GPU Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear split decision: the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 dominates in OpenCL while the AMD Radeon 540 takes a decisive lead in Vulkan. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Quadro K1200 scores 8831 against the Radeon 540's 6184, a 42.8% advantage that represents the single largest performance gap in this comparison. That is not a marginal win; it is a substantial margin that positions the Quadro K1200 far ahead in compute-oriented workloads that leverage OpenCL. Conversely, the Vulkan test flips the script entirely, the Radeon 540 posts 9162, while the Quadro K1200 manages 7698, yielding a 16% deficit for the NVIDIA card. This is a meaningful reversal, suggesting that the AMD card's architecture handles Vulkan's low-level API overhead more efficiently.

The average benchmark score across both tests tells a more nuanced story. The Quadro K1200 averages 8265, while the Radeon 540 averages 7673, a difference of roughly 7.7% in favor of NVIDIA. However, this aggregate figure obscures the fact that each card wins one test outright. The OpenCL result is the headline for the Quadro K1200, as its 42.8% lead is nearly three times larger than the Radeon 540's Vulkan margin. In percentile terms, the Quadro K1200 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon 540 lands at the 41st percentile, adjacent positions that confirm these are comparable mid-range performers overall, despite their divergent API-specific strengths.

Looking at nearest rivals provides additional context. The Quadro K1200's average score of 8265 places it 1.2% above the GeForce GTX 980 (8167) and 1.6% above the GTX 950M (8135), while trailing the Radeon R9 M375X (8325) by a negligible 0.7%. The Radeon 540's 7673 average sits 1.2% above the Radeon Pro WX 3100 (7580) and 1.5% above the Radeon R7 250 (7557), with the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (7723) edging it out by just 0.6%. These tight margins underscore that both cards operate in a crowded performance band where small architectural differences decide outcomes.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 uses the GM107 chip built on the Maxwell architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon 540 employs the Lexa chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The process node gap is significant: 14 nm versus 28 nm means the AMD chip packs transistors more densely, 21.4 million per square millimeter compared to 12.6 million for NVIDIA. This translates to the Radeon 540's 2,200 million transistors squeezed into a 103 mm² die, while the Quadro K1200's 1,870 million transistors occupy a larger 148 mm² die.

Shader resources differ as well. The Quadro K1200 fields 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster operation pipelines (ROPs). The Radeon 540 counters with 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Despite fewer shading units, the Radeon 540 achieves a higher pixel rate, 18.93 GPixel/s versus 16.53 GPixel/s, owing to its higher clock speeds. However, the Quadro K1200's superior TMU count and texture rate of 33.06 GTexel/s outpaces the Radeon 540's 28.39 GTexel/s. In raw FP32 throughput, the Quadro K1200 delivers 1,057.8 GFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS for the Radeon 540, a 16.4% advantage. Interestingly, the Radeon 540 offers FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (908.5 GFLOPS), while the Quadro K1200 has no listed FP16 capability, a feature that matters for certain compute workloads.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Quadro K1200 ships with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 80.19 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 540 is far more limited: 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus, producing only 24.00 GB/s, a 70% reduction in bandwidth. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the Quadro K1200 runs at 954 MHz base and 1033 MHz boost, with memory at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The Radeon 540 has no listed base or boost clocks, but its memory runs at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). API support favors AMD on DirectX, 12 (12_0) versus NVIDIA's 12 (11_0), while both support OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan support goes to NVIDIA at version 1.4 versus AMD's 1.3.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro K1200 is the clear choice for OpenCL-heavy workloads. Its 42.8% lead in that benchmark is the most decisive result in this comparison, and its higher FP32 throughput (1,057.8 GFLOPS) reinforces its suitability for compute tasks that rely on the OpenCL framework. The 4 GB memory capacity and 80.19 GB/s bandwidth also make it the better option for datasets that exceed the Radeon 540's 1024 MB frame buffer. Texture-bound operations favor NVIDIA as well, given its 33.06 GTexel/s texture rate and 32 TMUs versus AMD's 28.39 GTexel/s and 24 TMUs.

The Radeon 540 wins the Vulkan matchup by 16%, which is its strongest argument. Its GCN 4.0 architecture appears better optimized for Vulkan's explicit API model, and the 1:1 FP16 ratio (908.5 GFLOPS) gives it an edge in workloads that can leverage half-precision arithmetic. The higher pixel rate (18.93 GPixel/s) also suggests an advantage in fill-rate-limited scenarios, despite the narrower memory bus. For users running Vulkan-based applications or games, the Radeon 540's performance profile is simply more favorable.

Power and connectivity favor different use cases. The Quadro K1200 draws 45 W TDP with a 200 W suggested PSU, while the Radeon 540 draws 50 W with a 250 W suggested PSU, both are low-power cards that require no external power connectors. The Quadro K1200 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, making it the better fit for multi-monitor professional setups. The Radeon 540 provides 2x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which support newer display standards but fewer simultaneous displays. The Quadro K1200 also uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the Radeon 540 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, a trade-off between older but wider versus newer but narrower bus interfaces.

Specification Differences

The most striking specification gap is memory capacity: the Quadro K1200 has 4 GB versus the Radeon 540's 1024 MB, a 4x difference. Memory bandwidth amplifies this: 80.19 GB/s versus 24.00 GB/s, a 3.3x gap. Bus width also differs dramatically: 128-bit versus 32-bit. The Quadro K1200 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs; the Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Clock speeds are listed for NVIDIA (954 MHz base, 1033 MHz boost) but absent for AMD, making direct clock comparisons impossible. Process node favors AMD at 14 nm versus 28 nm, with corresponding transistor density improvements (21.4M/mm² versus 12.6M/mm²) and die size reductions (103 mm² versus 148 mm²).

FP32 throughput favors NVIDIA at 1,057.8 GFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS, while FP16 is only specified for AMD (908.5 GFLOPS, 1:1 ratio). TDP differs slightly: 45 W for NVIDIA versus 50 W for AMD, with suggested PSUs at 200 W and 250 W respectively. Display outputs vary: 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 versus 2x DisplayPort 1.4a. Bus interfaces differ: PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x8. DirectX support goes to AMD (12_0 versus 11_0), as does Vulkan version (1.3 versus 1.4 for NVIDIA, NVIDIA actually leads here). Both are single-slot cards with no power connectors. The Quadro K1200 has listed dimensions (160 mm length, 69 mm height), while the Radeon 540's dimensions are not provided.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 delivers 1,057.8 GFLOPS FP32, which is 16.4% higher than the AMD Radeon 540's 908.5 GFLOPS. However, the Radeon 540 offers FP16 at 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio), which the Quadro K1200 does not list.

Q: How do they compare in memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The Quadro K1200 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 540 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus with only 24.00 GB/s, a 4x capacity difference and a 3.3x bandwidth difference in favor of NVIDIA.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan applications?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 9162, beating the Quadro K1200's 7698 by 16%. This is the Radeon 540's only benchmark win.

Q: What is the advantage of the Quadro K1200 in OpenCL?

A: The Quadro K1200 scores 8831 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 6184 for the Radeon 540, a 42.8% advantage. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards in any benchmark.

Q: Which card supports more display outputs?

A: The Quadro K1200 offers 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the Radeon 540 provides 2x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. NVIDIA supports more simultaneous displays, but AMD supports a newer DisplayPort standard.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: Both are end-of-life. The Quadro K1200 was released on 2015-01-27, and the Radeon 540 on 2017-04-19.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture: this is a benchmark-split decision where the right choice depends entirely on the target workload. If OpenCL compute performance is the priority, the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 is the definitive winner, its 42.8% lead in that benchmark is the largest margin in this comparison, and its 4 GB memory capacity and 80.19 GB/s bandwidth make it substantially more capable for memory-intensive compute tasks. The Quadro K1200 also wins on FP32 throughput (1,057.8 GFLOPS) and texture rate (33.06 GTexel/s), reinforcing its suitability for professional compute and texture-heavy workloads.

If Vulkan API performance matters more, the AMD Radeon 540 takes the crown with a 16% advantage, and its 1:1 FP16 capability adds versatility for half-precision compute. The Radeon 540's higher pixel rate (18.93 GPixel/s) and newer 14 nm process node also point to better efficiency per die area, even though its 32-bit memory bus is a severe bottleneck for any memory-heavy application.

For professional multi-display setups, the Quadro K1200's 4x mini-DisplayPort outputs and lower TDP (45 W versus 50 W) make it the more practical choice. For users prioritizing Vulkan gaming or applications that exploit FP16, the Radeon 540 has a genuine edge. The overall average benchmark scores (8265 versus 7673) slightly favor NVIDIA, but the 41st and 43rd percentiles show both cards are firmly in mid-range territory. Choose the Quadro K1200 for OpenCL and memory-bandwidth-bound compute; choose the Radeon 540 for Vulkan and pixel-rate-bound workloads. There is no universal winner, only the right tool for the specific job.