AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs NVIDIA Quadro K5200 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly favors the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP over the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 in every recorded test. The AMD card wins both head-to-head comparisons, with a 56% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 91.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The RX 580 2048SP also holds a higher overall average benchmark score of 23061 compared to the Quadro K5200's 19602, and it sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs versus the Quadro's 64th. For any workload that relies on compute throughput or modern graphics API performance, the data points exclusively to the AMD card. The Quadro K5200, despite its professional branding, does not offer any benchmark advantage in the recorded measurements. Users who prioritize raw measured performance should choose the RX 580 2048SP without hesitation.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins in both recorded benchmark categories: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. Its OpenCL score of 29668 substantially exceeds the Quadro K5200's 19024, and its Vulkan score of 38666 more than doubles the Quadro's 20180. There are no benchmark categories in the database where the Quadro K5200 comes out ahead. The Quadro's only relative strengths lie in its memory capacity (8 GB versus 4 GB) and its larger shading unit count (2304 versus 2048), but these hardware specifications do not translate into any measured performance victory. The RX 580 2048SP also benefits from a newer architecture generation, GCN 4.0 on the Polaris 20 chip, compared to the Quadro's Kepler architecture on the GK110B chip. For users running OpenCL compute workloads or Vulkan-based applications, the AMD card is the clear winner. The Quadro K5200 offers no recorded use case where it outperforms the RX 580 2048SP.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses GCN 4.0 architecture on the Polaris 20 chip, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA Quadro K5200 uses the older Kepler architecture on the GK110B chip, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This process difference helps explain the transistor density gap: the AMD chip packs 24.6 million transistors per square millimeter, while the NVIDIA chip achieves only 12.6 million per square millimeter. The Polaris 20 die measures 232 mm² and contains 5,700 million transistors; the GK110B die is much larger at 561 mm² with 7,080 million transistors. Despite having more total transistors, the Quadro's larger, older-process die results in lower clock speeds: its base clock is 667 MHz and boost clock is 771 MHz, compared to the RX 580 2048SP's 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. The AMD card also offers full-rate FP16 performance at 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Quadro K5200 has no recorded FP16 capability. API support differs as well: the RX 580 2048SP supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the Quadro K5200 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both cards use PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces and have the same 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average benchmark score of 23061, while the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 scores 19602. The AMD card also ranks higher at the 68th percentile among all GPUs versus the Quadro's 64th.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Vulkan workloads?

A: The RX 580 2048SP scores 38666 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 91.6% higher than the Quadro K5200's 20180. This is the largest recorded performance margin between the two cards.

Q: Does the Quadro K5200 have any memory advantage?

A: Yes, the Quadro K5200 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory compared to the RX 580 2048SP's 4 GB. However, the AMD card has higher memory bandwidth at 224.0 GB/s versus the Quadro's 192.3 GB/s, and this bandwidth advantage may contribute to its higher benchmark scores.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient based on the data?

A: Both cards have the same 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU. However, the RX 580 2048SP delivers higher FP32 performance (5.259 TFLOPS versus 3.553 TFLOPS) at that same power envelope, indicating better performance per watt.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each card?

A: The Quadro K5200 has 2304 shading units, while the RX 580 2048SP has 2048. The Quadro also has more texture mapping units (192 versus 128) and more ROPs (48 versus 32), yet it still loses in every recorded benchmark.

Q: When were these cards released?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K5200 was released in July 2014, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP was released in October 2018. Both cards are now end-of-life products.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct head-to-head comparisons between these cards, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 580 2048SP scores 29668 against the Quadro K5200's 19024, a 56% advantage. This margin is substantial and reflects the AMD card's higher FP32 throughput of 5.259 TFLOPS compared to the Quadro's 3.553 TFLOPS. The clock speed difference plays a role here: the RX 580 2048SP boosts to 1284 MHz, while the Quadro K5200 only reaches 771 MHz. The AMD card also has higher pixel rate (41.09 GPixel/s versus 37.01 GPixel/s) and higher texture rate (164.4 GTexel/s versus 148.0 GTexel/s), reinforcing its compute advantage.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is even more lopsided. The RX 580 2048SP scores 38666, while the Quadro K5200 manages only 20180, a 91.6% difference. This near-doubling of performance likely stems from the architectural gap: GCN 4.0's newer design and Vulkan 1.3 support give it a significant edge over Kepler's Vulkan 1.2.175 implementation. The AMD card's FP16 capability at 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1) may also contribute, as Vulkan workloads can leverage half-precision compute where the Quadro has no recorded FP16 support.

Looking at the broader context, the RX 580 2048SP's average score of 23061 places it in close competition with several modern cards. It sits just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Arc B580 (23021), 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and 0.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172). The Quadro K5200's average of 19602, by contrast, sits near the AMD FirePro D300 (19637), which is only 0.2% ahead of it. The Quadro also trails the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (19765) by 0.8% and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (19410) by 1%, while staying 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (19334). These rival comparisons show that the RX 580 2048SP competes with much newer hardware, while the Quadro K5200 occupies a lower performance tier.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 uses a 28 nm process at TSMC. The AMD chip, Polaris 20, contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die with a density of 24.6 million transistors per square millimeter. The NVIDIA chip, GK110B, contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die with a density of 12.6 million transistors per square millimeter. Clock speeds favor the AMD card: 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost versus the Quadro's 667 MHz base and 771 MHz boost. Memory configurations differ in capacity and bandwidth: the RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 224.0 GB/s, while the Quadro K5200 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 192.3 GB/s. The AMD card's memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective), while the Quadro's runs at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective). Compute resources also differ: the RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the Quadro K5200 has 2304 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Despite having fewer cores, the AMD card achieves higher pixel rate (41.09 GPixel/s versus 37.01 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (164.4 GTexel/s versus 148.0 GTexel/s), and higher FP32 performance (5.259 TFLOPS versus 3.553 TFLOPS). The AMD card also supports FP16 at 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Quadro has no recorded FP16 capability. Both cards have a 150 W TDP and require a 450 W PSU, but the AMD card uses a 1x 8-pin power connector while the Quadro uses a 1x 6-pin connector. Both are dual-slot cards with PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces. Display outputs differ: the RX 580 2048SP offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Quadro K5200 offers 2x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2. Physical dimensions also differ: the RX 580 2048SP measures 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length, while the Quadro K5200 measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height. API support favors the AMD card with DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the Quadro supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The AMD card belongs to the Polaris (RX 500) generation and succeeded Arctic Islands, while the Quadro K5200 belongs to the Quadro Kepler (Kx200) generation and succeeded Quadro Fermi.