NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M vs NVIDIA Tesla C2075 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits these two GPUs into distinct roles. The NVIDIA Tesla C2075 takes the single head-to-head victory in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 10,400 against the GTX 850M's 9,821. That 5.9% margin is modest but consistent, and it places the Tesla in the 48th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 850M sits at the 46th percentile.

The Tesla C2075's win is a compute-oriented one. Its OpenCL result puts it just 0.4% ahead of an AMD Radeon RX 6500M and 1.2% ahead of a GeForce GTX 950A, while trailing the AMD Radeon R9 M275X by 1.7% and the RX 550X by 0.8%. Those are close groupings, which tells you the Tesla is competitive with mid-range mobile parts from later generations despite its age. The GTX 850M, by contrast, trades blows with a different tier: its average score of 9,302 is 0.1% above a GeForce GTX 465, 0.3% above a GTX 960, and 0.9% above an AMD Radeon Vega 8, while sitting 0.1% below the Radeon R7 M380.

Where the GTX 850M wins is in versatility and efficiency. The database shows it also has a Geekbench Vulkan result of 8,782, which the Tesla C2075 lacks entirely. That means the 850M can run modern graphics APIs, while the Tesla is limited to OpenCL in this comparison. The 850M's 45 W TDP versus the Tesla's 247 W is another decisive split: one is a laptop part, the other is a workstation accelerator that needs a dual-slot cooler and external power. If the workload is pure compute throughput on a desktop, the Tesla wins. If the workload is mobile, power-constrained, or Vulkan-based, the GTX 850M is the only option.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from different eras and different design philosophies. The Tesla C2075 uses the GF110 die, built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture at TSMC's 40 nm process. It packs 3,000 million transistors onto a 520 mm² die, which works out to 5.8 million transistors per square millimeter. That is a large, power-hungry chip designed for maximum parallel compute. The GTX 850M uses the GM107 die, built on the Maxwell architecture at 28 nm. It has 1,870 million transistors on a much smaller 148 mm² die, yielding 12.6 million transistors per square millimeter. The density advantage is clear: Maxwell packs more than twice the transistors per area, which is why the 850M can deliver comparable or better performance per watt.

Shading unit counts tell a different story. The Tesla has 448 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The GTX 850M has 640 shading units but only 40 TMUs and 16 ROPs. So the Maxwell part has more raw shader cores, but far fewer texture and pixel processing units. The Tesla's higher ROP count (48 versus 16) and wider memory bus (384 bit versus 128 bit) are hallmarks of a compute-focused design, while the 850M's shader-heavy layout is typical for a mobile graphics part.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Tesla C2075 carries 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 150.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 850M has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, which yields only 32.03 GB/s. That is a 4.7x bandwidth difference in favor of the Tesla, and it is the single biggest architectural gap between the two. The Tesla also has a higher memory clock at 783 MHz (3.1 Gbps effective) versus the 850M's 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective), but the bus width difference dominates.

Feature support is another separator. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 850M adds Vulkan 1.4 support, while the Tesla C2075 has no Vulkan entry in the database. The 850M runs on PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Tesla is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16. The Tesla's display output is a single DVI port, whereas the 850M's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its laptop origins. The Tesla requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU; the 850M needs no external power connectors.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The Tesla C2075. It scores 10,400 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 9,821 for the GTX 850M, a 5.9% advantage.

Q: Can the GTX 850M run Vulkan workloads?

A: Yes. The database lists a Geekbench Vulkan score of 8,782 for the GTX 850M. The Tesla C2075 has no Vulkan score recorded.

Q: Why does the Tesla have such a large memory bandwidth advantage?

A: The Tesla uses a 384-bit bus with 6 GB of GDDR5, producing 150.3 GB/s. The GTX 850M uses a 128-bit bus with 2 GB of DDR3, producing 32.03 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The GTX 850M has 640 shading units. The Tesla C2075 has 448. However, the Tesla has more texture mapping units (56 versus 40) and more ROPs (48 versus 16).

Q: What are the power requirements for each?

A: The Tesla C2075 has a 247 W TDP, requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, and a 550 W suggested PSU. The GTX 850M has a 45 W TDP and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU is better for a laptop?

A: The GTX 850M. It is an integrated-style mobile part with a 45 W TDP and no external power requirement. The Tesla C2075 is a dual-slot desktop accelerator with a 247 W TDP.

Specification Differences

The table below summarizes only the fields where the two GPUs differ in the database.

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla C2075 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M |

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

| Architecture | Fermi 2.0 | Maxwell |

| Chip | GF110 | GM107 |

| Generation | Tesla Fermi (x20xx) | GeForce 800M |

| Process node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 3,000 million | 1,870 million |

| Die size | 520 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Transistor density | 5.8M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Memory clock | 783 MHz, 3.1 Gbps effective | 1001 MHz, 2 Gbps effective |

| Memory size | 6 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory bus width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 150.3 GB/s | 32.03 GB/s |

| Shading units | 448 | 640 |

| TMUs | 56 | 40 |

| ROPs | 48 | 16 |

| Pixel rate | 16.07 GPixel/s | 14.43 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 32.14 GTexel/s | 36.08 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,027.7 GFLOPS | 1,154.6 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 247 W | 45 W |

| Slot width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | None |

| Bus interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display outputs | 1x DVI | Portable Device Dependent |

| Vulkan support | None | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | 248 mm, 9.8 inches length | Not specified |

| Release date | 2011-07-24 | 2014-03-11 |

| Predecessor | Tesla | GeForce 700M |

| Successor | Tesla Kepler | GeForce 900M |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records exactly one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The Tesla C2075 wins that test with a score of 10,400, beating the GTX 850M's 9,821 by 5.9%. That is the sole measured comparison, so the analysis of wins is straightforward: the Tesla holds a 1-0 record in head-to-head tests.

The 5.9% margin in OpenCL is worth unpacking. The Tesla's advantage comes from its massive memory bandwidth (150.3 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s) and its higher ROP count (48 versus 16), which matter in compute workloads that are bandwidth-bound or require heavy pixel throughput. However, the GTX 850M is not far behind despite having a fraction of the memory bandwidth. The Maxwell architecture's higher shading unit count (640 versus 448) and higher FP32 throughput (1,154.6 GFLOPS versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS) close much of the gap. The 850M also has a higher texture rate at 36.08 GTexel/s versus the Tesla's 32.14 GTexel/s, so in texture-heavy scenes the roles could reverse.

The GTX 850M's additional Vulkan score of 8,782 is not a direct head-to-head comparison because the Tesla has no Vulkan result. But it is a functional win: the 850M supports a modern API that the Tesla cannot use at all. In the database, the Tesla's only benchmark is OpenCL, which limits its applicability. The 850M's average benchmark score across both tests is 9,302, which is lower than its OpenCL-only result of 9,821 because the Vulkan score drags it down. The Tesla's average benchmark score is 10,400, matching its single OpenCL result.

If you look at nearest rivals, the Tesla's 10,400 OpenCL score sits in a tight cluster: the AMD Radeon RX 6500M scores 10,362 (0.4% behind), the GeForce GTX 950A scores 10,273 (1.2% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 550X scores 10,481 (0.8% ahead). The Tesla is right in the middle of that pack. The GTX 850M's average of 9,302 puts it among a different set: the GeForce GTX 465 scores 9,294 (0.1% behind), the GTX 960 scores 9,273 (0.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon R7 M380 scores 9,313 (0.1% ahead). Neither GPU is a standout in its peer group; both land within roughly 1% of their nearest rivals.

In terms of percentile ranking, the Tesla's 48th percentile versus the 850M's 46th percentile reflects the slim overall performance edge. The Tesla is slightly above average in the database's full GPU population, while the 850M is slightly below. That difference is consistent with the 5.9% OpenCL win. The real takeaway is not that one is vastly faster, but that they serve different markets: the Tesla is a dated compute card that still holds its own in OpenCL, and the 850M is a low-power mobile chip that trades raw compute for API support and efficiency.