NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti vs NVIDIA Tesla K40c Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla K40c and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by seven years of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear and dramatic performance gulf, with the RTX 3060 Ti dominating the only shared benchmark. However, the Tesla K40c was built for a different purpose, and its legacy lies in its professional compute orientation rather than raw speed. This analysis explores the specifications, benchmark results, and use-case implications for both cards.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the superior performer in every measurable way. In the single shared test, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927 points, which is 77.9% higher than the Tesla K40c's 17,468 points. This is not a marginal difference; it is a generational leap. The RTX 3060 Ti also secures the only head-to-head win, with a deltaPct of -77.9% for the Tesla K40c, indicating how far behind the older card falls.

The Tesla K40c, however, was never designed for consumer workloads. Its 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs places it near the middle of the pack, but its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 460 and AMD Radeon Pro 560, which are professional mobile GPUs. This suggests the K40c's performance profile aligns with workstation tasks rather than gaming. The RTX 3060 Ti, with a 59th percentile ranking, sits slightly lower in the overall distribution but achieves this with far more modern features and efficiency.

For a user deciding between these two, the choice is clear: the RTX 3060 Ti is the only rational option for any modern workload. It offers over 3.2x the FP32 compute throughput, has dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores, and supports the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate API. The Tesla K40c is an end-of-life product from 2013, and while its 12 GB of memory is larger than the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB, that capacity advantage does nothing to offset its massive performance deficit. The data suggests the K40c is a historical curiosity, while the 3060 Ti remains a viable contemporary GPU.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs explains the performance disparity. The Tesla K40c uses the GK180 chip, based on the Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. This is a massive, power-hungry chip designed for compute density in data centers.

In contrast, the RTX 3060 Ti uses the GA104 chip, based on the Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors into a smaller 392 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. This is a 3.5x improvement in density, allowing Ampere to pack far more functionality into less space.

The core configurations reflect this evolution. The Kepler chip has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The Ampere chip has 4,864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. While the TMU count is lower on Ampere, the shading unit count is 69% higher, and the ROP count is 67% higher. Critically, the RTX 3060 Ti adds 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores, features that simply did not exist in Kepler. The K40c also lacks any tensor or RT acceleration, making it obsolete for modern AI and ray-traced workloads.

Memory architecture also differs significantly. The K40c uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, but achieves 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth due to faster memory clocks. The newer card's memory is 55% faster despite having a narrower bus. The process node difference, from 28 nm to 8 nm, is the fundamental driver of these improvements, enabling higher clocks and greater efficiency.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti is decisively ahead, with 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance compared to the Tesla K40c's 5.046 TFLOPS. This is a 3.2x advantage in raw floating-point throughput.

Q: Does the Tesla K40c have any advantage in memory capacity?

A: Yes, the K40c has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory versus 8 GB of GDDR6 on the RTX 3060 Ti. However, the RTX 3060 Ti's memory bandwidth is higher at 448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s, making the capacity advantage largely irrelevant for performance.

Q: What is the performance gap in the shared benchmark?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927, which is 77.9% higher than the K40c's 17,468. This indicates the K40c is significantly slower in compute tasks.

Q: Which GPU supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the K40c only supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The newer card is fully compatible with modern gaming and rendering standards.

Q: Are these GPUs still in production?

A: No, both are marked as end-of-life. The Tesla K40c was released in 2013, and the RTX 3060 Ti was released in 2020.

Q: Which GPU has a smaller physical footprint?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti is shorter at 242 mm (9.5 inches) compared to the K40c's 267 mm (10.5 inches). The RTX 3060 Ti also has a listed height of 112 mm, while the K40c's height is unspecified.

Specification Differences

The specifications diverge sharply across nearly every category. The RTX 3060 Ti uses a newer 8 nm process from Samsung, while the K40c uses a 28 nm process from TSMC. The transistor count is 17,400 million versus 7,080 million, and the die size is smaller on the newer card at 392 mm² versus 561 mm². The clock speeds are much higher on the RTX 3060 Ti, with a base of 1410 MHz and boost of 1665 MHz, compared to 745 MHz base and 876 MHz boost on the K40c.

Memory differs in size, type, bus width, and bandwidth. The K40c has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The memory clock is also higher on the newer card at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

The core configuration favors the RTX 3060 Ti in shading units (4,864 vs 2,880) and ROPs (80 vs 48), but the K40c has more TMUs (240 vs 152). The RTX 3060 Ti exclusively has 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores. Pixel rate and texture rate are both higher on the RTX 3060 Ti, at 133.2 GPixel/s and 253.1 GTexel/s versus 52.56 GPixel/s and 210.2 GTexel/s. Power consumption is lower on the newer card at 200 W versus 245 W, and it uses a different power connector (1x 12-pin versus 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin). The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 on the RTX 3060 Ti versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the K40c, and the newer card has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a) while the K40c has none.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which is a comprehensive compute benchmark. The RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927, while the Tesla K40c scores 17,468. The deltaPct of -77.9% for the K40c means it is 77.9% slower than the RTX 3060 Ti. This is a massive margin, indicating that the newer card is roughly 4.5x faster in this workload.

The RTX 3060 Ti's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which is 0.7% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, which is 1.4% faster. This places the RTX 3060 Ti in a competitive mid-range tier. The Tesla K40c, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon Pro 460 and 560, which are older professional parts, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which is 1% faster. This suggests the K40c's performance is roughly comparable to a low-end modern GPU, despite its enterprise heritage.

The data shows the RTX 3060 Ti wins the only head-to-head benchmark, securing all 1 win in the comparison. The K40c has 0 wins. This is a decisive outcome, though it is importantly the K40c's lack of display outputs and older architecture limit its relevance in modern testing suites. The single benchmark, however, is highly indicative of overall compute capability, which is the K40c's intended use case.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3060 Ti wins in virtually every practical scenario. Its 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 16.20 TFLOPS of FP16 performance make it suitable for gaming, content creation, and AI inference. The presence of RT and tensor cores enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS, which are essential for modern AAA gaming. Its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate also make it strong for high-resolution rendering and high-refresh-rate gaming. The display outputs allow direct connection to monitors, a capability the K40c entirely lacks.

The Tesla K40c has no wins in the benchmark data, but its specifications suggest a narrow niche. Its 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while slower, could theoretically accommodate larger datasets in memory than the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB. Its 384-bit bus and 288.4 GB/s bandwidth are respectable for its era. In 2013, it would have been a capable compute accelerator for scientific simulations or deep learning training, with 5.046 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. However, the data shows its nearest rivals are low-end modern GPUs, meaning it is now outperformed by even entry-level consumer parts. Its lack of display outputs makes it unusable as a standard graphics card, and its end-of-life status means no driver optimizations for contemporary software.

In summary, the RTX 3060 Ti is the only card with any meaningful use case today. The K40c is a relic whose sole advantage—memory capacity—is outweighed by its enormous performance deficit. For any workload, from gaming to compute, the data overwhelmingly favors the RTX 3060 Ti.