NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile vs NVIDIA Tesla K80 Comparison

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is in a different performance class than the NVIDIA Tesla K80. In the two head-to-head tests available, the RTX 3070 Mobile delivers scores that are roughly 350-400% higher, making the comparison less of a contest and more of a generational showcase. The Tesla K80, a compute-oriented accelerator from 2014, retains a niche for specific legacy workloads, but for any general-purpose or modern graphics task, the RTX 3070 Mobile is the clear victor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data shows a dominant performance gap in favor of the RTX 3070 Mobile across both shared benchmark tests. The largest delta is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 92,939 against the Tesla K80’s 18,620. This represents a 399.1% advantage, meaning the RTX 3070 Mobile delivers nearly five times the compute throughput in this API. This is not a marginal lead; it is a categorical difference in processing capability.

The second shared test, Geekbench Vulkan, tells a similar story. The RTX 3070 Mobile posts a score of 86,768, while the Tesla K80 manages 19,111. The delta here is 354%, again a massive margin. While Vulkan is a graphics-oriented API, the result reinforces that the newer architecture scales far better across both compute and rendering workloads. The Tesla K80’s lack of any dedicated ray tracing or tensor core hardware likely contributes to its lower showing, though the raw shading throughput difference is the primary factor.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 3070 Mobile’s average score across all tests is 20,534 (with a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs), while the Tesla K80’s average is 18,866 (63rd percentile). This overall average is closer than the head-to-head deltas suggest, but it is skewed by the fact that the RTX 3070 Mobile has a much larger set of benchmark results, including lower-scoring DirectX 9/10/11 tests. In the single compute-heavy comparison available, the RTX 3070 Mobile’s dominance is absolute. For instance, the RTX 3070 Mobile’s Passmark G3D score is 15,309, a figure that highlights its strong rasterization performance, a category where the Tesla K80 has no published result.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX 3070 Mobile is built on Ampere architecture using an 8 nm process at Samsung, while the Tesla K80 uses the older Kepler 2.0 architecture on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This process shrink is a key reason for the performance disparity, allowing the RTX 3070 Mobile to pack 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, achieving a density of 44.4M / mm². In contrast, the Tesla K80 has 7,100 million transistors on a larger 561 mm² die, with a much lower density of 12.7M / mm².

Core configurations differ substantially. The RTX 3070 Mobile features 5,120 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features. The Tesla K80 has 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, but it has no ray tracing or tensor cores at all. This means the RTX 3070 Mobile is a modern, feature-rich GPU, while the Tesla K80 is a pure compute device dating from before these technologies were mainstream.

Clock speeds also favor the newer card. The RTX 3070 Mobile runs at a base clock of 1110 MHz with a boost of 1560 MHz, while the Tesla K80 operates at a much lower 562 MHz base and 824 MHz boost. Memory technology has also advanced: the RTX 3070 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla K80 counters with 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, but its effective speed is lower, resulting in 240.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s bandwidth advantage is nearly double, which is critical for high-resolution textures and compute workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 Mobile wins decisively in almost every category a user would care about. It offers superior raw compute (FP32 performance of 15.97 TFLOPS vs. the Tesla K80’s 4.113 TFLOPS), higher pixel and texture rates (124.8 GPixel/s and 249.6 GTexel/s vs. 42.85 GPixel/s and 171.4 GTexel/s), and full support for modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. This makes it suitable for gaming, real-time rendering, and modern compute workloads. Its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface also provides double the bandwidth of the Tesla K80’s PCIe 3.0 x16, reducing data transfer bottlenecks.

The Tesla K80’s only theoretical advantages lie in memory capacity and power delivery. It has 12 GB of VRAM compared to the RTX 3070 Mobile’s 8 GB, which could be a factor for very large datasets that fit entirely on the GPU. However, this advantage is undermined by its lower bandwidth. The Tesla K80 also supports a dual-slot form factor with a 700 W suggested PSU and a 1x 8-pin power connector, whereas the RTX 3070 Mobile is a mobile part with no power connectors, drawing 115 W TDP. For legacy compute tasks that were optimized for Kepler architecture and require more than 8 GB of memory, the Tesla K80 might still function, but it will do so at a fraction of the speed.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is significantly faster, scoring 92,939 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the Tesla K80’s 18,620, a 399.1% lead.

Q: Does the Tesla K80 support ray tracing?

A: No. The Tesla K80 is based on Kepler 2.0 architecture and has no ray tracing cores. The RTX 3070 Mobile, with its Ampere architecture, includes 40 dedicated ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 3070 Mobile offers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth with GDDR6 memory, while the Tesla K80 provides 240.6 GB/s with GDDR5. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s bandwidth is roughly 86% higher.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 3070 Mobile has 5,120 shading units, more than double the Tesla K80’s 2,496. This directly impacts pixel and texture processing rates.

Q: Is the Tesla K80 suitable for modern games?

A: Data suggests no. It lacks modern API support (DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175 vs. the RTX 3070 Mobile’s DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4) and has no published results for DirectX 10/11/12 benchmarks, indicating poor compatibility.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Tesla K80 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W PSU, while the RTX 3070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and uses no external power connectors.

The Verdict

The data points to an unambiguous recommendation: choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile for virtually any workload you might encounter. Its performance in the head-to-head tests is orders of magnitude better, with a 399.1% advantage in OpenCL and a 354% advantage in Vulkan. It also offers modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores, which the Tesla K80 entirely lacks. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s higher clock speeds, newer process node, and superior memory bandwidth make it the stronger choice for gaming, content creation, and general compute.

The Tesla K80 is only relevant in a narrow scenario: if you absolutely require more than 8 GB of VRAM (it has 12 GB) and are running legacy compute kernels that were specifically written for Kepler architecture and do not benefit from newer instruction sets. Even then, the performance penalty is severe, as its FP32 throughput is just 4.113 TFLOPS versus the RTX 3070 Mobile’s 15.97 TFLOPS. Its lower percentile ranking (63 vs. 65) and lack of display outputs also make it a poor choice for any interactive or graphics work. For any new deployment, the RTX 3070 Mobile is the only sensible choice based on this data.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile | NVIDIA Tesla K80 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Kepler 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | 7,100 million |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1110 MHz | 562 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1560 MHz | 824 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 240.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 5120 | 2496 |

| TMUs | 160 | 208 |

| ROPs | 80 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 40 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 160 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 15.97 TFLOPS | 4.113 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 15.97 TFLOPS (1:1) | None |

| TDP | 115 W | 300 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2021-01-11 | 2014-11-16 |