AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA Tesla K20c

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT scores 48,289 points, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20c manages 11,479 points. This gives AMD a 320.7% advantage, meaning the RX 6500 XT delivers roughly four times the compute throughput in this particular workload. The delta is so large that it overshadows every other consideration in this comparison.

Looking at the broader averaged data, the RX 6500 XT holds an average benchmark score of 11,842 across all its tested workloads, placing it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs. The Tesla K20c, with only the single OpenCL result available, averages 11,479 and also sits at the 51st percentile. Despite the massive OpenCL gap, both cards land at the same percentile when accounting for the full benchmark suite of the AMD part, which includes DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests, Passmark G2D and G3D tests, and GPU compute results.

The RX 6500 XT’s individual benchmark results paint a more nuanced picture than the OpenCL blowout. Its Passmark G3D score is 9,608, which is its strongest traditional graphics result. The Passmark DirectX 11 score comes in at 90, while DirectX 9 reaches 108. DirectX 12 performance drops to 38, and DirectX 10 sits at 60. The GPU compute score is 4,456, and the 2D score is 815. For modern API workloads, the card shows a clear preference: Vulkan scores 54,724 in Geekbench, which is higher than the OpenCL result, indicating strong compute capabilities under that API.

The Tesla K20c’s single data point is the OpenCL score of 11,479, which is now its only measurable benchmark. Given that this card was designed for compute workloads rather than graphics rendering, the absence of DirectX or Vulkan scores in the data limits any direct comparison outside of OpenCL. Its architecture, Kepler, was built for high-throughput parallel processing, but the raw numbers here show it falling far behind the newer AMD part in raw OpenCL execution.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT wins every measurable category. In the sole head-to-head test, it is 320.7% faster in OpenCL compute. It also wins on raw pixel throughput, with a pixel rate of 90.08 GPixel/s compared to the Tesla K20c’s 36.71 GPixel/s, representing a 145% advantage. Texture rate follows suit: 180.2 GTexel/s versus 146.8 GTexel/s, a 22.8% lead for AMD. Floating-point performance also favors the Radeon, with 5.765 TFLOPS FP32 versus 3.524 TFLOPS, a 63.6% gap. The AMD card additionally supports FP16 at 11.53 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Tesla K20c has no listed FP16 capability at all.

For gaming and graphics workloads, the RX 6500 XT has the clear edge across all API generations. Its Passmark DirectX 11 score of 90 and DirectX 9 score of 108 indicate solid legacy API performance, while its DirectX 12 score of 38 and Vulkan score of 54,724 show it handles modern APIs effectively. The Tesla K20c has no such scores available, and its DirectX support is listed as 12 (11_0), which is a lower feature level than the RX 6500 XT’s 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD card also includes 16 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Tesla K20c.

The Tesla K20c’s only potential advantage is memory capacity, with 5 GB of GDDR5 versus 4 GB of GDDR6. Its memory bus is wider at 320 bit versus 64 bit, and its bandwidth is higher at 208.0 GB/s versus 143.9 GB/s. These specifications suggest the Tesla could handle larger datasets in a single batch, but the actual OpenCL benchmark shows it far behind, indicating that raw bandwidth does not translate to compute superiority in this test.

The Verdict

From the available data, the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is the superior performer in every measurable metric. Its OpenCL score alone is 320.7% higher, and it leads in pixel rate, texture rate, FP32 throughput, and API feature support. The RX 6500 XT is also more efficient on paper, with a TDP of 107 W compared to the Tesla K20c’s 225 W, and it requires a 300 W power supply versus 550 W. The AMD card uses a 6 nm process node versus 28 nm, and has a much smaller die size of 107 mm² versus 561 mm².

The Tesla K20c is an older compute-oriented card, released in 2012, while the RX 6500 XT launched in 2022. The Tesla’s only listed benchmark is the OpenCL test, where it is dramatically outperformed. Its wider memory bus and larger capacity do not help in the measured workload. For any user choosing between these two based strictly on performance data, the RX 6500 XT is the clear choice. The Tesla K20c might still be relevant for legacy compute tasks that require its specific Kepler architecture, but the benchmark data shows no scenario where it wins.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT in OpenCL compute?

A: The RX 6500 XT scores 48,289 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Tesla K20c scores 11,479, giving AMD a 320.7% advantage.

Q: Which GPU has better memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla K20c has higher memory bandwidth at 208.0 GB/s, compared to the RX 6500 XT’s 143.9 GB/s, despite the AMD card using faster GDDR6 memory.

Q: Does the Tesla K20c support ray tracing?

A: No, the Tesla K20c has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 6500 XT includes 16 ray tracing cores under RDNA 2.0 architecture.

Q: What is the DirectX feature level of each card?

A: The RX 6500 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Tesla K20c supports DirectX 12 (11_0), a lower feature level.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Tesla K20c has 2,496 shading units, while the RX 6500 XT has 1,024 shading units. Despite this, the AMD card achieves higher FP32 performance of 5.765 TFLOPS versus 3.524 TFLOPS.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RX 6500 XT has an average benchmark score of 11,842, and the Tesla K20c has an average score of 11,479, with both sitting at the 51st percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design eras and purposes. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, specifically the Navi 24 chip, using a 6 nm process at TSMC. It packs 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 50.5M per mm². The Tesla K20c uses NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture, based on the GK110 chip, manufactured on a 28 nm process. It contains 7,080 million transistors across a much larger 561 mm² die, with a density of 12.6M per mm².

The RX 6500 XT features 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units, plus 16 dedicated ray tracing cores. It supports FP16 computing at 11.53 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, and its API support includes DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Tesla K20c has 2,496 shading units, 208 texture mapping units, and 40 render output units, but no ray tracing or tensor cores. Its FP16 capability is not listed, and its API support stops at DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175.

The Tesla K20c’s memory controller is 320-bit wide, supporting 5 GB of GDDR5 at 208.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6500 XT uses a 64-bit bus with 4 GB of GDDR6 at 143.9 GB/s. The AMD card’s smaller bus is compensated by faster memory clocks, but the Tesla’s wider bus gives it a bandwidth advantage. The RX 6500 XT has no display outputs listed for the Tesla, while the AMD card includes 1x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Specification Differences

The most obvious differences are in process node and die size. The RX 6500 XT uses a 6 nm process, while the Tesla K20c uses 28 nm. Transistor count differs, with 5,400 million for AMD and 7,080 million for NVIDIA. Die size is 107 mm² versus 561 mm², and transistor density is 50.5M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially. The RX 6500 XT has a base clock of 2310 MHz and boost clock of 2815 MHz, with a game clock of 2610 MHz. The Tesla K20c has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective). The AMD card’s memory clock is 2248 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

Power requirements diverge sharply. The RX 6500 XT has a TDP of 107 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Tesla K20c draws 225 W, needs a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, and suggests a 550 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards, but the Tesla K20c is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, while the RX 6500 XT has no listed dimensions.

Interface and output differences are notable. The RX 6500 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the Tesla K20c uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, whereas the Tesla K20c has no display outputs at all. The RX 6500 XT was released on 2022-01-18, and the Tesla K20c on 2012-11-11. Both are end-of-life products. The launch MSRP for the RX 6500 XT is 199 USD, and the Tesla K20c is 3,199 USD.