AMD Radeon R9 M375X vs NVIDIA Quadro K1200 Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a split decision between the AMD Radeon R9 M375X and the NVIDIA Quadro K1200. Each card claims one victory across the two available tests, and the margins are substantial in both directions.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 posts a score of 8831 against the AMD Radeon R9 M375X's 8273. This gives NVIDIA a 6.3% advantage in this compute-oriented workload. The delta is notable because it reverses the overall average positioning of these two cards, which sit nearly level with each other. The Quadro K1200's OpenCL result is also its stronger benchmark showing, exceeding its Vulkan score by roughly 14.7%.

The AMD Radeon R9 M375X strikes back in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Here, AMD scores 8377 while the Quadro K1200 manages only 7698. That works out to an 8.8% margin in AMD's favor, which is the larger single-test gap between the two cards in either direction. AMD's Vulkan score is also its better result, surpassing its own OpenCL number by about 1.3%, suggesting the GCN architecture handles Vulkan workloads with relative ease.

Looking at the broader context from the nearestRivals data, both cards occupy the same percentile tier at 43% of all GPUs. Their average benchmark scores are separated by just 0.7% — the AMD card averages 8325, while the Quadro K1200 averages 8265. That places them as direct competitors in overall performance, even though individual workloads can swing decisively in favor of one or the other.

The rival landscape reinforces this picture. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X sits within 1.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (which averages 8458) and within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon 880M (8436). The Quadro K1200, for its part, sits 1.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (8167) and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M (8135). Neither card pulls away from its nearest neighbors by a wide margin, but the head-to-head results show that workload type matters more than the overall average suggests.

# The Verdict

The data points to a workload-dependent choice rather than a clear overall winner. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X delivers an 8.8% advantage in Vulkan performance, making it the stronger pick for applications that leverage Vulkan's modern graphics and compute API. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200, meanwhile, counters with a 6.3% lead in OpenCL, which remains a widely used compute standard across many professional and scientific applications.

For users whose primary workloads run on OpenCL, the Quadro K1200's higher score of 8831 provides a measurable performance edge. The card also brings 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, double the AMD card's 2 GB capacity, which can matter for memory-intensive datasets even if the raw bandwidth figures are relatively close. The Quadro K1200's memory bandwidth of 80.19 GB/s exceeds the R9 M375X's 72.00 GB/s by roughly 11.4%.

For users targeting Vulkan-based rendering or compute, the AMD Radeon R9 M375X is the data-backed choice. Its 8377 Vulkan score outpaces the Quadro K1200 by 8.8%, and its 640 shading units provide a theoretical compute advantage in FP32 operations — 1,299.2 GFLOPS versus 1,057.8 GFLOPS, a 22.8% gap in raw floating-point throughput.

Neither card holds a sweeping advantage across both tests. The benchmark results indicate a tie at one win apiece, with the overall averages separated by less than 1%. The decision should hinge on which API dominates the intended workload library. OpenCL-heavy environments favor NVIDIA; Vulkan-heavy environments favor AMD.

# Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different architectural lineages. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X uses the Tropo chip built on GCN 1.0, an early iteration of AMD's Graphics Core Next design. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 uses the GM107 chip based on Maxwell, NVIDIA's architecture that succeeded Kepler and preceded Pascal.

Both chips are fabricated on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, but they diverge in transistor count and die size. The GM107 packs 1,870 million transistors onto a 148 mm² die, while the Tropo chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a smaller 123 mm² die. The transistor densities are close — 12.6M per mm² for NVIDIA versus 12.2M per mm² for AMD — but NVIDIA fits more hardware into the larger package.

The shading resources differ significantly. The AMD card carries 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The NVIDIA card has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means AMD has 25% more shading units and 25% more TMUs, while ROP counts match at 16 each. The pixel rates reflect this parity — 16.24 GPixel/s for AMD versus 16.53 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, a difference of less than 2%. Texture rates diverge more clearly: AMD's 40.60 GTexel/s beats NVIDIA's 33.06 GTexel/s by 22.8%.

In API support, the cards show a generation gap. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card has a higher DirectX feature level, while NVIDIA's Vulkan support is newer at version 1.4 versus AMD's 1.2.170.

Memory architectures are similar in bus width — both use 128-bit interfaces — but differ in configuration. The AMD card uses 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1125 MHz with 4.5 Gbps effective speed, yielding 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card uses 4 GB of GDDR5 at 1253 MHz with 5 Gbps effective speed, yielding 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. The Quadro K1200 thus offers double the capacity and 11.4% more bandwidth.

# Specification Differences

The two cards diverge across several specification fields. Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA card: its base clock of 954 MHz and boost clock of 1033 MHz both exceed the AMD card's 925 MHz base and 1015 MHz boost. Memory clocks follow suit, with NVIDIA at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) versus AMD at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective).

Power and physical specifications are only provided for the NVIDIA card, which lists a 45 W TDP, single-slot form factor, no power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 200 W. It measures 160 mm (6.3 inches) in length and 69 mm (2.7 inches) in height. The AMD card has no listed TDP, slot width, power connector, or dimension data in the fact pack.

Bus interface differences matter for compatibility. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The AMD card's newer bus standard offers higher theoretical bandwidth to the host system.

Display outputs are specified only for the NVIDIA card, which provides 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connectors. The AMD card's display outputs are not listed.

The memory capacity difference is the most practically significant specification gap: 4 GB versus 2 GB. Both use GDDR5 and 128-bit buses, but the doubling of capacity on the Quadro K1200 can be decisive for larger textures or compute buffers.

Release dates are close, with the NVIDIA card launching on 2015-01-27 and the AMD card on 2015-05-04. Both are marked as end-of-life. Their generations reflect different product naming: AMD lists "Gem System (R9 M300)" while NVIDIA lists "Quadro Kepler (Kx200)" — though the GM107 chip is actually a Maxwell design, the naming suggests a transitional period in NVIDIA's product lineup.

# FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X averages 8325 across its benchmark results, while the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 averages 8265. The difference is 0.7% in AMD's favor.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 8831 versus 8273 for the AMD Radeon R9 M375X, giving NVIDIA a 6.3% advantage.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 8377 versus 7698 for the NVIDIA Quadro K1200, an 8.8% margin for AMD.

Q: What are the memory capacity and bandwidth differences?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X has 2 GB of GDDR5 with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA offers double the capacity and 11.4% more bandwidth.

Q: How do the shading unit counts compare?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. AMD has 25% more shading units and 25% more TMUs, while ROP counts match.

Q: What are the FP32 compute capabilities of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X delivers 1,299.2 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 delivers 1,057.8 GFLOPS. This represents a 22.8% advantage for AMD in raw single-precision floating-point throughput.

# Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M375X wins in Vulkan-based workloads, where its 8377 score beats the Quadro K1200 by 8.8%. Its higher shading unit count (640 versus 512) and FP32 throughput (1,299.2 GFLOPS versus 1,057.8 GFLOPS) make it the stronger choice for compute-heavy tasks that scale with raw shader throughput. The texture rate of 40.60 GTexel/s also exceeds NVIDIA's 33.06 GTexel/s by 22.8%, favoring AMD in texture-bound scenarios.

The NVIDIA Quadro K1200 wins in OpenCL workloads, posting 8831 against AMD's 8273 for a 6.3% edge. Its larger 4 GB memory capacity and higher bandwidth of 80.19 GB/s make it better suited for memory-intensive workloads that exceed 2 GB of usage. The higher base and boost clocks (954 MHz and 1033 MHz versus 925 MHz and 1015 MHz) contribute to its OpenCL advantage. Its single-slot form factor, 45 W TDP, and lack of power connectors also make it a more flexible physical fit for constrained systems.

For users deciding between the two, the pattern is clear: choose the AMD card for Vulkan-centric applications and raw compute throughput, or choose the NVIDIA card for OpenCL-centric applications and larger memory footprints. The benchmark data does not crown an overall victor — it defines two distinct usage profiles where each card holds a measurable edge.