AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs NVIDIA Quadro K1200 Comparison

# NVIDIA Quadro K1200 vs AMD Radeon HD 8850M

The benchmark database places the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 8850M in the single head-to-head OpenCL test, with a score of 8831 against 7447, a margin of 18.6%. The Quadro K1200 also holds a higher overall average benchmark score of 8265 compared to 7447 for the AMD part, and it sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon HD 8850M sits at the 40th percentile. The data favors the NVIDIA card in raw compute, but the AMD part counters with a different memory configuration and a different architectural generation, which changes the use case profile.

FAQ

Q: What are the benchmark scores for the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 and the AMD Radeon HD 8850M?

A: The recorded data shows the Quadro K1200 scoring 8831 in Geekbench OpenCL and the Radeon HD 8850M scoring 7447 in the same test. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the Quadro scores 7698. The average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 8265 for the Quadro and 7447 for the AMD.

Q: Which GPU wins in the head-to-head OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 wins the head-to-head OpenCL benchmark. Its score of 8831 is 18.6% higher than the 7447 posted by the AMD Radeon HD 8850M.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the nearest rival standings?

A: The Quadro K1200 is closest to the AMD Radeon R9 M375X, which averages 8325, a 0.7% gap. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is closest to the AMD Radeon R9 M360 with an average score of 8129, a 1.7% difference.

Q: Are there any Vulkan benchmark results for these cards?

A: Yes, the database records a Geekbench Vulkan score for the NVIDIA Quadro K1200: 7698. No Vulkan score is listed for the AMD Radeon HD 8850M.

Q: What production status does each card hold?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 is marked as End-of-life in the database. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is also marked as End-of-life.

Q: How much memory does each card use?

A: The Quadro K1200 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128 bit bus with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128 bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth.

The Verdict

Strictly from the database results, the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 is the compute winner. It leads the AMD Radeon HD 8850M in the OpenCL head-to-head by 18.6%, and its average benchmark score (8265) is 11.0% higher than the AMD part's 7447. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M, however, is no slouch: it has a newer architecture generation and a different memory class, and its lower scores come with a higher transistor density on a smaller die. For compute-heavy workloads, the Quadro K1200 is the clear pick. For scenarios where the GPU is used in a broadly compatible legacy system, the Radeon HD 8850M with its GDDR5 memory and GCN 1.0 design remains a capable alternative, but the data gives the win to the NVIDIA part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head test recorded in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 scored 8831 and the AMD Radeon HD 8850M scored 7447. That is an 18.6% margin for the Quadro. The Vulkan benchmark, listed only for the Quadro, adds 7698 to its record, but there is no AMD score to compare. The average score across all recorded benchmarks is 8265 for the Quadro K1200 and 7447 for the Radeon HD 8850M, a difference of 10.9%, which reflects the same margin as the head-to-head.

Specification Differences

The two chips differ most clearly in memory and clock architecture. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 runs at a base clock of 954 MHz with a boost of 1033 MHz, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M runs at 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) on the Quadro versus 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) on the AMD. The Quadro has 4 GB of GDDR5, double the AMD's 2 GB, and bandwidth of 80.19 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s. The Quadro K1200 also has a higher pixel rate, 16.53 GPixel/s versus 10.00 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate of 33.06 GTexel/s versus 25.00 GTexel/s.

The two parts are built on different foundries and nodes. NVIDIA uses a 28 nm process at TSMC with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, for a density of 12.6M transistors per mm². AMD uses a 28 nm process at TSMC with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, a density of 12.2M per mm².

Architecture Differences

The Quadro K1200 is based on the Maxwell architecture with a GM107 chip, part of the Quadro Kepler (Kx200) generation. It has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Radeon HD 8850M uses the GCN 1.0 architecture with the Venus chip, part of the Solar System (HD 8800M) generation. It has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The NVIDIA part does not have ray tracing or tensor cores, and the AMD part also does not have these blocks.

The display outputs also differ. The Quadro K1200 provides 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the Radeon HD 8850M has no display outputs listed in the database. In terms of API support, the Quadro K1200 lists DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD part lists DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA Quadro K1200 wins in the compute workload: it is 18.6% faster in the OpenCL head-to-head, holds a higher average score (8265 vs 7447), and has a higher percentile rank. AMD Radeon HD 8850M wins where the workload is memory-sensitive or where the task needs a larger number of shading units and TMUs: it has 640 shading units versus 512, and 40 TMUs versus 32. The AMD part also has a newer architecture generation and a denser transistor arrangement, which may fit software or compute stacks that lean on GCN 1.0. For an OpenCL-bound task, the Quadro K1200 is the better pick; for a task that is more memory-bound or that favors the higher shading unit count, the Radeon HD 8850M is the better pick.