AMD Radeon Pro Duo vs NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q Comparison

The Verdict

The database places these two cards in different performance tiers despite their shared 28 nm manufacturing heritage. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo sits at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q lands at the 76th percentile. That four-point gap translates into a meaningful performance separation. The Radeon Pro Duo delivers a Geekbench OpenCL score of 35,860, while the GRID M60-1Q posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 31,220. Different benchmark APIs make direct comparison imperfect, but the percentile rankings suggest the AMD part holds the overall edge.

For buyers prioritizing raw compute throughput in OpenCL workloads, the Radeon Pro Duo is the clear choice. Its 8.192 TFLOPS FP32 rate dwarfs the GRID M60-1Q's 4.825 TFLOPS, a 70% advantage in theoretical peak performance. The AMD card also brings 4 GB of HBM memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus the NVIDIA card's 1 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 160.4 GB/s. That memory subsystem difference alone changes which workloads make sense on each card.

However, the GRID M60-1Q is not without purpose. It supports DirectX 12_1 while the Radeon Pro Duo only reaches 12_0. It also lists Vulkan 1.4 support versus the AMD card's Vulkan 1.2.170. For virtualized environments where display outputs are unnecessary, the GRID M60-1Q's lack of physical outputs becomes a feature, not a flaw. Its lower 225 W TDP and single 8-pin connector make it easier to integrate into dense server configurations.

The verdict from the data: pick the Radeon Pro Duo for compute-heavy OpenCL tasks, high-resolution texture work, or any workload that benefits from massive memory bandwidth. Pick the GRID M60-1Q for virtual desktop infrastructure where newer API support, lower power draw, and no display output requirement align with the deployment model.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural lineages. The Radeon Pro Duo uses the Capsaicin chip based on GCN 3.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The GRID M60-1Q uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, also on TSMC's 28 nm node. Both share the same foundry and process node, which makes their architectural choices more directly comparable.

Transistor counts tell a story of design philosophy. The Radeon Pro Duo packs 8,900 million transistors onto a 596 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 14.9M per mm². The GRID M60-1Q contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, with a density of 13.1M per mm². The AMD chip is physically larger and denser, which correlates with its higher shading unit count: 4,096 versus 2,048 on the NVIDIA part.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The Radeon Pro Duo uses HBM with a 4096-bit bus width and 500 MHz memory clock (1000 Mbps effective), producing 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GRID M60-1Q uses GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus and 1253 MHz memory clock (5 Gbps effective), yielding 160.4 GB/s. The AMD card's HBM implementation provides over three times the bandwidth despite a lower memory clock, because the bus width is sixteen times wider.

Clocking strategy also diverges. The GRID M60-1Q lists explicit base and boost clocks at 557 MHz and 1178 MHz respectively. The Radeon Pro Duo's base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database, which suggests the card may rely on a different clock management approach or the data was not captured. The NVIDIA card's boost clock of 1178 MHz partially compensates for its lower core count in some workloads.

Shader organization differs as well. The Radeon Pro Duo has 256 TMUs and 64 ROPs. The GRID M60-1Q has 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs. The AMD card doubles the texture units, which directly impacts texture fill rate: 256.0 GTexel/s versus 150.8 GTexel/s. Pixel rates are closer, with the NVIDIA card actually ahead at 75.39 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s on the AMD card, despite the AMD card having more raw compute.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmarks use different test suites, which complicates direct comparison. The Radeon Pro Duo's Geekbench OpenCL score of 35,860 places it among interesting company. It sits 1% above the NVIDIA Quadro GV100's 35,520 and 1.2% above the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's 35,435. The AMD card trails the NVIDIA T1000 by 1.2% (36,289) and the AMD Radeon RX 5300M by 1.8% (36,529). This cluster of scores within roughly two percentage points suggests the Radeon Pro Duo is competitively positioned against modern workstation and mobile parts.

The GRID M60-1Q's Geekbench Vulkan score of 31,220 lands in a similar tight grouping. It essentially matches the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 at 31,206 (0% delta), sits 0.4% above the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at 31,087, and trails the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell by 1% (31,532) and the TITAN RTX by 1.4% (31,676). The NVIDIA card's Vulkan performance holds its own against much newer hardware, which speaks to the efficiency of the Maxwell architecture in that API.

Comparing across the two cards, the raw score gap is 4,640 points, or roughly 14.9% in favor of the Radeon Pro Duo. However, the different APIs mean this gap reflects both architectural capability and driver optimization. OpenCL on GCN 3.0 is a mature path, while Vulkan on Maxwell 2.0 also benefits from years of driver refinement. The percentile delta of four points (80 versus 76) provides a more normalized view of overall standing.

The FP32 compute figures reinforce the benchmark picture. At 8.192 TFLOPS, the Radeon Pro Duo offers 70% more theoretical single-precision throughput than the GRID M60-1Q's 4.825 TFLOPS. The AMD card also matches its FP16 to FP32 at a 1:1 ratio, both at 8.192 TFLOPS, while the NVIDIA card does not record an FP16 rate in the database.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Duo | NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q |

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

| Architecture | GCN 3.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Chip | Capsaicin | GM204 |

| Transistors | 8,900 million | 5,200 million |

| Die Size | 596 mm² | 398 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 14.9M / mm² | 13.1M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | HBM | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 160.4 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective) | 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Base Clock | Not recorded | 557 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not recorded | 1178 MHz |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 256 | 128 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 64.00 GPixel/s | 75.39 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 256.0 GTexel/s | 150.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.192 TFLOPS | 4.825 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.192 TFLOPS (1:1) | Not recorded |

| TDP | 350 W | 225 W |

| Power Connectors | 3x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 1.4a, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | No outputs |

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Length | 277 mm (10.9 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | Not recorded |

| Release Date | 2016-04-25 | 2015-08-29 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,499 USD | Not recorded |

| Predecessor | FirePro GCN | Not recorded |

| Successor | Radeon Pro Polaris | Not recorded |

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Duo delivers 8.192 TFLOPS FP32, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q provides 4.825 TFLOPS FP32. The AMD card is approximately 70% higher in theoretical single-precision compute.

Q: Why does the NVIDIA card have a higher pixel rate despite fewer shading units?

A: The GRID M60-1Q records a 75.39 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 64.00 GPixel/s on the Radeon Pro Duo. This likely stems from the NVIDIA card's 1178 MHz boost clock, which is recorded in the database, while the AMD card's boost clock is not recorded. Higher clocks can compensate for lower core counts in certain fixed-function units.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q supports DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo supports DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card holds the advantage in both API versions.

Q: What memory configuration does each card use?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo uses 4 GB of HBM on a 4096-bit bus, achieving 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GRID M60-1Q uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 160.4 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has four times the capacity and over three times the bandwidth.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860 in Geekbench OpenCL, sitting 1% above the Quadro GV100 and 1.2% above the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile, while trailing the T1000 by 1.2% and the RX 5300M by 1.8%. The GRID M60-1Q scores 31,220 in Geekbench Vulkan, matching the Quadro M5000, sitting 0.4% above the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, and trailing the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell by 1% and TITAN RTX by 1.4%.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo has a 350 W TDP with three 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 750 W PSU. The GRID M60-1Q has a 225 W TDP with one 8-pin connector and a suggested 550 W PSU.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro Duo wins decisively in compute-oriented workloads. Its FP32 rate of 8.192 TFLOPS more than doubles the GRID M60-1Q's 4.825 TFLOPS. The 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth makes it suitable for large dataset processing, high-resolution texture streaming, and OpenCL compute tasks. The 4 GB HBM capacity, while modest by modern standards, provides four times the memory of the NVIDIA card. The 256 TMUs and 256.0 GTexel/s texture rate also favor the AMD card in texturing-heavy workloads.

The GRID M60-1Q wins in specific niche scenarios. Its lack of display outputs makes it ideal for virtualized GPU deployments where physical display connectivity is unnecessary. The lower 225 W TDP and single 8-pin connector reduce power infrastructure requirements. The DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4 support provide newer API access, which may matter for virtualized applications targeting modern graphics features. The 75.39 GPixel/s pixel rate, higher than the AMD card's 64.00 GPixel/s, gives it an edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios.

The release timeline shows the Radeon Pro Duo arrived in April 2016, about eight months after the GRID M60-1Q's August 2015 launch. Both are now end-of-life products. The AMD card had a successor in the Radeon Pro Polaris line, while the NVIDIA card's predecessor and successor are not recorded in the database.

For users with OpenCL-dependent workflows, the Radeon Pro Duo's benchmark position near the Quadro GV100 and RTX 5070 Ti Mobile suggests it remains competitive even against much newer hardware. For users in virtualized environments where API support and power efficiency matter more than raw throughput, the GRID M60-1Q's placement near the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in Vulkan performance shows the Maxwell architecture still holds relevance. The choice ultimately comes down to whether the workload prioritizes compute density and memory bandwidth, favoring AMD, or API modernity and low power draw, favoring NVIDIA.