AMD Radeon HD 6950 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 Comparison

The GeForce GT 1010 and Radeon HD 6950 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear, though modest, victory for the newer NVIDIA part in the single available benchmark, but the underlying specifications reveal a fascinating contrast in how each company approached performance. The GT 1010 is a product of efficiency and modern manufacturing, while the HD 6950 is a relic of brute force and massive die sizes.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL score, where the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 achieves 6698 points, beating the AMD Radeon HD 6950's 6210 points. This results in a 7.9% performance delta in favor of the GT 1010. While this is a decisive win for NVIDIA, it is not a landslide. The margin is significant enough to be meaningful in a benchmark, but it is also surprisingly close given the massive differences in their physical specifications.

To contextualize this, the GT 1010's score places it in the 38th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 6950 sits just below at the 36th percentile. This confirms that both cards are in the entry-level performance tier, and the benchmark results indicate that the GT 1010 is the stronger performer. Looking at the nearest rivals for each card, the GT 1010's competition includes the AMD Radeon R7 M370, which scores 6764 (a -1% delta), and the R7 M460 at 6612 (a 1.3% delta). This places the GT 1010 in a tight cluster of mobile and low-end desktop parts. The HD 6950, however, is oddly grouped with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 and RTX 5070 Ti SUPER, both scoring 6270 (a -0.9% delta for both), which shows that its raw compute score is still comparable to much newer, more expensive cards in this specific test, though the overall architecture and feature set are vastly different.

The single benchmark result tells a clear story: the modern GT 1010 is faster. The victory is narrow, however, and one might question whether a different workload, such as gaming or texture-heavy tasks, would yield a different outcome given the HD 6950's vastly superior texture and pixel throughput capabilities.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two cards is immense. The GT 1010 is built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture, using the GP108 chip, and is fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung. This is a modern, highly efficient design. In contrast, the HD 6950 uses AMD's TeraScale 3 architecture, with the Cayman chip, manufactured on an older 40 nm process at TSMC. This generational gap explains almost everything about their performance characteristics.

The most striking difference is in the transistor budget. The HD 6950 packs 2,640 million transistors onto a massive 389 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of just 6.8M / mm². The GT 1010, by comparison, is minuscule, with only 1,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die, but achieves a density of 24.3M / mm². The HD 6950 is a sprawling, power-hungry design, while the GT 1010 is densely packed and efficient. This is further reflected in the shading units: the HD 6950 has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs), while the GT 1010 has just 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

The memory subsystems also diverge wildly. Both have 2 GB of GDDR5, but the HD 6950 uses a 256-bit bus to achieve 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth, whereas the GT 1010 is hamstrung by a 64-bit bus providing only 48.06 GB/s. The HD 6950's bandwidth advantage is enormous and would be critical for high-resolution textures. The HD 6950 also supports a wider array of display outputs, including 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, while the GT 1010 is limited to 1x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 2.0. In terms of API support, the GT 1010 is more modern, supporting DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 6950 is limited to DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support at all.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results indicate a single win for the GT 1010, but the specification data suggests distinct usage scenarios where each card would excel. The GT 1010's victory in the OpenCL compute test points to its modern architecture being more efficient at general-purpose compute tasks. Its support for newer APIs like Vulkan and DirectX 12 also gives it a clear advantage in modern games that leverage these technologies. Its incredibly low power draw of 30 W and single-slot design make it ideal for basic desktop tasks, HTPCs, and systems with limited power supplies.

The HD 6950, despite losing the compute benchmark, has a clear theoretical advantage in traditional rasterization workloads. Its 70.40 GTexel/s texture rate and 25.60 GPixel/s pixel rate dwarf the GT 1010's 23.49 GTexel/s and 11.74 GPixel/s. In older games or applications that are heavily dependent on fill rate and memory bandwidth, the HD 6950's 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth would likely provide a significant performance boost. It was designed for high-resolution gaming in its era, and its massive 286 mm length and 200 W TDP reflect that ambition, requiring 2x 6-pin power connectors and a 550 W power supply.

Thus, the GT 1010 wins on compute efficiency and modern API support, while the HD 6950 wins on raw fill rate and memory bandwidth for legacy workloads. The data implies a trade-off: one card is a modern, efficient generalist, while the other is a specialized, power-hungry veteran.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010, scoring 6698 compared to the AMD Radeon HD 6950's 6210, a 7.9% difference.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card have?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6950 has a 256-bit memory bus providing 160.0 GB/s, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 has a 64-bit bus providing 48.06 GB/s.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010, with a TDP of 30 W and no power connectors, is far more efficient than the AMD Radeon HD 6950, which has a 200 W TDP and requires 2x 6-pin power connectors.

Q: Do both cards support modern APIs?

A: No. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 only supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support.

Q: What is the production status of these GPUs?

A: Both the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 and the AMD Radeon HD 6950 are marked as "End-of-life" in production status.

Q: What is the transistor density of each chip?

A: The NVIDIA GT 1010's GP108 chip has a density of 24.3M / mm², while the AMD HD 6950's Cayman chip has a density of just 6.8M / mm².

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 | AMD Radeon HD 6950 |

|:--- |:--- |:--- |

| Architecture | Pascal | TeraScale 3 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 40 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 1,800 million | 2,640 million |

| Die Size | 74 mm² | 389 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.3M / mm² | 6.8M / mm² |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 48.06 GB/s | 160.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 256 | 1408 |

| TMUs | 16 | 88 |

| ROPs | 8 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 11.74 GPixel/s | 25.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 23.49 GTexel/s | 70.40 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 751.6 GFLOPS | 2.253 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 30 W | 200 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 200 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 2.0 | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 11.2 (11_0) |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.4 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | null |

| Dimensions (Length) | 147 mm (5.8 inches) | 286 mm (11.3 inches) |

| Release Date | 2021-01-12 | 2010-12-13 |

| Launch MSRP | null | 299 USD |

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for different types of users. For someone building a low-power, modern system for everyday computing, media playback, or light esports titles, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 is the obvious choice. It delivers superior compute performance, supports modern APIs like Vulkan, and consumes a fraction of the power. Its 30 W TDP and lack of power connectors mean it can be dropped into almost any system without concern.

However, for a user with a legacy system from the early 2010s who is playing older games that are not API-heavy but rely on raw fill rate, the AMD Radeon HD 6950 could still be a viable option. Its 70.40 GTexel/s texture rate and 160.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are massive advantages that the GT 1010 cannot match. The HD 6950 is also the only one of the two with a stated launch price, at 299 USD, which gives a historical reference point for its original market position.

Ultimately, the benchmark results show the GT 1010 as the faster card overall, but the HD 6950 is not obsolete in every scenario. The GT 1010 is the superior modern product, but the HD 6950 confirms a bygone era of high-power, high-bandwidth design that still holds a niche for specific, older workloads.