AMD Radeon Pro 5500M vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a strikingly one-sided picture. In the sole head-to-head comparison available, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M dominates the NVIDIA Tesla K20c with a decisive victory. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the Radeon Pro 5500M scoring 31,088 against the Tesla K20c's 11,479. That represents a 170.8% advantage for the AMD part—a margin so large that it suggests fundamental architectural differences rather than incremental performance tuning.

Contextualizing these scores through the nearest rivals framework reinforces the scale of this gap. The Tesla K20c's average benchmark score sits at 11,479, while the Radeon Pro 5500M averages 11,528. The delta between them is a mere 0.4% in favor of the AMD card when averaging across all benchmarks—but that aggregate figure masks the OpenCL-specific blowout. The K20c's only recorded benchmark is that same Geekbench OpenCL run, meaning its average is entirely defined by its weakest comparison against the newer card.

The Radeon Pro 5500M's other benchmark results paint a broader picture of its capabilities. Its Geekbench Metal score reaches 38,235, and its Vulkan score hits 35,134—both indicating strong performance across modern API workloads. The Passmark suite shows a G3D score of 6,732 and a GPU compute score of 3,240. These figures are not directly comparable to the Tesla K20c, which lacks corresponding entries, but they place the AMD card at the 51st percentile among all GPUs. The Tesla K20c shares that exact same 51st percentile ranking, which seems counterintuitive given the OpenCL disparity—yet the percentile reflects the full distribution of GPUs, not just this pairwise comparison.

When examining the nearest rival deltas, both cards sit in remarkably close proximity to a cluster of competing products. The Radeon Pro 5500M is 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, while leading the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M by 2.4%. The Tesla K20c trails the RX 7800 XT by 1.3% and the GTX 1660 by 1.7%, while leading the GTX 780M by 1.9%. This tight grouping suggests both cards occupy a similar performance tier in aggregate, even though their single comparable workload diverges dramatically.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only directly comparable benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test decisively, scoring 31,088 against the NVIDIA Tesla K20c's 11,479—a 170.8% advantage.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare between the two cards?

A: The Radeon Pro 5500M averages 11,528 across its full benchmark suite, while the Tesla K20c averages 11,479 from its single OpenCL result. The delta is only 0.4% in favor of the AMD card.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: Both the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c rank at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, placing them in the middle of the performance distribution.

Q: Does the Tesla K20c have any benchmark where it outperforms the Radeon Pro 5500M?

A: The data shows zero wins for the Tesla K20c. The head-to-head comparison contains only one test, and the AMD card wins it outright.

Q: How does the Radeon Pro 5500M perform in non-OpenCL benchmarks?

A: Beyond OpenCL, the Radeon Pro 5500M scores 38,235 in Geekbench Metal, 35,134 in Geekbench Vulkan, 6,732 in Passmark G3D, and 3,240 in Passmark GPU compute. These indicate strong performance across diverse workloads.

Q: What rivals are closest to these cards in average score?

A: Both cards sit near the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (average 11,627) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (average 11,680). The Radeon Pro 5500M trails each by 0.8% and 1.3% respectively, while the Tesla K20c trails by 1.3% and 1.7%.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast, explaining the benchmark disparity. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla K20c, by contrast, uses the GK110 chip on Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process—also at TSMC—but sprawling across a 561 mm² die with 7,080 million transistors. Its density is a far lower 12.6 million per square millimeter.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Radeon Pro 5500M offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 12 Gbps effective speed. The Tesla K20c provides 5 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 320-bit bus, achieving 208.0 GB/s at 5.2 Gbps effective. The older card actually has higher memory bandwidth, yet this does not translate to benchmark success—likely because its compute architecture is less efficient per clock.

Compute resources tell a nuanced story. The Tesla K20c has more raw hardware: 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 40 ROPs. The Radeon Pro 5500M counters with 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite fewer units, the AMD card achieves higher throughput: 4.454 TFLOPS FP32 versus 3.524 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card. It also delivers 139.2 GTexel/s texture rate versus 146.8 GTexel/s, and 46.40 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 36.71 GPixel/s. The AMD card even supports FP16 at 8.909 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla K20c has no FP16 capability listed.

Clock behavior differs as well. The Radeon Pro 5500M has explicit base and boost clocks of 1000 MHz and 1450 MHz respectively. The Tesla K20c lists no base or boost clock figures in the data, suggesting either fixed operation or undocumented frequency behavior. The AMD card's higher effective clocks, combined with its modern architecture, are likely key contributors to its OpenCL dominance.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for compute workloads. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M outperforms the NVIDIA Tesla K20c by 170.8% in their only directly comparable benchmark—Geekbench OpenCL. This is not a marginal victory but a generational leap. The Radeon Pro 5500M's modern RDNA 1.0 architecture, 7 nm process, and higher FP32 throughput of 4.454 TFLOPS versus 3.524 TFLOPS all support this result.

That said, the Tesla K20c is not without merit. It matches the Radeon Pro 5500M at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, and its average score of 11,479 is only 0.4% behind the AMD card's 11,528. The K20c also offers higher memory bandwidth at 208.0 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s, and more raw shading units at 2,496 versus 1,536. For workloads that specifically leverage its Kepler architecture strengths—particularly those that scale with texture units or memory bandwidth—the older card may still hold relevance.

However, the benchmark evidence is unambiguous. The Radeon Pro 5500M wins the only head-to-head test, and its broader benchmark suite demonstrates versatility across Metal, Vulkan, and Passmark workloads. The Tesla K20c has no recorded wins. For anyone choosing between these two based on the available data, the AMD card is the superior choice for OpenCL compute tasks. The NVIDIA card's legacy status and 2012 release date—versus 2019 for the AMD part—further reinforce this conclusion.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measurable specification. Process node: 7 nm for AMD versus 28 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor count: 6,400 million versus 7,080 million, though on vastly different die sizes—158 mm² versus 561 mm². Transistor density: 40.5M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm².

Memory: 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 5 GB GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 208.0 GB/s. Clock speeds: the Radeon Pro 5500M has base and boost clocks of 1000 MHz and 1450 MHz, while the Tesla K20c lists none. Memory clocks: 12 Gbps effective versus 5.2 Gbps effective.

Compute units: 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for AMD; 2,496 shading units, 208 TMUs, and 40 ROPs for NVIDIA. Throughput: 4.454 TFLOPS FP32 versus 3.524 TFLOPS; 139.2 GTexel/s versus 146.8 GTexel/s; 46.40 GPixel/s versus 36.71 GPixel/s. FP16: 8.909 TFLOPS for AMD, none listed for NVIDIA.

Power and physical specs: 85 W TDP with no power connectors for the AMD card versus 225 W TDP with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors for the NVIDIA card. The Tesla K20c requires a 550 W suggested PSU, is dual-slot, measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length, and has no display outputs. The Radeon Pro 5500M has portable-device-dependent outputs.

Interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for NVIDIA. DirectX support: 12 (12_1) versus 12 (11_0). Vulkan: 1.4 versus 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Production status: both end-of-life. Release dates: 2019-11-12 for AMD, 2012-11-11 for NVIDIA. The Tesla K20c has a launch MSRP of 3,199 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M wins in the only directly benchmarked scenario: OpenCL compute, where it leads by 170.8%. Its broader benchmark results—38,235 in Metal, 35,134 in Vulkan, 6,732 in Passmark G3D, and 3,240 in Passmark GPU compute—suggest strength across modern API workloads. Its higher FP32 throughput, FP16 support, and 7 nm efficiency make it well-suited for contemporary compute tasks that leverage these features. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory, while narrower in bus width, offers higher effective clock speed and modern memory technology.

The NVIDIA Tesla K20c's potential advantages lie in areas not directly benchmarked but inferable from specifications. Its higher memory bandwidth of 208.0 GB/s could benefit memory-bound workloads that the benchmarks do not capture. Its larger number of shading units (2,496) and TMUs (208) might excel in specific compute patterns that scale with these resources, particularly if software is optimized for Kepler's execution model. The wider 320-bit memory bus and 5 GB capacity could also serve workloads requiring large, bandwidth-intensive data sets. Its PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while older, offers double the lane width of the AMD card's PCIe 4.0 x8.

However, these theoretical advantages lack empirical support in the benchmark data. The Tesla K20c records zero wins against the Radeon Pro 5500M. Its single benchmark result—11,479 in OpenCL—places it at parity in average score (11,479 versus 11,528) but far behind in the actual test. For practical purposes, the Radeon Pro 5500M is the safer choice across measured workloads, while the Tesla K20c remains a legacy option whose strengths would need to be validated by workload-specific testing that the current data does not include.