AMD Radeon R9 M275X vs NVIDIA Quadro K2200 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly along workload type. In the OpenCL compute test, the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 posts 11,431 points against the AMD Radeon R9 M275X’s 11,200, a 2.1% advantage. That margin, while modest, places the Quadro ahead in general-purpose GPU compute tasks that rely on OpenCL acceleration. The Vulkan test tells a similar story: the Quadro scores 10,090 versus 9,964 for the Radeon, a 1.3% lead. Across both available benchmarks, the Quadro takes two wins and the Radeon takes none.

The Radeon’s closest rival comparison adds context. Its average benchmark score of 10,582 sits 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 6600S (10,629) and 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 550X (10,481). Meanwhile, the Quadro’s average of 10,761 sits 0.4% below the AMD Radeon Pro 450 (10,804) and 1.1% below the NVIDIA GeForce MX350 (10,883). Neither card dominates its immediate competitive set; both hover near the 49th percentile of all GPUs. The practical takeaway: the Quadro edges ahead in every measured test, but the gaps are narrow enough that real-world differences will depend heavily on driver optimization and workload specifics.

The Verdict

For users choosing strictly from the data, the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 is the safer pick. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, holds a higher average score (10,761 versus 10,582), and matches the Radeon’s percentile ranking at 49. The Quadro’s 2.1% OpenCL lead and 1.3% Vulkan lead are consistent across both APIs, suggesting a general compute advantage rather than a workload-specific fluke.

The AMD Radeon R9 M275X is not without merit, but its case rests on factors outside the benchmark scores. It offers PCIe 3.0 x16 connectivity versus the Quadro’s PCIe 2.0 x16, which could matter for system bandwidth in some configurations. It also supports DirectX 12 (11_1) compared to the Quadro’s DirectX 12 (11_0), a minor API-level difference. However, neither card is competitive in modern gaming or professional workloads by current standards; both are end-of-life products. The data points to the Quadro as the better performer, and the Radeon only becomes appealing if the broader system context favors its newer bus interface or slightly higher DirectX feature level.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The OpenCL test provides the largest measurable gap. The Quadro K2200 scores 11,431, which is 2.1% ahead of the Radeon R9 M275X’s 11,200. That 231-point difference translates into a tangible edge for compute-heavy applications that leverage OpenCL, such as video encoding, physics simulations, or data-parallel workloads. The Quadro’s higher base clock (1,046 MHz versus 900 MHz) and boost clock (1,124 MHz versus 925 MHz) likely contribute to this result, as does its greater memory bandwidth (80.19 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s).

The Vulkan test narrows the gap. The Quadro scores 10,090 against the Radeon’s 9,964, a 1.3% lead worth 126 points. Vulkan workloads tend to scale with driver efficiency and raw throughput; the Quadro’s advantage here is smaller but still consistent. Notably, both cards have identical shading unit counts (640), texture mapping units (40), and render output units (16), so the performance delta stems from clock speeds, memory bandwidth, and architectural efficiency rather than core configuration.

Looking at the Radeon’s rival set for calibration, its 10,582 average is 1% above the RX 550X (10,481) and 1.7% below the Quadro itself (10,761). The Quadro’s average, in turn, is 0.7% above the GeForce GTX 560 Ti (10,690) and 1.2% above the RX 6600S (10,629). These deltas show both cards clustering within a tight performance band; neither is an outlier in its class.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2200 wins with a score of 11,431 versus 11,200 for the AMD Radeon R9 M275X, a 2.1% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan benchmarks?

A: The Quadro K2200 leads again, scoring 10,090 against the Radeon R9 M275X’s 9,964, a 1.3% margin.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The Quadro K2200 averages 10,761 across its benchmarks, while the Radeon R9 M275X averages 10,582. Both cards rank at the 49th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Do the cards have the same core configuration?

A: Yes, both have 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. Their differences lie in clock speeds, memory bandwidth, and architecture.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2200 offers 80.19 GB/s, compared to 72.00 GB/s for the AMD Radeon R9 M275X. Both use GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What are the DirectX support differences?

A: The Quadro K2200 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the Radeon R9 M275X supports DirectX 12 (11_1). The Radeon also supports Vulkan 1.2.170, whereas the Quadro supports Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages. NVIDIA’s Quadro K2200 uses the GM107 chip built on the Maxwell architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The die measures 148 mm² and contains 1,870 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per mm². AMD’s Radeon R9 M275X uses the Venus chip based on GCN 1.0, also fabricated by TSMC on 28 nm, but with a smaller 123 mm² die and fewer transistors at 1,500 million, for a density of 12.2 million per mm². Despite the smaller die, the Radeon actually has a lower peak FP32 throughput: 1,184.0 GFLOPS versus 1,438.7 GFLOPS for the Quadro.

Clock behavior further separates the two. The Quadro runs at a 1,046 MHz base clock and boosts to 1,124 MHz, while the Radeon runs at 900 MHz base and 925 MHz boost. Memory clocks differ too: the Quadro uses 1,253 MHz memory with 5 Gbps effective data rate, while the Radeon uses 1,125 MHz with 4.5 Gbps effective. These clock differences produce measurable throughput gaps: the Quadro’s pixel rate is 17.98 GPixel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s for the Radeon, and its texture rate is 44.96 GTexel/s versus 37.00 GTexel/s.

Architecturally, Maxwell is a later design than GCN 1.0, which shows in the API support. The Quadro supports Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6, while the Radeon supports Vulkan 1.2.170 and OpenGL 4.6. Both are end-of-life products, but the Quadro’s release date is 2014-07-21, roughly six months after the Radeon’s 2014-01-27. The Quadro’s predecessor is Quadro Fermi and its successor is Quadro Maxwell; the Radeon’s predecessor is Solar System and its successor is Polaris Mobile.

Specification Differences

The most significant specification gap is memory capacity: the Quadro K2200 ships with 4 GB of GDDR5, while the Radeon R9 M275X has 2 GB. Both use a 128-bit memory bus, but the Quadro’s higher memory clock (1,253 MHz versus 1,125 MHz) gives it 80.19 GB/s bandwidth versus 72.00 GB/s for the Radeon. This 11.4% bandwidth advantage, combined with double the capacity, makes the Quadro markedly better suited for large working sets.

Power and physical specs differ substantially. The Quadro has a 68 W TDP, is single-slot, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Radeon’s TDP, slot width, power connectors, and suggested PSU are not specified in the data. The Quadro’s dimensions are 202 mm in length and 111 mm in height; the Radeon’s dimensions are not listed. The Quadro provides 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the Radeon’s display outputs are unspecified.

Bus interface is one area where the Radeon leads: it uses PCIe 3.0 x16, whereas the Quadro uses PCIe 2.0 x16. While this could affect data transfer rates in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, the benchmark results show the Quadro still wins both tests despite the older bus standard. The Quadro also lacks a launch MSRP in the data, as does the Radeon, so no pricing comparison is possible. Both cards are end-of-life with no active production.