NVIDIA Tesla C2075 vs NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison between the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition is a study in generational extremes. The Tesla C2075, a Fermi 2.0 era compute card from mid-2011, occupies the 48th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The TITAN V CEO Edition, a Volta architecture part from mid-2018, sits at the 45th percentile based on its average benchmark score. These percentile ranks reflect the recorded average benchmark scores of 10,400 for the Tesla and 9,037 for the TITAN V, a counterintuitive result given the massive architectural gap.

The Tesla C2075 scores 10,400 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6500M and 1.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A. The TITAN V CEO Edition posts a Passmark G3D score of 16,988, a far more impressive raw number, but its average score is dragged down by a Passmark G2D result of 1,086. The data indicates that the TITAN V CEO Edition is the superior compute platform by nearly every architectural metric, but the benchmark averages tell a more nuanced story.

For compute workloads that leverage raw FP32 throughput, texture fill, and memory bandwidth, the TITAN V CEO Edition is the definitive choice. It delivers 14.90 TFLOPS FP32, 465.6 GTexel/s, and 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth, dwarfing the Tesla C2075's 1,027.7 GFLOPS, 32.14 GTexel/s, and 150.3 GB/s. However, for a legacy compute environment that depends on older driver stacks, PCIe 2.0 compatibility, or Fermi-specific code paths, the Tesla C2075 remains a functional, if ancient, option. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 10,400 is competitive with much newer parts, suggesting that in specific OpenCL workloads, the old Fermi architecture still holds its own. The verdict is clear: the TITAN V CEO Edition wins on pure capability, while the Tesla C2075 wins only in the narrow context of legacy compatibility and a single synthetic OpenCL test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by seven years of process and design evolution. The Tesla C2075 uses the GF110 chip, built on Fermi 2.0 architecture at TSMC's 40 nm node. The die measures 520 mm² and contains 3,000 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 5.8 million per square millimeter. The TITAN V CEO Edition uses the GV100 chip, built on Volta architecture at TSMC's 12 nm node. Its die is larger at 815 mm² but packs 21,100 million transistors, for a density of 25.9 million per square millimeter. That represents a density improvement of roughly 4.5 times, enabled by the smaller process node.

The memory subsystems are radically different. The Tesla C2075 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 150.3 GB/s of bandwidth at 3.1 Gbps effective. The TITAN V CEO Edition has 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 868.4 GB/s at 1,696 Mbps effective. The TITAN V has over 5.7 times the memory capacity and over 5.7 times the bandwidth. The bus width difference, 4096-bit versus 384-bit, is the primary enabler of that bandwidth advantage despite the lower per-pin data rate.

The compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The Tesla C2075 has 448 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The TITAN V CEO Edition has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 640 tensor cores. The TITAN V's pixel rate is 186.2 GPixel/s versus 16.07 GPixel/s for the Tesla, and its texture rate is 465.6 GTexel/s versus 32.14 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 14.90 TFLOPS versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS, a 14.5 times advantage. The TITAN V also supports FP16 at 29.80 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, a capability the Tesla lacks entirely. The TITAN V's tensor cores, 640 of them, are absent on the Tesla, reflecting the Volta generation's focus on AI and deep learning workloads.

The feature sets diverge as well. The Tesla C2075 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support. The TITAN V CEO Edition supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla has a single DVI display output, while the TITAN V has one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Tesla uses PCIe 2.0 x16, the TITAN V uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The TITAN V also carries 250 W TDP versus 247 W for the Tesla, a remarkably small power gap given the performance difference. Both are dual-slot cards with identical power connectors, 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin, though the TITAN V suggests a 600 W PSU versus 550 W for the Tesla.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The TITAN V CEO Edition has 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth from its 4096-bit HBM2 interface, while the Tesla C2075 has 150.3 GB/s from a 384-bit GDDR5 interface.

Q: Can the Tesla C2075 support modern graphics APIs?

A: The Tesla C2075 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but it has no Vulkan support. The TITAN V CEO Edition supports Vulkan 1.4 in addition to DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6.

Q: How do the FP32 computing capabilities compare?

A: The TITAN V CEO Edition delivers 14.90 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Tesla C2075 delivers 1,027.7 GFLOPS, making the TITAN V roughly 14.5 times faster in single-precision compute.

Q: Which card has tensor cores?

A: Only the TITAN V CEO Edition has tensor cores, with 640 of them. The Tesla C2075 has none, as tensor cores were introduced in the Volta architecture.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The Tesla C2075 is 248 mm (9.8 inches) long, while the TITAN V CEO Edition is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, 112 mm (4.4 inches) high, and 40 mm (1.6 inches) wide. Both are dual-slot cards.

Q: Why does the Tesla C2075 have a higher average benchmark score than the TITAN V CEO Edition?

A: The Tesla C2075's average benchmark score is 10,400 from a single Geekbench OpenCL test. The TITAN V CEO Edition's average is 9,037, pulled down by its Passmark G2D score of 1,086, even though its Passmark G3D score is 16,988.

Specification Differences

The recorded data shows the following divergences between the two cards. The Tesla C2075 is built on a 40 nm process, while the TITAN V CEO Edition uses 12 nm. The Tesla has 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, versus 21,100 million on an 815 mm² die for the TITAN V. Transistor density is 5.8 million per mm² for the Tesla and 25.9 million per mm² for the TITAN V.

The Tesla C2075 has no base or boost clock recorded, while the TITAN V CEO Edition has a 1200 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 783 MHz (3.1 Gbps effective) for the Tesla and 848 MHz (1,696 Mbps effective) for the TITAN V. Memory capacity is 6 GB GDDR5 for the Tesla versus 32 GB HBM2 for the TITAN V. The bus widths are 384-bit and 4096-bit, respectively, with bandwidths of 150.3 GB/s and 868.4 GB/s.

The Tesla has 448 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The TITAN V has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 640 tensor cores. The Tesla has no tensor cores and no FP16 capability. Pixel rates are 16.07 GPixel/s for the Tesla and 186.2 GPixel/s for the TITAN V. Texture rates are 32.14 GTexel/s and 465.6 GTexel/s. FP32 is 1,027.7 GFLOPS versus 14.90 TFLOPS. FP16 is only available on the TITAN V at 29.80 TFLOPS.

The TDPs are nearly identical, 247 W for the Tesla and 250 W for the TITAN V, but the suggested PSU differs, 550 W versus 600 W. The Tesla uses PCIe 2.0 x16, the TITAN V uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x DVI for the Tesla and 1x HDMI 2.0 plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the TITAN V. The Tesla supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the TITAN V supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but only the TITAN V supports Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla is 248 mm long, the TITAN V is 267 mm long. Release dates are July 2011 for the Tesla and June 2018 for the TITAN V. Both are end-of-life products.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark data offers only one direct comparison point for the Tesla C2075 and two for the TITAN V CEO Edition, but the margins are instructive. The Tesla C2075's Geekbench OpenCL score of 10,400 places it in the 48th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Radeon RX 6500M scores 10,362, just 0.4% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 550X scores 10,481, 0.8% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A scores 10,273, 1.2% behind, and the AMD Radeon R9 M275X scores 10,582, 1.7% ahead. This clustering suggests the Tesla C2075, despite its age, lands in a competitive band of mid-range GPUs for OpenCL workloads.

The TITAN V CEO Edition's Passmark G3D score of 16,988 is a dominant figure, far above the sub-11,000 scores of the Tesla C2075's rivals. However, its Passmark G2D score of 1,086 is modest, and its average benchmark score of 9,037 places it in the 45th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 at 9,022 (0.2% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 at 9,058 (0.2% ahead), the AMD Radeon 550X at 8,918 (1.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon 890M at 9,210 (1.9% ahead). The TITAN V's average score is therefore bracketed by older and newer discrete GPUs alike, a consequence of the G2D score weighting.

The biggest win for the Tesla C2075 is its average benchmark score, 10,400 versus 9,037, a 15.1% advantage over the TITAN V CEO Edition in the database's aggregated metric. The biggest win for the TITAN V CEO Edition is its Passmark G3D score of 16,988, which is 63.3% higher than the Tesla's 10,400 Geekbench OpenCL score, though the tests are not directly comparable. In raw compute specifications, the TITAN V leads by 14.5 times in FP32, 14.5 times in texture rate, and 11.6 times in pixel rate. The memory bandwidth advantage is 5.8 times, and the memory capacity advantage is 5.3 times.

The data suggests that the TITAN V CEO Edition is the stronger card for any modern workload, particularly those that use FP16, tensor cores, or Vulkan. The Tesla C2075's single OpenCL result, however, indicates that legacy Fermi compute code, if it runs at all, can still produce respectable scores in synthetic tests. The TITAN V's G2D score of 1,086 is a clear weak point, and its average score suffers accordingly. The Tesla's lack of Vulkan support and its DirectX 12 (11_0) feature level limit its relevance, but its 48th percentile rank is higher than the TITAN V's 45th percentile rank in the database's overall distribution. For a buyer choosing between these two end-of-life cards, the TITAN V CEO Edition is the obvious choice for compute density, memory capacity, and modern API support, while the Tesla C2075 offers only a narrow OpenCL-specific edge and a lower suggested PSU requirement of 550 W versus 600 W.