AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Comparison

The data places the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 in a close performance band, yet their design philosophies are generations apart. The GTX 650 Ti, a Kepler-era part from 2012, edges out the newer GCN 4.0-based Radeon Pro WX 3100 in both recorded benchmark suites, but the AMD card counters with a substantially newer feature set and lower power demands. This analysis breaks down the measurable differences, architectural divergences, and the practical implications of each card’s profile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are unambiguous in favor of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti, which secures wins in both of the tested workloads. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 650 Ti scores 7877 against the Radeon Pro WX 3100’s 7333, a decisive 7.4% advantage. The Vulkan test narrows the gap slightly, with the GTX 650 Ti scoring 8229 versus the WX 3100’s 7827, yielding a 5.1% lead. These results indicate that NVIDIA’s older architecture retains a measurable compute edge, particularly in OpenCL, where the delta is most pronounced.

Contextualizing these scores against the broader market, the GTX 650 Ti’s average benchmark score of 8053 places it in the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the WX 3100’s average of 7580 sits at the 41st percentile. The 7.4% and 5.1% deltas in head-to-head testing are consistent with the difference in their aggregate averages, which show the GTX 650 Ti leading by approximately 6.2% overall.

The GTX 650 Ti’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (avg score 8067, deltaPct -0.2%), the NVIDIA GRID K2 (avg score 8080, deltaPct -0.3%), and the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 (avg score 8039, deltaPct 0.2%). This clustering shows that the GTX 650 Ti is effectively performance-par with those parts. The Radeon Pro WX 3100, meanwhile, sits close to the AMD Radeon R7 250 (avg score 7557, deltaPct 0.3%), the Intel Arc A310 (avg score 7550, deltaPct 0.4%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (avg score 7472, deltaPct 1.4%). Notably, the WX 3100 is 1.4% faster than the GTX 1650, a modern low-end card, while being 1.2% slower than the AMD Radeon 540.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the OpenCL benchmark, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 7877, defeating the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100’s 7333 by 7.4%.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 have any benchmark advantage?

A: No. The Radeon Pro WX 3100 loses both recorded benchmarks. It scores 7827 in Vulkan versus the GTX 650 Ti’s 8229 (a 5.1% delta) and trails in OpenCL as well. The data shows the AMD card has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: How does each card compare to its own nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 650 Ti’s average score of 8053 is statistically tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (8040, deltaPct 0.2%) and the Quadro P5000 (8039, deltaPct 0.2%), while slightly trailing the GRID K2 (8080, deltaPct -0.3%). The WX 3100’s average of 7580 is 1.4% ahead of the GTX 1650 (7472) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Arc A310 (7550), but 1.2% behind the AMD Radeon 540 (7673).

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The GTX 650 Ti sits in the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro WX 3100 is just one point lower at the 41st percentile.

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti, with an average benchmark score of 8053 compared to the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100’s 7580. This represents an approximate 6.2% lead for the NVIDIA part.

The Verdict

For a user prioritizing raw compute performance, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti is the clear choice based on the data. It wins both the OpenCL and Vulkan benchmarks by margins of 7.4% and 5.1%, respectively, and carries a higher average benchmark score (8053 vs. 7580). Its performance profile places it in the same bracket as the GRID K2 and GTX 650 Ti Boost, suggesting it can handle similar workloads.

However, the Radeon Pro WX 3100 is not without its merits. While it loses in every benchmark test, its 41st percentile ranking is only one point below the GTX 650 Ti’s 42nd, indicating that the practical performance gap is narrow. The WX 3100’s modern architecture, newer API support (Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12_0), and significantly lower power envelope make it a more sensible choice for modern software environments. The GTX 650 Ti’s Vulkan 1.2.175 support and DirectX 12_0 (11_0) feature level may limit compatibility with the latest titles or compute applications.

The verdict hinges on use case. For legacy applications or tasks that are purely compute-bound, the GTX 650 Ti’s superior benchmark scores will deliver more raw throughput. For users who need a single-slot, power-efficient card with modern display outputs (DisplayPort 1.4a) and a newer feature set, the Radeon Pro WX 3100’s 65 W TDP and 4 GB memory capacity present a more future-proof option, despite the performance deficit.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply across nearly every core specification, reflecting their different market positions and release eras. The GTX 650 Ti is built on a 28 nm process and houses 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, while the WX 3100 uses a 14 nm process with 2,200 million transistors on a much smaller 103 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 11.5M / mm² for the NVIDIA part versus 21.4M / mm² for the AMD part.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The GTX 650 Ti offers 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The WX 3100 provides 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus, but with a higher bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s. Clock speeds also favor AMD: the WX 3100 has a base clock of 925 MHz and a boost clock of 1219 MHz, while the GTX 650 Ti has no listed base or boost clocks. Memory clocks are 1350 MHz (5.4 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA and 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for AMD.

Compute resources are a mixed bag. The GTX 650 Ti has 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the WX 3100 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Despite fewer shading units, the WX 3100 achieves a higher pixel rate (19.50 GPixel/s vs. 14.85 GPixel/s) due to its boost clock, but the GTX 650 Ti counters with a higher texture rate (59.39 GTexel/s vs. 39.01 GTexel/s) and higher FP32 throughput (1,425.4 GFLOPS vs. 1,248.3 GFLOPS). The WX 3100 also offers FP16 compute at 1,248.3 GFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 650 Ti lacks.

Power and physical characteristics differ markedly. The GTX 650 Ti has a TDP of 110 W, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU. The WX 3100 draws only 65 W, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. Both are single-slot cards, but the GTX 650 Ti is shorter at 145 mm (5.7 inches) versus the WX 3100’s 168 mm (6.6 inches). The WX 3100 also has listed height dimensions of 69 mm (2.7 inches). The GTX 650 Ti uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the WX 3100 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs are also different: the GTX 650 Ti has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a, while the WX 3100 has 1x DisplayPort 1.4a and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The GTX 650 Ti is based on the GK106S chip using NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture, part of the GeForce 600 generation. It was released on 2012-10-08 with a launch MSRP of 149 USD. Kepler was designed for high shading throughput, which explains its 768 shading units and high texture rate relative to its successor.

The Radeon Pro WX 3100 uses the Lexa chip with AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture, belonging to the Radeon Pro Polaris (WX x100) generation. Released on 2017-06-11 with a launch MSRP of 199 USD, GCN 4.0 is a mature, efficiency-focused architecture built on a 14 nm process. This is evident in its lower TDP (65 W) and higher transistor density (21.4M / mm²) compared to the older Kepler design.

API support reflects the architectural age. The GTX 650 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The WX 3100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The newer Vulkan 1.3 and full DirectX 12_0 support on the AMD card indicate better compatibility with modern rendering pipelines and compute APIs. The GTX 650 Ti’s lack of FP16 support, while the WX 3100 offers FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, further underscores the architectural evolution toward mixed-precision workloads.

The WX 3100 also benefits from a smaller, denser die (103 mm² vs. 221 mm²) and a more advanced foundry process (14 nm GlobalFoundries vs. 28 nm TSMC). While the GTX 650 Ti has more shading units and TMUs, the WX 3100’s higher pixel rate and bandwidth per watt suggest a more balanced, modern design. The GTX 650 Ti’s predecessor is the GeForce 500 series and its successor is the GeForce 700 series, while the WX 3100 follows the Radeon Pro GCN and precedes the Radeon Pro Vega, placing it in a direct professional lineage.