Tesla K20X vs Quadro FX 540
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Curie (2003−2013) | Kepler (2012−2018) |
| GPU code name | NV43 | GK110 |
| Market segment | Workstation | Workstation |
| Release date | 9 August 2004 (19 years ago) | 12 November 2012 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $299 | $7,699 |
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | no data | 2688 |
| Core clock speed | 300 MHz | 732 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 146 million | 7,080 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 110 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 235 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 2.400 | 164.0 |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 3,935 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 1.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 198 mm | 267 mm |
| Width | 1-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | DDR | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 6 GB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 500 MBps | 5200 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 8 GB/s | 249.6 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video | No outputs |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 9.0c (9_3) | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 3.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.0 (full) 2.1 (partial) | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | N/A | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.1.126 |
| CUDA | no data | 3.5 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 9 August 2004 | 12 November 2012 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 6 GB |
| Chip lithography | 110 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 235 Watt |
FX 540 has 840% lower power consumption.
Tesla K20X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 8 years, a 4700% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 292.9% more advanced lithography process.
We couldn't decide between Quadro FX 540 and Tesla K20X. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
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