AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs NVIDIA Quadro P2200 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P2200 has a significantly higher average benchmark score of 8686, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M records an average score of 7447. The Quadro P2200 sits at the 44th percentile of all GPUs, 4 percentile points above the Radeon's 40th percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the only shared benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the only benchmark where both GPUs have recorded scores, the Quadro P2200 scores 32344 versus the Radeon HD 8850M's 7447. That is a 334.3% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P2200 has 1280 shading units, double the 640 shading units found on the AMD Radeon HD 8850M. The Quadro also has 80 texture mapping units and 40 ROPs, compared to 40 TMUs and 16 ROPs on the Radeon.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The Quadro P2200 comes with 5 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 200.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: How do the transistor counts and process nodes compare?

A: The Quadro P2200 is built on TSMC's 16 nm process with 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The Radeon HD 8850M uses TSMC's 28 nm process with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die.

Q: Which card supports a newer DirectX version?

A: The Quadro P2200 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), one step higher than the Radeon HD 8850M, which supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and PCI Express 3.0 x16, and the Quadro adds Vulkan 1.4 support.

Q: What is the release timeline for each GPU?

A: The Radeon HD 8850M was released on 2013-03-31 and belongs to the Solar System (HD 8800M) generation, while the Quadro P2200 was released on 2019-06-09 as part of the Quadro Pascal (Px200) generation. Both are end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The architecture gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The NVIDIA Quadro P2200 uses the GP106 chip built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M uses the Venus chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on the older 28 nm process. The production node difference is fundamental to many of the performance characteristics observed in the data.

Transistor density highlights this architectural evolution. The Quadro P2200 packs 4,400 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 22.0M transistors per square millimeter. The Radeon HD 8850M contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 12.2M per square millimeter. The newer Pascal design achieves nearly double the transistor density of the older GCN 1.0 part.

Clock behavior also differs markedly. The Quadro P2200 runs at a 1000 MHz base clock with a 1493 MHz boost clock. The Radeon HD 8850M operates at a 575 MHz base clock and 625 MHz boost clock. The NVIDIA card's boost clock is more than double the AMD card's base clock, which explains much of the compute throughput advantage.

Memory architecture further separates the two. The Quadro P2200 uses 5 GB of GDDR5X at 1251 MHz, reaching 10 Gbps effective and 200.2 GB/s bandwidth over a 160-bit interface. The Radeon HD 8850M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1000 MHz, reaching 4 Gbps effective and 64.00 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. The Quadro offers more than triple the bandwidth of the Radeon.

Feature support shows a similar divide. The Quadro P2200 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), Vulkan 1.4, and has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, along with a single-slot form factor and no external power connectors. The Radeon HD 8850M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, but the database lists no display outputs, slot width, or power connector details. Both support PCIe 3.0 x16 and OpenGL 4.6.

The Quadro also has specified pixel and texture rates of 59.72 GPixel/s and 119.4 GTexel/s, respectively. The Radeon manages 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. In FP32 compute, the Quadro delivers 3.822 TFLOPS versus 800.0 GFLOPS for the Radeon, a near fivefold difference.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one shared benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. This single data point dominates the head-to-head comparison, and the results are decisive.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 scores 32344, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447. The delta is 334.3% in favor of the Quadro. This is not a marginal win; the Quadro delivers more than four times the OpenCL score of the Radeon. For compute-oriented workloads that rely on OpenCL, the Pascal architecture's higher clock speeds, doubled shading units, and greater memory bandwidth translate directly into a commanding lead.

The Radeon HD 8850M has no winning benchmark in the head-to-head comparison. The data records 1 win for the Quadro P2200 and 0 wins for the Radeon. The Radeon's only benchmark result is its Geekbench OpenCL score of 7447, which also serves as its average benchmark score. The Quadro, by contrast, has a broader benchmark profile including Passmark DirectX tests, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute results.

Looking beyond the shared test, the Quadro P2200's average benchmark score of 8686 places it near rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 at 8743 (a 0.7% gap in the rival's favor), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile at 8746 (also 0.7% ahead), the AMD FirePro W5170M at 8595 (1.1% behind the Quadro), and the Intel Arc A380 at 8558 (1.5% behind). The Radeon HD 8850M's average score of 7447 sits close to the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at 7441 (0.1% behind the Radeon), the AMD Radeon R7 350 at 7425 (0.3% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 at 7472 (0.3% ahead), and the Intel Arc A310 at 7550 (1.4% ahead).

These rival positions contextualize the two cards. The Quadro P2200 competes in a performance tier roughly equivalent to midrange desktop and mobile GPUs from several generations, while the Radeon HD 8850M sits in a much lower tier, near integrated graphics solutions like the Intel UHD Graphics 750.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for users who need compute performance. The NVIDIA Quadro P2200 outperforms the AMD Radeon HD 8850M by 334.3% in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL. Its average benchmark score of 8686 versus 7447 represents a 16.6% advantage overall, and its 44th percentile ranking versus the Radeon's 40th percentile confirms a higher standing among all GPUs in the database.

For professional workloads that stress OpenCL compute, the Quadro P2200 is the only rational choice from this comparison. Its 5 GB GDDR5X memory with 200.2 GB/s bandwidth, 1280 shading units, and 3.822 TFLOPS FP32 performance provide the resources needed for demanding tasks. The Radeon HD 8850M, with 2 GB GDDR5, 640 shading units, and 800.0 GFLOPS, is a legacy mobile part that cannot match these figures.

The Radeon HD 8850M may still be relevant for systems that require its specific GCN 1.0 feature set or its 28 nm process compatibility, but the recorded benchmarks show no scenario where it wins against the Quadro. Its nearest rivals in the database, including the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and the AMD Radeon R7 350, are all within 1.4% of its average score, indicating that it performs in the range of low-end and integrated GPUs.

Users should select the Quadro P2200 for any application where compute throughput, memory capacity, or bandwidth matters. The Radeon HD 8850M is a dated part whose only benchmark result trails the Quadro by a factor of over four. The verdict from the data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 is the superior GPU by every measured metric.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every recorded specification field. The table below summarizes only the fields where the two parts diverge.

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro P2200 | AMD Radeon HD 8850M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 1.0 |

| Process node | 16 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 4,400 million | 1,500 million |

| Die size | 200 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor density | 22.0M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1000 MHz | 575 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1493 MHz | 625 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1251 MHz, 10 Gbps effective | 1000 MHz, 4 Gbps effective |

| Memory size | 5 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR5X | GDDR5 |

| Memory bus width | 160 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 200.2 GB/s | 64.00 GB/s |

| Shading units | 1280 | 640 |

| TMUs | 80 | 40 |

| ROPs | 40 | 16 |

| Pixel rate | 59.72 GPixel/s | 10.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 119.4 GTexel/s | 25.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 performance | 3.822 TFLOPS | 800.0 GFLOPS |

| FP16 performance | 59.72 GFLOPS (1:64) | Not recorded |

| TDP | 75 W | Not recorded |

| Slot width | Single-slot | Not recorded |

| Power connectors | None | Not recorded |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | Not recorded |

| Display outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | Not recorded |

| DirectX support | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Dimensions | 201 mm (7.9 inches) length, 111 mm (4.4 inches) height | Not recorded |

| Release date | 2019-06-09 | 2013-03-31 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Maxwell | London |

| Successor | Quadro Volta | Gem System |

| Generation | Quadro Pascal (Px200) | Solar System (HD 8800M) |

Fields not listed, such as the chip name (GP106 versus Venus), foundry (both TSMC), bus interface (both PCIe 3.0 x16), OpenGL support (both 4.6), production status (both end-of-life), and RT or tensor cores (both not recorded), are identical or unrecorded for both parts. The Quadro P2200 also has a recorded average benchmark score of 8686 and a 44th percentile ranking, while the Radeon HD 8850M has an average score of 7447 and a 40th percentile ranking.