NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 vs NVIDIA Tesla K80 Comparison

The NVIDIA Tesla K80 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 represent two very different eras of GPU design. The K80 is a compute-oriented accelerator from the Kepler generation, built for scientific workloads, while the RTX 3070 is a consumer gaming card from the Ampere generation. The recorded data shows a clear performance gap, but the nature of that gap depends heavily on the benchmark. This analysis breaks down the head-to-head results, architectural differences, and specification changes between these two cards.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct comparison points between the Tesla K80 and the RTX 3070: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. The results are decisive in both cases, but the margins tell an interesting story about each card's design priorities.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3070 scores 112,821 points, while the Tesla K80 scores 18,620 points. This represents a delta of -83.5% for the K80 relative to the RTX 3070. In other words, the RTX 3070 outperforms the K80 by a factor of more than six in this compute-heavy workload. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute API, and this result reflects the massive generational leap in raw compute throughput. The RTX 3070's score is not just higher; it is categorically in a different league. To put this in context, the K80's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 18,866, which places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 with an average score of 18,789 (a 0.4% difference), the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation at 18,954 (-0.5% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 at 19,030 (-0.9% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 at 19,036 (-0.9% difference). The K80 sits squarely in that performance band, meaning its OpenCL score of 18,620 is consistent with its overall positioning. The RTX 3070, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 17,208, but that figure is dragged down by its inclusion of older DirectX and Passmark tests, which are not representative of its modern compute capabilities. In the OpenCL test specifically, the RTX 3070's 112,821 score is so far beyond the K80 that it suggests a fundamental architectural advantage.

The second head-to-head test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a much narrower margin. The RTX 3070 scores 21,022, while the K80 scores 19,111, resulting in a delta of -9.1% for the K80. This is a significantly smaller gap than the OpenCL result. Vulkan is a lower-level graphics and compute API, and the K80's score of 19,111 is remarkably competitive given its age. The K80's Vulkan score of 19,111 is actually higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting that the Kepler architecture handles Vulkan's explicit programming model reasonably well. The RTX 3070's Vulkan score of 21,022 is still ahead, but the 9.1% margin is modest compared to the 83.5% blowout in OpenCL. This indicates that the RTX 3070's advantage is not uniform across all workloads. In graphics-oriented tasks that leverage Vulkan, the K80 holds its ground far better than in pure compute scenarios. The K80's nearest rival, the RTX 2070, scores 18,789, which is below the K80's Vulkan score, highlighting that the K80 is not merely a relic but a card that can still compete in specific API environments.

Overall, the head-to-head record shows two wins for the RTX 3070 and zero for the K80. The data does not support any scenario where the K80 wins a direct benchmark. However, the magnitude of the RTX 3070's victories varies. The OpenCL result is a one-sided demolition, while the Vulkan result is a competitive contest. This suggests that the RTX 3070 is the superior card in absolute terms, but the K80's performance in Vulkan indicates that its Kepler architecture retains capabilities that are not entirely obsolete.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the clear winner in this comparison. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, with a decisive 83.5% advantage in OpenCL and a 9.1% advantage in Vulkan. For any user prioritizing raw compute performance, the RTX 3070 is the only rational choice. Its OpenCL score of 112,821 is not just better; it is an order of magnitude higher, which translates to dramatically faster execution in compute-intensive tasks like machine learning inference, physics simulation, or rendering workloads that use OpenCL. The RTX 3070 also offers hardware ray tracing and tensor cores, features that the K80 lacks entirely, although the benchmark data does not directly measure those capabilities.

The Tesla K80, despite its two benchmark losses, is not without merit. Its Vulkan score of 19,111 is within 9.1% of the RTX 3070's 21,022, meaning that in Vulkan-based workloads, the K80 can deliver roughly 91% of the RTX 3070's performance. For applications that rely on Vulkan for graphics or compute, the K80 remains a viable option, especially given its 12 GB of memory compared to the RTX 3070's 8 GB. The K80's memory capacity is 50% larger, which could be beneficial for workloads that require large datasets, even if the bandwidth is lower (240.6 GB/s vs. 448.0 GB/s). The K80 also has a higher transistor count at 7,100 million, though that is misleading because the RTX 3070 packs 17,400 million transistors into a smaller die, resulting in a much higher transistor density of 44.4M per mm² versus 12.7M per mm².

Who should pick which? The data supports the RTX 3070 for almost any modern use case. Its performance in OpenCL is so dominant that any compute-heavy task will see massive gains. Its Vulkan performance is also superior, making it the better choice for gaming or Vulkan-based rendering. The RTX 3070 also has a lower power consumption at 220 W versus the K80's 300 W, which means it delivers more performance per watt. The K80 is end-of-life, with a production status of "End-of-life," and its architecture is from 2014, which means software optimization and driver support have likely waned. The only scenario where the K80 might be preferable is if a user specifically needs 12 GB of memory and is running Vulkan-based workloads where the performance gap is small. But even then, the RTX 3070's higher memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs. 240.6 GB/s) could offset the capacity advantage in many tasks.

The percentile data reinforces this verdict. The K80 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile. This is a surprising result, as it suggests that the K80 is ranked higher overall in the database despite losing both head-to-head tests. The explanation lies in the average benchmark scores: the K80's average is 18,866, while the RTX 3070's is 17,208. This discrepancy is due to the RTX 3070's inclusion of older DirectX and Passmark tests, where it scores poorly (e.g., Passmark DirectX 9 at 247, Passmark DirectX 12 at 85). The K80 does not have those tests recorded, so its average is based only on its two Geekbench scores, both of which are relatively strong. Thus, the percentile difference does not indicate that the K80 is a better card; it simply reflects a different set of benchmark data. When comparing the two directly on the same tests, the RTX 3070 wins unequivocally.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between the Tesla K80 and the RTX 3070 is vast, spanning multiple generations of NVIDIA GPU design. The K80 is built on the GK210 chip, which uses the Kepler 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip, based on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process difference alone explains much of the performance gap: the 8 nm node allows for significantly higher clock speeds and transistor density.

The K80 has 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 48 raster output units (ROPs). The RTX 3070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3070 has more than double the shading units and double the ROPs, though it has fewer TMUs. The shading unit count is the most critical factor for compute performance, and the RTX 3070's 5,888 units, combined with its 1,725 MHz boost clock versus the K80's 824 MHz boost clock, drive the massive OpenCL advantage. The K80's pixel rate is 42.85 GPixel/s, while the RTX 3070's is 165.6 GPixel/s, a nearly fourfold difference. The texture rate similarly favors the RTX 3070: 317.4 GTexel/s versus 171.4 GTexel/s.

The RTX 3070 also introduces features that the K80 lacks entirely. It has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI workloads. The K80 has no such units. The RTX 3070's FP32 compute is rated at 20.31 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is also 20.31 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio. The K80's FP32 is 4.113 TFLOPS, and it has no recorded FP16 capability. This means the RTX 3070 is nearly five times faster in FP32 and offers FP16 performance that the K80 cannot match at all. The RTX 3070 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the K80 only supports DirectX 12 (11_1), indicating a lack of modern graphics features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading.

The memory architecture differs as well. The K80 uses 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 240.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s. The K80 has more capacity but less bandwidth, while the RTX 3070 has less capacity but nearly double the bandwidth. For compute workloads that are bandwidth-bound, the RTX 3070's higher bandwidth is advantageous. For datasets that exceed 8 GB, the K80's extra capacity could be a factor, but the lower bandwidth may bottleneck performance.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The process node is 28 nm for the K80 and 8 nm for the RTX 3070. The die size is 561 mm² for the K80 and 392 mm² for the RTX 3070, meaning the RTX 3070 packs more transistors into a smaller area. The transistor count is 7,100 million for the K80 and 17,400 million for the RTX 3070, with densities of 12.7M per mm² and 44.4M per mm², respectively. The base clock is 562 MHz for the K80 and 1500 MHz for the RTX 3070, with boost clocks of 824 MHz and 1725 MHz. Memory speeds are 5 Gbps effective for the K80 and 14 Gbps effective for the RTX 3070.

The K80 has 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 3070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3070 has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, while the K80 has none. Pixel rates are 42.85 GPixel/s for the K80 and 165.6 GPixel/s for the RTX 3070. Texture rates are 171.4 GTexel/s and 317.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 4.113 TFLOPS for the K80 and 20.31 TFLOPS for the RTX 3070. FP16 is not recorded for the K80, but the RTX 3070 achieves 20.31 TFLOPS. Power consumption is 300 W for the K80 and 220 W for the RTX 3070. The K80 uses a 1x 8-pin power connector, while the RTX 3070 uses a 1x 12-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 700 W for the K80 and 550 W for the RTX 3070. The K80 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RTX 3070 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The K80 has no display outputs, while the RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The K80 measures 267 mm in length, while the RTX 3070 is 242 mm long and 112 mm high. The K80 is dual-slot, and the RTX 3070 is also dual-slot.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 wins decisively, scoring 112,821 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Tesla K80's 18,620, a delta of -83.5% for the K80.

Q: Is the Tesla K80 competitive in any benchmark?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan, the K80 scores 19,111 versus the RTX 3070's 21,022, a margin of only 9.1%, which is far closer than the OpenCL gap.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The Tesla K80 has 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The K80 has 50% more capacity, but the RTX 3070 has higher bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s versus 240.6 GB/s.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The Tesla K80 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W PSU, while the RTX 3070 has a TDP of 220 W and requires a 550 W PSU.

Q: Does the RTX 3070 have hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3070 has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, while the Tesla K80 has no such hardware.

Q: Which card is more recent?

A: The RTX 3070 was released on 2020-08-31, while the Tesla K80 was released on 2014-11-16. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database.