NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER vs NVIDIA Tesla K40c Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single shared benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The result is decisive. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER scores 83,358 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17,468 points. That is a delta of 377.2% in favor of the RTX 2070 SUPER, meaning the newer card delivers roughly 4.77 times the OpenCL performance of the older compute card.

This gap is not marginal, it is transformative. In raw compute throughput, the RTX 2070 SUPER is in a different performance class entirely. The Tesla K40c, despite having more shading units (2,880 vs. 2,560), more texture mapping units (240 vs. 160), and a wider memory bus (384-bit vs. 256-bit), cannot overcome its much lower clock speeds and older architecture generation. The RTX 2070 SUPER runs at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, while the Tesla K40c is stuck at 745 MHz base and 876 MHz boost. That clock advantage, combined with architectural efficiency gains, explains the massive score differential.

The benchmark data also places each card in context relative to its own peers. The RTX 2070 SUPER holds an average benchmark score of 20,282 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20,480 (1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20,534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 at 20,556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20,582 (1.5% higher). These deltas are all within a narrow band of 1 to 1.5%, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in a tightly contested performance tier where small percentage differences separate cards.

The Tesla K40c, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 17,468 from its single recorded test, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 17,509 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17,551 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17,588 (0.7% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 at 17,639 (1% higher). Again, the deltas are small, but the absolute level is far below the RTX 2070 SUPER's performance tier.

When comparing the two cards directly, the RTX 2070 SUPER wins the only head-to-head test, giving it a 1-0 record in the database. The Tesla K40c records zero wins. This is not a close contest in any measurable way.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher OpenCL performance according to the recorded benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER scores 83,358 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17,468. The RTX 2070 SUPER leads by 377.2%.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER averages 20,282 across all tests. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.5% of that figure: the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 1% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% higher, the Intel Arc B570 is 1.3% higher, and the Intel Arc A750 is 1.5% higher.

Q: How does the Tesla K40c compare to its closest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Tesla K40c averages 17,468. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 0.2% higher, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 0.5% higher, the AMD Radeon 780M at 0.7% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 at 1% higher.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card among all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile, while the Tesla K40c sits in the 61st percentile. Despite the large performance gap between them, both cards rank in the upper half of the database.

Q: Does the Tesla K40c win any benchmark against the RTX 2070 SUPER?

A: No. In the single recorded head-to-head test (Geekbench OpenCL), the RTX 2070 SUPER wins. The Tesla K40c has zero recorded wins against the RTX 2070 SUPER.

Q: What are the launch MSRP values for these two cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER launched with a launch MSRP of 499 USD. The Tesla K40c launched with a launch MSRP of 7,699 USD.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the overwhelmingly faster card in compute workloads. Its 377.2% lead in Geekbench OpenCL over the Tesla K40c is not a marginal edge but a generational leap. Anyone choosing between these two for raw compute performance should select the RTX 2070 SUPER without hesitation.

However, the verdict is not purely about speed. The Tesla K40c offers 12 GB of memory versus the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB, and it uses a wider 384-bit memory bus. The RTX 2070 SUPER compensates with much higher memory bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s. So despite having less memory capacity, the newer card moves data faster.

The Tesla K40c also has no display outputs, making it a pure compute accelerator. The RTX 2070 SUPER includes 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C outputs, making it a functional graphics card for display tasks in addition to compute.

For a workstation or server environment where display output is not needed and memory capacity is the priority, the Tesla K40c's 12 GB could be a consideration. But for any performance-sensitive workload, the RTX 2070 SUPER's benchmark superiority is decisive. The percentile rankings (65th vs. 61st) understate the head-to-head difference, because the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score includes additional tests that pull its overall figure down relative to its OpenCL result.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The RTX 2070 SUPER uses a TU104 chip on a 12 nm process, while the Tesla K40c uses a GK180 chip on a 28 nm process. Transistor counts reflect the process gap: the RTX 2070 SUPER packs 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, giving a density of 25.0M per mm². The Tesla K40c has 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, giving a density of 12.6M per mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially. The RTX 2070 SUPER runs at 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. The Tesla K40c runs at 745 MHz base and 876 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 2070 SUPER uses 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the Tesla K40c uses 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration diverges: the RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla K40c has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Tesla K40c has 2,880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs.

Pixel and texture rates reflect the clock and ROP/TMU differences. The RTX 2070 SUPER achieves 113.3 GPixel/s and 283.2 GTexel/s. The Tesla K40c achieves 52.56 GPixel/s and 210.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is also higher on the newer card: 9.062 TFLOPS versus 5.046 TFLOPS. The RTX 2070 SUPER additionally supports FP16 at 18.12 TFLOPS (2:1), while the Tesla K40c has no recorded FP16 capability.

Power draw is lower on the RTX 2070 SUPER at 215 W versus 245 W for the Tesla K40c. Both use the same power connector configuration (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin) and the same suggested PSU rating of 550 W. Both are dual-slot cards with a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches).

The RTX 2070 SUPER has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C), while the Tesla K40c has no outputs. API support also differs: the RTX 2070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla K40c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture, which introduces dedicated hardware features absent from the older Kepler design. The RTX 2070 SUPER includes 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, neither of which exist on the Tesla K40c. These are not just additional units; they enable entirely different workloads, such as real-time ray tracing and AI-accelerated tensor operations.

The manufacturing process is also a major differentiator. Turing uses TSMC's 12 nm node, while Kepler uses TSMC's 28 nm node. This two-generation process shrink allows the RTX 2070 SUPER to pack nearly twice the transistors (13,600 million vs. 7,080 million) into a slightly smaller die (545 mm² vs. 561 mm²). The transistor density advantage is stark: 25.0M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm².

Memory technology has also advanced. The RTX 2070 SUPER uses GDDR6 with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps, while the Tesla K40c uses GDDR5 at 6 Gbps effective. Even with a narrower 256-bit bus, the RTX 2070 SUPER achieves 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is 55% higher than the Tesla K40c's 288.4 GB/s from its wider 384-bit bus.

The shading architecture differs in efficiency. While the Tesla K40c has more shading units (2,880 vs. 2,560) and more TMUs (240 vs. 160), the RTX 2070 SUPER's higher clocks and newer instruction scheduling deliver far better real-world throughput. The FP32 output confirms this: 9.062 TFLOPS versus 5.046 TFLOPS. The RTX 2070 SUPER also offers FP16 compute at 18.12 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla K40c's specifications.

The API feature sets also differ. The RTX 2070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The Tesla K40c supports only DirectX 12 (11_0), an earlier feature level. Vulkan support is also newer on the RTX 2070 SUPER (1.4 versus 1.2.175).

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2070 SUPER wins in every recorded benchmark category. Its strengths are most pronounced in compute-intensive workloads, where its 377.2% lead in OpenCL over the Tesla K40c demonstrates a massive throughput advantage. The combination of higher clocks, newer architecture, dedicated tensor cores, and ray tracing cores makes it the clear choice for modern workloads that leverage these features.

The RTX 2070 SUPER also wins on efficiency. It delivers higher performance while drawing less power (215 W versus 245 W). It supports newer APIs, including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, making it compatible with contemporary graphics features. Its display outputs allow it to serve as a standard graphics card, not just a compute accelerator.

The Tesla K40c has one meaningful advantage: memory capacity. Its 12 GB frame buffer exceeds the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB. For workloads that require holding very large datasets in GPU memory without exceeding capacity, the Tesla K40c's larger pool could be relevant. Its wider 384-bit memory bus, while slower in aggregate bandwidth, might also be a consideration in certain access-pattern scenarios.

However, the Tesla K40c's advantages are narrow and situational. Its compute performance is far lower, its memory bandwidth is lower, its process node is older, and it lacks modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores. It has no display outputs, limiting its usability to headless compute environments. Its production status is end-of-life, as is the RTX 2070 SUPER's, but the architectural gap between them is generational.

For general compute, graphics, gaming, or any workload that can use modern APIs, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the obvious selection. For a niche scenario requiring more than 8 GB of memory in a headless compute node, the Tesla K40c offers that capacity, but at a steep performance penalty. The data does not suggest any scenario where the Tesla K40c is preferable on performance grounds.