AMD Radeon Pro 555X vs NVIDIA Quadro M2000 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 records an average benchmark score of 14532, while the AMD Radeon Pro 555X scores 13321. The Quadro M2000 leads by 1211 points.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Quadro M2000 scores 14588, which is 15.5% higher than the Radeon Pro 555X's 12628 in the same test.

Q: What is the difference in process technology between the two?

A: The NVIDIA chip is built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the AMD chip uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. AMD's process node is smaller, but the recorded data shows no direct performance advantage from this.

Q: Which GPU offers better Vulkan performance?

A: The Quadro M2000 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 14475, beating the Radeon Pro 555X's 12855 by 12.6%.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of each card?

A: The Quadro M2000 has a memory bandwidth of 105.8 GB/s, while the Radeon Pro 555X provides 94.08 GB/s. Both use 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128 bit bus.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for both GPUs?

A: Both the Quadro M2000 and the Radeon Pro 555X have 768 shading units. They also both have 48 texture mapping units, though the ROP count differs.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 is based on the GM206 chip using the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 2,940 million transistors on a die size of 228 mm², giving a transistor density of 12.9 million transistors per mm². This architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The AMD Radeon Pro 555X uses the Polaris 21 chip with the GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The die is smaller at 123 mm² but packs 3,000 million transistors, resulting in a higher transistor density of 24.4 million transistors per mm². Its API support includes DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

A key difference lies in the ROP count. The Quadro M2000 has 32 ROPs, while the Radeon Pro 555X has only 16 ROPs. This contributes to a notable gap in pixel fill rate: 37.22 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 14.51 GPixel/s for AMD. The texture fill rate also favors NVIDIA at 55.82 GTexel/s against 43.54 GTexel/s for AMD, despite both having 48 TMUs. The clock speeds drive this difference, as the Quadro M2000 runs at a base of 796 MHz with a boost of 1163 MHz, whereas the AMD card has no listed base or boost clocks for the core.

The FP32 compute performance shows the Quadro M2000 at 1.786 TFLOPS. The Radeon Pro 555X delivers 1,393.2 GFLOPS in FP32 and matches that in FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The NVIDIA card has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture is similar on the surface: both have 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128 bit bus. However, the effective memory speed differs. The Quadro M2000 runs at 1653 MHz with 6.6 Gbps effective, yielding 105.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 555X runs at 1470 MHz with 5.9 Gbps effective, providing 94.08 GB/s.

The physical and power profiles also diverge. The Quadro M2000 is a single-slot card measuring 201 mm (7.9 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height, with no power connectors and a TDP of 75 W, plus a suggested PSU of 250 W. The Radeon Pro 555X is classified as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for portable devices, with no listed dimensions and no power connectors, also at 75 W TDP, but no suggested PSU. The bus interface differs as well: PCIe 3.0 x16 for NVIDIA versus PCIe 3.0 x8 for AMD. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.2 on the Quadro M2000, while the Radeon Pro 555X is portable device dependent.

The Verdict

The benchmark data consistently favors the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 in every recorded head-to-head test. It wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan with double-digit percentage margins. Its average benchmark score of 14532 places it at the 56th percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 555X sits at the 54th percentile with an average of 13321.

For users whose workloads rely on OpenCL or Vulkan acceleration, the Quadro M2000 is the clear choice from the recorded measurements. The 15.5% lead in OpenCL and 12.6% lead in Vulkan are substantial and consistent across both API tests. The Quadro M2000 also offers higher pixel rate and texture rate, which may matter for graphics-intensive tasks that are not captured by these specific benchmarks.

The Radeon Pro 555X does have one unique advantage in the data: it records a Geekbench Metal score of 14479, a test that the Quadro M2000 does not have an entry for. On Apple platforms where Metal is the primary API, this could be relevantable, but the database does not include a direct comparison in that test.

The AMD card is an integrated part of a portable device, so it is not a drop-in replacement for a discrete single-slot card. The Quadro M2000 is a standalone PCIe 3.0 x16 card with four DisplayPort outputschers. Buyers choosing between these two should consider the form factor first. If the system requires a discrete card with multiple display outputs, only the Quadro M2000 fits that description in the recorded data.

Given that the Quadro M2000 wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head tests and holds a higher average score, the data supports selecting NVIDIA for any workload that can use the tested APIs. The Radeon Pro 555X may still serve well in its intended integrated role, but for raw compute performance as measured, it trails the Quadro M2000 across the board.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA Quadro M2000 | AMD Radeon Pro 555X |

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

| Chip | GM206 | Polaris 21 |

| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 2,940 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 228 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.9M / mm² | 24.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 796 MHz | Not listed |

| Boost Clock | 1163 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1653 MHz, 6.6 Gbps effective | 1470 MHz, 5.9 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 105.8 GB/s | 94.08 GB/s |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 37.22 GPixel/s | 14.51 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 55.82 GTexel/s | 43.54 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1.786 TFLOPS | 1,393.2 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 1,393.2 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Dimensions | 201 mm (7.9 in) length, 111 mm (4.4 in) height | Not listed |

| Release Date | 2016-04-07 | 2018-07-15 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two tests, both of which the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 wins decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Quadro M2000 posts a score of 14588 against the Radeon Pro 555X's 12628. This is a 15.5% advantage, the largest margin in any direct comparison. The OpenCL result aligns with the broader specification differences: the Quadro M2000 delivers more pixel throughput (37.22 GPixel/s versus 14.51 GPixel/s) and higher texture rate (55.82 GTexel/s versus 43.54 GTexel/s). The memory bandwidth gap of 11.72 GB/s also favors the NVIDIA card.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the Quadro M2000 scores 14475, beating the Radeon Pro 555X's 12855 by 12.6%. This test shows a slightly smaller but still significant lead. The Vulkan API support also differs: the Quadro M2000 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 555X only supports Vulkan 1.3, which may partly explain the performance delta.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The Quadro M2000 averages 14532 across its two recorded tests, while the Radeon Pro 555X averages 13321 across its three tests (including the Metal score of 14479). Even including that Metal result, which is the AMD card's strongest showing, the average remains 1211 points lower.

The nearest rival data also places the two cards in different competitive tiers. The Quadro M2000's closest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M (14404, 0.9% lower), AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14385, 1% lower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (14373, 1.1% lower), and AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14692, 1.1% higher). The Radeon Pro 555X's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (13300, 0.2% higher), AMD FirePro M6100 (13354, 0.2% higher), AMD Radeon RX 5500M (13356, 0.3% higher), and AMD Radeon HD 8950M (13376, 0.4% higher). This shows the Quadro M2000 competing against a higher-scoring group, while the Radeon Pro 555X sits among a lower-scoring cluster.

The wins tally is straightforward: the Quadro M2000 wins 2, the Radeon Pro 555X wins 0. No test in the database shows the AMD card ahead of the NVIDIA card. For any workload measured by these benchmarks, the data points firmly to the Quadro M2000 as the faster GPU.