AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA Quadro K4100M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single direct comparison between the AMD Radeon 550X and the NVIDIA Quadro K4100M, and the result is a narrow victory for the older NVIDIA part. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Quadro K4100M scores 9149 against the Radeon 550X's 8866, a 3.1% advantage. That is a slim margin, well within the range of run-to-run variability for most workloads, but it does establish that the Quadro holds a measurable edge in this specific compute API.

The broader benchmark picture reinforces the closeness of this pairing. The Radeon 550X posts an average benchmark score of 8918 across all recorded tests, while the Quadro K4100M averages 7906. That average is dragged down by the Quadro's Geekbench Metal score of 6662, a test the Radeon does not appear in. When looking only at the shared OpenCL test, the two are nearly inseparable, with the Quadro's 3.1% lead being the only head-to-head data point available.

Context from the nearest rivals list helps interpret what these scores mean. The Radeon 550X sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with its average score of 8918 placing it just 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8863) and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M265X (8851). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (9022) by 1.2% and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition (9037) by 1.3%. The Quadro K4100M, meanwhile, sits at the 41st percentile, and its average of 7906 is actually 0.2% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 (7925), 1.7% below the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 (8039), 1.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (8040), and 1.8% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (8053). So while the Quadro wins the one direct head-to-head, its overall standing in the database is lower than the Radeon's.

The data suggests a specific interpretation: the Quadro K4100M is competitive in raw OpenCL compute, but its overall profile is weaker. The Radeon 550X, by contrast, has a higher average score and a better percentile ranking, indicating more consistent performance across the tests in which it was measured. The single head-to-head win for the Quadro should not be over-weighted given the 3.1% delta is small and the Radeon's average is 12.8% higher overall.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the direct benchmark comparison between the two?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K4100M wins the only recorded head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 9149 compared to the AMD Radeon 550X's 8866. That is a 3.1% advantage for the Quadro.

Q: How do their overall average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X has a higher average benchmark score of 8918, while the NVIDIA Quadro K4100M averages 7906. The Radeon's average is roughly 12.8% higher, despite losing the single direct OpenCL test.

Q: What do their percentile rankings indicate?

A: The Radeon 550X ranks at the 45th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Quadro K4100M ranks at the 41st percentile. This indicates the Radeon sits slightly higher in the overall performance distribution.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon 550X is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, but 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition. The Quadro K4100M is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, 1.7% behind both the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, and 1.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti.

Q: Which card has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The Quadro K4100M has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 550X has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon has higher bandwidth despite the smaller bus, while the Quadro has double the capacity.

Q: What is the release date and launch MSRP for each?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X was released in March 2019, while the NVIDIA Quadro K4100M was released in July 2013. The Quadro K4100M has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD; the Radeon 550X has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Radeon 550X is the better overall GPU in the database, despite losing the single head-to-head OpenCL test. Its average benchmark score of 8918 is significantly higher than the Quadro's 7906, and its 45th percentile ranking beats the Quadro's 41st. The Quadro's only direct win, a 3.1% margin in OpenCL, is real but narrow, and it does not compensate for the Radeon's higher standing elsewhere.

For a user prioritizing raw OpenCL compute in the specific test recorded, the Quadro K4100M has a slight edge. But for anyone looking at the broader performance picture, the Radeon 550X is the stronger choice. The Radeon also brings a more modern feature set, which is discussed in the architecture section below, and it does so with a lower power draw of 50 W compared to the Quadro's 100 W.

The Quadro's one clear advantage beyond the OpenCL score is memory capacity: 4 GB versus 2 GB. That matters for workloads that exceed the Radeon's 2 GB frame buffer, such as large 3D scenes or certain compute tasks. The Quadro also has a wider 256-bit memory bus, though this does not translate into higher bandwidth; the Radeon's 112.0 GB/s actually exceeds the Quadro's 102.4 GB/s.

In summary, the Radeon 550X wins on overall benchmark performance, percentile ranking, bandwidth, process node, and power efficiency. The Quadro K4100M wins on memory capacity, raw OpenCL score in the head-to-head, and its launch MSRP of 1,499 USD, which is the only price data available for either card.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon 550X is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 21.4M per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro K4100M uses a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, for a density of 12.0M per mm². The Radeon is the more efficient design by density, though the Quadro packs more raw transistors.

Clock speeds favor the Radeon. Its base clock is 1082 MHz with a boost of 1218 MHz, while the Quadro runs at a fixed 706 MHz for both base and boost. Memory clocks also differ: the Radeon's memory runs at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective, while the Quadro's runs at 800 MHz with 3.2 Gbps effective. The Radeon's memory bandwidth is 112.0 GB/s, slightly above the Quadro's 102.4 GB/s, despite the Quadro having a 256-bit bus versus the Radeon's 128-bit bus.

Memory capacity is the Quadro's main spec win: 4 GB versus the Radeon's 2 GB, both GDDR5. Compute unit counts differ substantially. The Radeon has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the Quadro has 1152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The Quadro's texture rate is 67.78 GTexel/s versus the Radeon's 38.98 GTexel/s, a 73.9% advantage in favor of the Quadro. The Radeon does win on pixel rate, 19.49 GPixel/s versus 16.94 GPixel/s.

Peak FP32 performance goes to the Quadro at 1.627 TFLOPS, while the Radeon manages 1,247.2 GFLOPS. The Radeon also supports FP16 at 1,247.2 GFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the Quadro has no recorded FP16 capability. Power consumption strongly favors the Radeon at 50 W TDP versus the Quadro's 100 W. The Radeon uses a dual-slot form factor with a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface and no power connectors, while the Quadro is an MXM module using an MXM-B (3.0) interface. The suggested PSU for the Radeon is 250 W; no suggested PSU is recorded for the Quadro.

The Radeon is 145 mm in length (5.7 inches), while the Quadro has no recorded dimensions. Display outputs differ completely: the Radeon offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Quadro's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile MXM design.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is significant, reflecting their different release eras. The AMD Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, part of the Polarism generation in the RX 500X series, with a 14 nm process. The NVIDIA Quadro K4100M uses the GK104 chip based on Kepler architecture, part of the Quadro Kepler-M generation, on a 28 nm process. The Radeon is the newer design by roughly six years, with a release date in March 2019 versus July 2013 for the Quadro.

The Radeon's newer process node allows for far greater transistor density, 21.4M per mm² versus 12.0M per mm², even though the Quadro has more total transistors (3,540 million versus 2,200 million). This density advantage explains how the Radeon achieves competitive performance with far fewer resources and lower power.

API support differs in notable ways. The Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Quadro supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Radeon's DirectX 12_0 and newer Vulkan version give it an edge in modern API compatibility, while the Quadro's DirectX 12 support is limited to the 11_0 feature level.

The Radeon has FP16 support at 1,247.2 GFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, a feature absent entirely on the Quadro, which has no FP16 capability listed. The Radeon's 14 nm process node is the foundational difference, enabling its lower 50 W TDP and smaller 103 mm² die size, while the Quadro's 28 nm node requires a 294 mm² die and 100 W TDP. Neither chip has ray tracing cores or tensor cores; both are traditional rasterization-focused designs.

The Radeon's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Vega, while the Quadro's predecessor is Quadro Fermi-M and its successor is Quadro Maxwell-M. Both are end-of-life products, so neither is a current-generation option.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 550X wins on overall benchmark performance, with an average score of 8918 versus the Quadro's 7906. It also wins on percentile ranking, sitting at the 45th percentile versus the Quadro's 41st. The Radeon also holds the advantage in bandwidth (112.0 GB/s versus 102.4 GB/s), pixel rate (19.49 GPixel/s versus 16.94 GPixel/s), FP16 capability, and power efficiency (50 W versus 100 W). Its native display outputs and newer API support, including DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3, make it the more flexible option for modern software environments.

The NVIDIA Quadro K4100M wins on the only direct head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with 9149 versus 8866, a 3.1% margin. It also wins on memory capacity with 4 GB versus 2 GB, which is relevant for memory-heavy workloads. Its texture rate of 67.78 GTexel/s is 73.9% higher than the Radeon's 38.98 GTexel/s, and its peak FP32 throughput of 1.627 TFLOPS exceeds the Radeon's 1,247.2 GFLOPS. The Quadro also carries a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD, the only price data recorded for either card.

In practical terms, the Radeon 550X is the better choice for users who value overall performance consistency, lower power draw, modern API support, and newer manufacturing technology. The Quadro K4100M is the better choice for users who need more memory capacity, higher texture throughput, or the specific OpenCL compute performance measured in the head-to-head test. The Quadro's mobile MXM form factor also makes it a candidate for laptop upgrades, while the Radeon's dual-slot, PCIe 3.0 x8 design suits a desktop tower with a 250 W suggested PSU.