AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M and AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 represent two distinct approaches to mobile and compact workstation graphics, separated by three years of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear overall winner in raw compute, but the story is more nuanced when examining API support, power efficiency, and the specific workloads each card is designed to handle. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, architectural philosophies, and specification sheets to determine which GPU is the right fit for which scenario.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it delivers a decisive verdict. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M scores 12630, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 manages 8536. This translates to a 48% advantage for the NVIDIA card, a substantial margin that underscores a significant gap in raw parallel compute throughput. The GTX 870M’s score is not just higher; it is categorically in a different performance tier for this particular workload.

To contextualize this result, the GTX 870M’s average benchmark score across all tests is 9959, placing it at the 48th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M, scores 10013, a 0.5% delta that places the 870M essentially at parity. The NVIDIA Quadro K5100M (10043) is a close 0.8% above, while the AMD Radeon R9 M375 (10070) is 1.1% ahead. This cluster of scores around 10000 suggests the GTX 870M is operating at the edge of its performance class, with its OpenCL result being a notable outlier on the high side.

On the other side, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100’s average score is 9653, placing it at the 46th percentile. Its nearest rivals paint a picture of tight competition: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M (9645) is 0.1% below it, the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 (9665) is 0.1% above, and the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 (9637) is 0.2% below. The WX 2100 sits in a dense pack of similar performers, suggesting that its OpenCL score of 8536 is actually a weaker point for the card, dragging its average down relative to its peers. The 48% delta in the head-to-head test is therefore a reflection of the 870M’s higher peak compute, but it does not imply a 48% advantage in every possible workload.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 870M wins the only shared benchmark, the OpenCL test, by a significant 48%. This is its primary and definitive victory. The architecture behind this win is straightforward: the GTX 870M packs 1344 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, which are far higher counts than the WX 2100’s 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This hardware advantage translates directly to 2.599 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 1,248.3 GFLOPS for the AMD card. For compute-heavy tasks like rendering, physics simulations, or any general-purpose GPU computing, the data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA card.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100, however, has its own arena where it is competitive, though it does not show up in the win column. It features a Geekbench Vulkan score of 10770, a test that the GTX 870M does not have a recorded result for. This is a critical differentiator. While the GTX 870M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, the WX 2100 supports Vulkan 1.3, a newer and more feature-complete version of the API. The presence of a Vulkan benchmark for the AMD card, combined with its superior API version, suggests it is designed for modern, low-overhead graphics workloads. The GTX 870M’s DirectX support is listed as 12 (11_0), which is a partial implementation, while the WX 2100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), the full feature level. In modern gaming or DX12-based professional applications, the WX 2100 has a structural advantage that the older NVIDIA card cannot match.

The Verdict

The data suggests a clear split: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M is the superior choice for pure compute performance. Its 48% lead in OpenCL and 2.599 TFLOPS of FP32 power make it a significantly faster processor for any task that pushes raw arithmetic throughput. The 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 2.5 times the 48.00 GB/s of the AMD card. For a user with a compute-heavy workload that relies on OpenCL, the GTX 870M is the only logical pick from this dataset.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 is the more modern and efficient part. Its 35 W TDP is a fraction of the GTX 870M’s 100 W, and it offers a newer API feature set with Vulkan 1.3 and full DirectX 12 (12_0) support. Its single-slot design and PCIe 3.0 x8 interface make it a flexible, low-power solution for workstations where space and thermal budget are at a premium. While it loses the compute race, its Vulkan score of 10770 indicates a capable modern graphics processor. The verdict is not about which card is "better" in a vacuum, but which is better for the specific task. For a raw performance number, choose the GTX 870M. For a modern, efficient, and API-complete workstation card, the WX 2100 is the data-backed option, despite its lower compute scores.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has an average benchmark score of 9959, which is higher than the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100’s 9653.

Q: What is the performance difference in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M scores 12630, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 scores 8536. The NVIDIA card is 48% faster in this specific test.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 have any benchmark where it is competitive?

A: Yes, the AMD card has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 10770. The NVIDIA card does not have a recorded score for this test in the data.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer version of the Vulkan API?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 supports Vulkan 1.3, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has a memory bandwidth of 120.0 GB/s, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 has a bandwidth of 48.00 GB/s.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M is at the 48th percentile of all GPUs, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 is at the 46th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from different eras. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M uses the Kepler architecture, specifically the GK104 chip, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This chip contains 3,540 million transistors on a die size of 294 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 12.0 million per mm². It is a mature, high-power design from the GeForce 800M generation. In contrast, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 uses the GCN 4.0 architecture with the Lexa chip, built on a more advanced 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This chip has 2,200 million transistors on a much smaller die of 103 mm², achieving a higher transistor density of 21.4 million per mm². The 14 nm process allows for significantly better power efficiency, which is reflected in the 35 W TDP versus the 100 W TDP of the NVIDIA card.

The architectural differences extend to core configuration. The GTX 870M has 1344 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, while the WX 2100 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This massive difference in execution resources explains the GTX 870M’s compute advantage. The AMD card, however, supports FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (1,248.3 GFLOPS for both), which is a feature absent from the GTX 870M’s spec sheet. This makes the WX 2100 more versatile for workloads that can utilize half-precision arithmetic. The GTX 870M also lacks Tensor and RT cores, as does the WX 2100, so neither card has dedicated hardware for AI acceleration or ray tracing.

Specification Differences

The most glaring difference is in memory. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, delivering only 48.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA card also has higher clock speeds, with a base of 941 MHz and a boost of 967 MHz, compared to the AMD’s 925 MHz base and 1219 MHz boost. While the AMD card has a higher boost clock, the NVIDIA card’s raw core count overwhelms this clock advantage.

The form factors are entirely different. The GTX 870M is an MXM Module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, designed for laptops and portable devices. Its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The WX 2100 is a single-slot, 168 mm (6.6 inches) long and 69 mm (2.7 inches) high card with a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. It has specific display outputs: 1x DisplayPort 1.4a and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a. Power requirements also differ; the GTX 870M has no power connectors and a 100 W TDP, while the WX 2100 also has no power connectors but has a 35 W TDP and a 200 W suggested PSU. The release dates are separated by years, with the GTX 870M launching on 2014-03-11 and the WX 2100 on 2017-06-03. The AMD card has a listed launch MSRP of 149 USD, while no MSRP is provided for the NVIDIA card.