AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 vs NVIDIA Quadro K2000D Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 and the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D are both end-of-life graphics cards, but they represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The data shows a single head-to-head benchmark result, with the AMD card edging out a narrow victory. This analysis will dissect that result, placing it in the context of each card's nearest rivals and architectural specifications to provide a definitive comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 scores 3977 points against the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D's 3919 points. This gives the AMD card a 1.5% lead in this specific metric. While a 58-point difference is a win, it is a marginal one, placing both cards in a very similar performance class for this workload.

The significance of this result becomes clearer when examining the nearest rivals for each card. The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2's score of 3977 places it just 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K2000, which scores 3964. It also maintains a 0.5% lead over the NVIDIA GeForce 830M and the AMD Radeon R5 M420, which score 3957 and 3956, respectively. The margin over the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M is 0.6%, with that card scoring 3953. This positions the HD 6850 X2 at the top of a very tight cluster of GPUs all scoring within a narrow range.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2000D, with its score of 3919, sits in a similarly tight grouping. It is 0.3% behind the NVIDIA Quadro 2000D, which scores 3930, but 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro 2000, which scores 3898. It also trails the GeForce GT 745M by 0.9% and leads the AMD Radeon R5 Graphics by 0.9%, the latter scoring 3883. The benchmark results indicate that these two cards are effectively peers, with the AMD card holding a slight edge in raw compute throughput as measured by this test.

The 1.5% delta between the two cards is smaller than the performance gap between each card and its own nearest rivals. For instance, the difference between the HD 6850 X2 and the GT 745M is 0.6%, while the difference between the K2000D and the Radeon R5 Graphics is 0.9%. This suggests that the head-to-head result, while a win for AMD, is within the noise of typical performance variation seen across this performance tier. The data shows a clear winner, but the margin is thin enough that real-world application performance could easily favor either card depending on the specific task.

The Verdict

From a purely performance-centric viewpoint, the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 is the winner in this comparison. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 3977 is higher, and it holds a 1.5% advantage over the Quadro K2000D. For any user whose primary concern is raw computational throughput as measured by this benchmark, the AMD card is the logical choice.

However, the verdict is far from one-sided when considering the broader feature set. The NVIDIA Quadro K2000D, despite its lower benchmark score, offers a compelling counter-argument. It is a single-slot card with a 51 W TDP and requires no power connectors, a stark contrast to the AMD card's dual-slot design, 254 W TDP, and dual 8-pin power connectors. The K2000D also has a more modern API support profile, including DirectX 12 and Vulkan 1.2.175, whereas the HD 6850 X2 is limited to DirectX 11.2 and has no Vulkan support. The choice between these two cards is a choice between marginal performance superiority and significant efficiency and feature advantages.

The data suggests that the Quadro K2000D is the more sensible pick for a professional workstation environment where power consumption, physical space, and modern software support are critical. The Radeon HD 6850 X2, while nominally faster, demands a 600 W power supply and a larger chassis. The benchmark results indicate that the performance difference is small, but the operational differences are large.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 wins in raw compute performance. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 3977 is the highest in this comparison, and it leads the Quadro K2000D by 1.5%. This suggests it has an advantage in compute-heavy tasks that are well-optimized for its architecture. Its higher pixel rate of 25.60 GPixel/s and texture rate of 38.40 GTexel/s also indicate a theoretical advantage in fill-rate-bound scenarios, despite the fact that this is not directly reflected in the OpenCL score.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2000D wins in virtually every other measurable category. Its power efficiency is dramatically better, with a 51 W TDP versus 254 W, and it requires only a 250 W power supply compared to the 600 W suggested for the AMD card. Its physical footprint is also a major win; it is a single-slot card measuring 202 mm in length, while the AMD card is dual-slot. The K2000D also wins on software compatibility, supporting DirectX 12 and Vulkan 1.2.175 APIs, which are absent on the AMD card. Its OpenGL 4.6 support is also more recent than the AMD card's OpenGL 4.4.

The AMD card does have a theoretical memory bandwidth advantage, with 134.4 GB/s over a 256-bit bus, versus the K2000D's 64.00 GB/s on a 128-bit bus. However, this advantage does not translate into a significant win in the OpenCL benchmark. The K2000D's smaller die size and higher transistor density (10.8M / mm² vs 6.7M / mm²) speak to a more modern, efficient design, even if it has fewer raw resources.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 has a higher score of 3977, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D's score of 3919, giving the AMD card a 1.5% lead.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K2000?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 scores 3977, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K2000's score of 3964.

Q: What is the performance difference between the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D and the NVIDIA Quadro 2000D?

A: The Quadro K2000D scores 3919, which is 0.3% lower than the Quadro 2000D's score of 3930.

Q: What are the power connector requirements for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 requires two 8-pin power connectors, while the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D requires none.

Q: Which card has a smaller physical footprint?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2000D is a single-slot card, while the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 is a dual-slot card.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 support the Vulkan API?

A: No, the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 does not support Vulkan, whereas the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on vastly different architectures and process nodes. The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 uses the Barts chip based on the TeraScale 2 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,700 million transistors on a 255 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 6.7M per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA Quadro K2000D uses the GK107 chip based on the Kepler architecture, also built by TSMC but on a more advanced 28 nm process. This allows for 1,270 million transistors on a much smaller 118 mm² die, achieving a higher transistor density of 10.8M per mm².

The compute resources differ significantly. The AMD card features 960 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The NVIDIA card has fewer resources, with 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This disparity is reflected in their theoretical peak performance figures. The AMD card achieves 1.536 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, a pixel rate of 25.60 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 38.40 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card is considerably lower, with 732.7 GFLOPS of FP32, a pixel rate of 7.632 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 30.53 GTexel/s.

Memory subsystems also differ. Both cards have 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, but the AMD card uses a 256-bit bus to achieve a bandwidth of 134.4 GB/s, while the NVIDIA card uses a 128-bit bus, halving bandwidth to 64.00 GB/s. The memory clocks are close, with the AMD card running at 1050 MHz (4.2 Gbps effective) and the NVIDIA card at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The API support is a major differentiator; the AMD card supports up to DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD card belongs to the Northern Islands (HD 6800) generation, succeeding Evergreen, while the NVIDIA card is from the Quadro Kepler (Kx000) generation, succeeding Quadro Fermi.