Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 vs Tesla K20c

AMD

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

2015Core: 925 MHzBoost: 975 MHz
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VS
NVIDIA

Tesla K20c

2012Core: 706 MHz
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Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 vs Tesla K20c 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 R9 270 / R7 370 vs Tesla K20c: 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 R9 270 / R7 370

2015

Why buy it

  • Costs $3,050 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $3,199 MSRP).
  • Delivers 1963.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 28.6 vs 1.4 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $3,199 MSRP).
  • Draws 110W instead of 225W, a 115W reduction.
  • Measures 220mm instead of 267mm, a 47mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Tesla K20c

2012

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 2047% HIGHER MSRP
    $3,199 MSRPvs$149 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.4 vs 28.6 G3D/$ ($3,199 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
  • 104.5% higher power demand at 225W vs 110W.
  • 21.4% longer card at 267mm vs 220mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Tesla K20c is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 4% in PassMark G3D (4,432 vs 4,260), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 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 and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $3,050 cheaper on MSRP at $149 vs $3,199, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1963.7% (28.6 vs 1.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Tesla K20c still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 vs Tesla K20c Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 5 2015. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 925 MHz to 975 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 110W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,260 points.

NVIDIA

Tesla K20c

The Tesla K20c is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in November 12 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 706 MHz. It has 2496 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,432 points. Launch price was $3,199.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 scores 4,260 and the Tesla K20c reaches 4,432 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Tesla K20c uses Kepler, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 2,496 (Tesla K20c). Raw compute: 2.496 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 3.524 TFLOPS (Tesla K20c).

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
G3D Mark Score
4,260
4,432+4%
Architecture
GCN 1.0
Kepler
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1280
2496+95%
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.496 TFLOPS
3.524 TFLOPS+41%
ROPs
32
40+25%
TMUs
80
208+160%
L1 Cache
384 KB+85%
208 KB
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1.25 MB+150%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 and 64-bit on the Tesla K20c. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 1.25 MB (Tesla K20c) — the Tesla K20c has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
256-bit+300%
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1.25 MB+150%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_1) (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 11_0 (Tesla K20c). Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
DirectX
12 (11_1)+9%
11_0
Max Displays
4
0
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 draws 110W versus the Tesla K20c's 225W — a 68.7% difference. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 350W (Tesla K20c). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 220mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
TDP
110W-51%
225W
Recommended PSU
450W
350W-22%
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
220mm
267mm
Height
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
70
Perf/Watt
38.7+96%
19.7
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 came in at $149, while the Tesla K20c launched at $3199. On MSRP, Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 was 95.3% cheaper ($3050 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 28.6 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) vs 1.4 (Tesla K20c) — the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 offers 1942.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 (2015 vs 2012).

FeatureRadeon R9 270 / R7 370Tesla K20c
MSRP
$149-95%
$3199
Performance per Dollar
28.6+1943%
1.4
Codename
Trinidad
GK110
Release
May 5 2015
November 12 2012
Ranking
#456
#549

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