AMD Radeon Pro 5300M vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall benchmark performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M holds a significant edge in the only directly comparable test. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD scores 29,252 versus the NVIDIA Tesla K20c’s 11,479, a difference of 60.8% in favor of the AMD part.

Q: What are the architecture generations and process nodes of these two cards?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K20c uses the Kepler architecture (GK110 chip) built on a 28 nm process with 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M uses RDNA 1.0 (Navi 14 chip) on a 7 nm process with 6,400 million transistors on a much smaller 158 mm² die.

Q: How do their memory subsystems differ?

A: The Tesla K20c has 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Radeon Pro 5300M has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has slightly more capacity and bandwidth, though the AMD uses faster memory technology.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU in the database?

A: The Tesla K20c sits at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 5300M is at the 48th percentile. Despite the AMD part’s much higher OpenCL score, its overall average benchmark score (10,013) is lower than the NVIDIA’s (11,479) because the AMD’s Passmark scores are comparatively modest.

Q: Which GPU has higher compute throughput in raw specifications?

A: The Tesla K20c lists 3.524 TFLOPS FP32 performance with 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 40 ROPs. The Radeon Pro 5300M lists 3.200 TFLOPS FP32 with 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, though it also supports FP16 at 6.400 TFLOPS (2:1), which the NVIDIA does not list.

Q: What are the power and connectivity differences?

A: The Tesla K20c has a 225 W TDP with dual-slot cooling and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, with a suggested 550 W PSU. The Radeon Pro 5300M has an 85 W TDP with no power connectors needed (portable device dependent) and uses PCIe 4.0 x8 versus the NVIDIA’s PCIe 2.0 x16.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA Tesla K20c and AMD Radeon Pro 5300M represent two very different design philosophies separated by seven years of GPU evolution. The Tesla K20c is a Kepler-generation compute accelerator from 2012, built on TSMC’s 28 nm process. It packs 7,080 million transistors into a massive 561 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². This is a chip designed for raw throughput in scientific and professional compute workloads, with 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 40 raster operations pipelines.

The Radeon Pro 5300M, released in 2019, uses AMD’s RDNA 1.0 architecture on TSMC’s 7 nm node. It integrates 6,400 million transistors into just 158 mm², achieving a much higher density of 40.5M per mm². This is a mobile-first design, intended for MacBook Pro-class laptops, with 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The architectural leap is evident: the newer process allows nearly the same transistor count in less than a third of the die area.

Memory architectures also diverge sharply. The Tesla uses 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus, achieving 208.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 5300M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, for 192.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the faster GDDR6 memory keeps bandwidth competitive. The NVIDIA card’s memory clock is listed at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), while the AMD runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), showing the generational speed improvement.

Feature support differs in API coverage. The Tesla K20c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Radeon Pro 5300M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD part also explicitly lists FP16 compute at 6.400 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), a capability absent from the NVIDIA’s specifications. Power efficiency strongly favors the newer chip: the Tesla draws 225 W TDP, while the Radeon Pro 5300M consumes only 85 W.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear generational split. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL, by a massive 60.8% margin. Its score of 29,252 dwarfs the Tesla K20c’s 11,479. For any workload that scales with OpenCL compute, the Radeon Pro 5300M is the superior choice, and it does so at nearly a third of the power draw.

However, the Tesla K20c is not without merit in specific contexts. Its higher FP32 throughput (3.524 TFLOPS vs 3.200 TFLOPS) and larger memory capacity (5 GB vs 4 GB) suggest it may still hold advantages in certain legacy compute tasks or applications that favor its wider memory bus and higher shading unit count. The NVIDIA card also has a higher average benchmark score (11,479 vs 10,013) because the AMD’s Passmark results are relatively low, despite its strong OpenCL showing.

For modern workloads, especially in mobile or power-constrained environments, the Radeon Pro 5300M is clearly the better engineering achievement. For legacy compute installations where Kepler-era CUDA support or the specific Tesla feature set is required, the K20c remains a functional option, though its end-of-life status and 225 W power draw are notable drawbacks. The database suggests that buyers prioritizing raw OpenCL performance and efficiency should choose the AMD part, while those with specific Tesla Kepler compatibility needs may still consider the NVIDIA card.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla K20c | AMD Radeon Pro 5300M |

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

| Architecture | Kepler | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 6,400 million |

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 158 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 40.5M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 5 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 320 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 208.0 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2496 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 208 | 80 |

| ROPs | 40 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 36.71 GPixel/s | 40.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 146.8 GTexel/s | 100.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.524 TFLOPS | 3.200 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 6.400 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 225 W | 85 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not listed |

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

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2012-11-11 | 2019-11-12 |

| Launch MSRP | 3,199 USD | Not listed |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is lopsided. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M scores 29,252 against the NVIDIA Tesla K20c’s 11,479. This represents a delta of 60.8% in favor of the AMD card. In practical terms, the Radeon Pro 5300M completes OpenCL compute tasks more than two and a half times faster than the Tesla K20c, based on these scores.

The broader benchmark picture adds nuance. The Tesla K20c’s average benchmark score is 11,479, placing it at the 51st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11,528, only 0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (11,627, 1.3% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11,680, 1.7% higher). The Tesla also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M (11,261) by 1.9%. This clustering suggests the K20c sits in a narrow performance band where small percentage differences separate competitors.

The Radeon Pro 5300M’s average benchmark score is 10,013, at the 48th percentile. Its closest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K5100M (10,043, 0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M375 (10,070, 0.6% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro 6000 (9,846, 1.7% lower). The AMD card’s Geekbench OpenCL score of 29,252 is more than double its own average, indicating that its OpenCL performance is a standout strength relative to its other measured workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M wins decisively in raw OpenCL compute performance, as the head-to-head result demonstrates. Its score of 29,252 in Geekbench OpenCL is a clear victory, and the 60.8% delta over the Tesla K20c makes this the single largest performance gap in the comparison. The AMD card also wins on power efficiency, with an 85 W TDP versus the NVIDIA’s 225 W, making it far better suited for mobile or thermally constrained environments.

The Tesla K20c wins in several specific specification categories. It offers higher FP32 throughput (3.524 TFLOPS vs 3.200 TFLOPS), more memory capacity (5 GB vs 4 GB), and greater memory bandwidth (208.0 GB/s vs 192.0 GB/s). Its texture rate is also higher at 146.8 GTexel/s versus 100.0 GTexel/s, and it has significantly more shading units (2,496 vs 1,280). These advantages could translate to better performance in workloads that are heavily dependent on raw shading power or memory bandwidth, even if the OpenCL benchmark does not reflect it.

The Radeon Pro 5300M pulls ahead in pixel rate (40.00 GPixel/s vs 36.71 GPixel/s) and supports newer API versions, including DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4. It also offers FP16 compute at 6.400 TFLOPS, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla’s specifications. For rendering tasks that leverage these newer APIs or half-precision compute, the AMD card is clearly the stronger option.

In summary, the Radeon Pro 5300M is the better choice for OpenCL-heavy workloads, power-sensitive applications, and modern API support. The Tesla K20c retains advantages in memory capacity, bandwidth, and shading unit count, making it potentially preferable for legacy compute tasks that specifically require those resources. The database’s percentile rankings show both cards in the middle of the performance distribution, but the head-to-head result strongly favors the newer AMD architecture.