C2070 packs 3,100 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 5.9M per mm². The GTX 980 fits 5,200 million transistors on a smaller 398 mm² die, achieving a far higher density of 13.1M per mm².

The compute resources are dramatically different. The Tesla C2070 has 448 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The GTX 980 more than quadruples the shading units to 2,048, doubles the TMUs to 128, and increases ROPs to 64. The pixel rate for the GTX 980 is 77.82 GPixel/s versus 16.07 GPixel/s for the Tesla C2070. The texture rate is similarly lopsided: 155.6 GTexel/s for the GTX 980 versus 32.14 GTexel/s for the Tesla C2070. The FP32 performance tells the same story: the GTX 980 delivers 4.981 TFLOPS, while the Tesla C2070 manages 1,027.7 GFLOPS, or roughly 1.03 TFLOPS.

Memory architecture also diverges. The Tesla C2070 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 143.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 980 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, but with a higher memory clock of 1,753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) it reaches 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 980's smaller bus is compensated by its faster memory clock. The Tesla C2070's memory clock is listed at 747 MHz (3 Gbps effective), which is less than half the effective speed of the GTX 980's memory.

Clock speeds differ in availability. The GTX 980 has a base clock of 1,127 MHz and a boost clock of 1,216 MHz. The Tesla C2070 has no base or boost clock listed in the database. Power and connectivity also differ. The Tesla C2070 has a TDP of 238 W and requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The GTX 980 has a lower TDP of 165 W, uses two 6-pin connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The bus interface advances from PCIe 2.0 x16 on the Tesla C2070 to PCIe 3.0 x16 on the GTX 980.

API support shows a generational gap. The Tesla C2070 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support. The GTX 980 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs differ as well: the Tesla C2070 offers a single DVI port, while the GTX 980 provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. Physical dimensions also shift: the Tesla C2070 is 248 mm long (9.8 inches), while the GTX 980 is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches), with a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches) and width of 40 mm (1.6 inches). Both are dual-slot cards.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion for compute-heavy tasks: the GTX 980 is the superior GPU. Its OpenCL score of 34,676 versus 9,716 is a 72% lead, and its FP32 throughput of 4.981 TFLOPS dwarfs the Tesla C2070's 1,027.7 GFLOPS. The GTX 980 also has better memory bandwidth at 224.4 GB/s, a higher pixel rate, and a higher texture rate. For any workload that leverages these resources, the GTX 980 is the obvious pick.

The Tesla C2070 holds advantages in specific, narrow areas. It has more memory capacity at 6 GB versus 4 GB, which matters for datasets that exceed the GTX 980's capacity. It also has a wider memory bus at 384-bit versus 256-bit, though the GTX 980 compensates with faster clocks. The Tesla C2070's average benchmark score of 9,716 is higher than the GTX 980's 8,167, and it sits in a higher percentile (47th versus 43rd). This is because the Tesla C2070 has a single strong OpenCL result, while the GTX 980's average is pulled down by several low DirectX scores.

The GTX 980 is the better choice for general and modern workloads, especially those using OpenCL, Vulkan, or DirectX 12 (12_1). The Tesla C2070 is the better choice only for scenarios where its 6 GB frame buffer is essential, or where its legacy API profile (DirectX 11_0) is the target. For everything else, the GTX 980's raw compute, texture, pixel, and memory bandwidth advantages are decisive. The launch MSRP of the GTX 980 was 549 USD, but the performance difference is not close.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 scores 34,676 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 scores 9,716. The GTX 980 leads by 72%.

Q: How does the memory bandwidth compare between the two cards?

A: The GTX 980 has 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Tesla C2070 has 143.4 GB/s. The GTX 980 is faster despite having a narrower 256-bit bus versus the Tesla C2070's 384-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The Tesla C2070 has 6 GB of GDDR5, while the GTX 980 has 4 GB of GDDR5. The Tesla C2070 offers 2 GB more capacity.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The GTX 980 delivers 4.981 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Tesla C2070 delivers 1,027.7 GFLOPS. The GTX 980 is roughly five times faster in this metric.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life. The Tesla C2070 was released in 2011, and the GTX 980 was released in 2014.

Q: Which card supports Vulkan?

A: Only the GTX 980 supports Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla C2070 has no Vulkan support listed, but both support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 980 wins in most measurable performance categories. It has higher pixel rate (77.82 GPixel/s versus 16.07 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (155.6 GTexel/s versus 32.14 GTexel/s), higher FP32 throughput, higher memory bandwidth, and more shading units, TMUs, and ROPs. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark and is the clear choice for OpenCL compute, modern API support, and any task that benefits from higher clocks and a newer architecture. Its lower TDP of 165 W versus 238 W also means it requires less power and a smaller PSU.

The Tesla C2070 wins in memory capacity, offering 6 GB versus 4 GB. This is its only clear hardware advantage. It also has a higher average benchmark score (9,716 versus 8,167) and a better percentile ranking (47th versus 43rd), but this is an artifact of its limited test history. For users who need to fit larger working sets into GPU memory, the Tesla C2070's extra 2 GB could be a deciding factor. Its wider 384-bit memory bus is also a point in its favor, though the GTX 980's faster memory clock overcomes this in practice.

For gaming or general graphics workloads, the GTX 980's advantages are overwhelming. For professional compute tasks with large memory footprints, the Tesla C2070's 6 GB capacity is the only scenario where it comes out ahead. The data does not support any other conclusion.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The Tesla C2070 uses the GF100 chip on a 40 nm process, while the GTX 980 uses the GM204 chip on a 28 nm process. Transistor count rises from 3,100 million to 5,200 million, while die size shrinks from 529 mm² to 398 mm². Transistor density jumps from 5.9M per mm² to 13.1M per mm².

The memory subsystem differs in size, bus width, and clock. The Tesla C2070 has 6 GB on a 384-bit bus with a 747 MHz memory clock (3 Gbps effective). The GTX 980 has 4 GB on a 256-bit bus with a 1,753 MHz memory clock (7 Gbps effective). Bandwidth favors the GTX 980 at 224.4 GB/s versus 143.4 GB/s. The compute units are vastly different: 448 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 48 ROPs for the Tesla C2070; 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs for the GTX 980.

Clock speeds are only listed for the GTX 980, with a base of 1,127 MHz and boost of 1,216 MHz. The Tesla C2070 has no base or boost clock recorded. Power requirements differ: TDP is 238 W for the Tesla C2070 and 165 W for the GTX 980. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin for the Tesla C2070 and 2x 6-pin for the GTX 980. The suggested PSU is 550 W for the Tesla C2070 and 450 W for the GTX 980. The bus interface upgrades from PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs change from a single DVI on the Tesla C2070 to 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2 on the GTX 980. API support adds Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1) on the GTX 980, while the Tesla C2070 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). The Tesla C2070 is 248 mm long, while the GTX 980 is 267 mm long with additional height and width measurements recorded.