Radeon HD 7790 vs Tesla C2070

AMD

Radeon HD 7790

2013Core: 1000 MHz
VS
NVIDIA

Tesla C2070

2011Core: 574 MHz

Radeon HD 7790 vs Tesla C2070 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon HD 7790 vs Tesla C2070: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon HD 7790

2013

Why buy it

  • βœ…Costs $1,350 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
  • βœ…Delivers 896% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.7 vs 2.1 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
  • βœ…Draws 85W instead of 238W, a 153W reduction.
  • βœ…Measures 183mm instead of 248mm, a 65mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Tesla C2070

2011

Why buy it

  • βœ…200% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 2 GB).

Trade-offs

  • ❌2011 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    906% HIGHER MSRP
    $1,499 MSRPvs$149 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.1 vs 20.7 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
  • ❌180% higher power demand at 238W vs 85W.
  • ❌35.5% longer card at 248mm vs 183mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Tesla C2070 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1% in PassMark G3D (3,121 vs 3,090), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon HD 7790 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 28nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2013 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 7790 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $1,350 cheaper on MSRP at $149 vs $1,499, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 896% (20.7 vs 2.1), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Tesla C2070 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 7790 vs Tesla C2070 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

Radeon HD 7790

The Radeon HD 7790 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 22 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 896 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 85W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,090 points. Launch price was $149.

NVIDIA

Tesla C2070

The Tesla C2070 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 25 2011. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 574 MHz. It has 448 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 238W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,121 points.

⚑

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7790 scores 3,090 and the Tesla C2070 reaches 3,121 in the G3D Mark benchmark β€” just a 1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7790 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Tesla C2070 uses Fermi, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 896 (Radeon HD 7790) vs 448 (Tesla C2070). Raw compute: 1.792 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7790) vs 1.028 TFLOPS (Tesla C2070).

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
G3D Mark Score
3,090
3,121+1%
Architecture
GCN 2.0
Fermi
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
896+100%
448
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.792 TFLOPS+74%
1.028 TFLOPS
ROPs
16
48+200%
TMUs
56
56
L1 Cache
224 KB
896 KB+300%
L2 Cache
256 KB
768 KB+200%
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
πŸ’Ύ

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon HD 7790 has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Tesla C2070 carries 6 GB. Tesla C2070 gives you 200% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7790 and 64-bit on the Tesla C2070. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 7790) vs 768 KB (Tesla C2070) β€” the Tesla C2070 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
6 GB+200%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
768 KB+200%
πŸ–₯️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_0) (Radeon HD 7790) vs 12 (11_0) (Tesla C2070). OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 5 vs 1.

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
DirectX
12 (12_0)
12 (11_0)
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
5+400%
1
🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7790) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Tesla C2070).

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
Encoder
VCE 2.0
β€”
Decoder
UVD 4.2
β€”
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
πŸ”Œ

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7790 draws 85W versus the Tesla C2070's 238W β€” a 94.7% difference. The Radeon HD 7790 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (Radeon HD 7790) vs 350W (Tesla C2070). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 183mm vs 248mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
TDP
85W-64%
238W
Recommended PSU
400W
350W-13%
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
183mm
248mm
Height
111mm
β€”
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
70
β€”
Perf/Watt
36.4+178%
13.1
πŸ’°

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 7790 came in at $149, while the Tesla C2070 launched at $1499. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7790 was 90.1% cheaper ($1350 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 20.7 (Radeon HD 7790) vs 2.1 (Tesla C2070) β€” the Radeon HD 7790 offers 885.7% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 7790 (2013 vs 2011).

FeatureRadeon HD 7790Tesla C2070
MSRP
$149-90%
$1499
Performance per Dollar
20.7+886%
2.1
Codename
Bonaire
GF100
Release
March 22 2013
July 25 2011
Ranking
#579
#575

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