AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs NVIDIA Quadro GP100 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct benchmark comparison between the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, and the result is emphatic. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 205,998, while the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 scores 87,445. This represents a delta of 57.6% in favor of the AMD card, meaning the RX 6950 XT more than doubles the GP100's raw compute throughput in this particular workload. The Geekbench OpenCL result is a broad measure of general-purpose GPU compute, so the gap here is not a niche outcome; it reflects a substantial difference in raw execution capacity between the two architectures.

When placed in the broader context of their respective peer groups, neither card is a slouch. The Quadro GP100 sits at the 93rd percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 87,445. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon PRO W7600, which scores 87,108 (a 0.4% difference), and the NVIDIA CMP 40HX at 85,637 (2.1% behind). The GP100 trails the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile and the RTX A4500 by 4% and 4.6%, respectively, with those cards scoring 91,134 and 91,671. This shows the GP100 is competitive with modern professional workstation cards, though it is slightly behind the newer RTX A4500 family.

The Radeon RX 6950 XT, meanwhile, holds the 88th percentile overall, with an average score of 58,392 across its full benchmark suite. Its nearest rivals in the database are closely packed: the NVIDIA P102-100 scores 58,528 (0.2% higher), the Intel Arc A570M scores 58,239 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM scores 58,085 (0.5% lower). This clustering indicates that the RX 6950 XT's average performance is very consistent with a tight band of comparable GPUs, though it is far below its own OpenCL peak when averaged across multiple tests that include DirectX and Passmark workloads.

The single head-to-head metric is decisive: the RX 6950 XT wins the only shared benchmark with a 57.6% margin. The Quadro GP100 has zero wins in direct comparisons, while the RX 6950 XT has one. This is a clean sweep in the recorded data, but the story is more nuanced when considering the architectural philosophies behind each card.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design eras and objectives. The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 is built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It uses the GP100 chip, which contains 15,300 million transistors on a 610 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.1 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, by contrast, is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, also made by TSMC, but on a much more advanced 7 nm process. Its Navi 21 chip packs 26,800 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, achieving a density of 51.5 million per square millimeter. This means the RX 6950 XT crams 75% more transistors into a smaller physical area, a direct consequence of the denser manufacturing node.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The Quadro GP100 features 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 715 MHz, translating to 1430 Mbps effective. The Radeon RX 6950 XT also has 16 GB, but it uses GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 2250 MHz, or 18 Gbps effective. While the GP100's HBM2 offers a 27% bandwidth advantage (732.2 GB/s versus 576.0 GB/s), the RX 6950 XT compensates with a far more modern memory controller and higher effective clock speeds.

The compute resources differ sharply. The Quadro GP100 has 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. Its peak pixel rate is 138.5 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 323.2 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is rated at 10.34 TFLOPS for FP32 and 20.69 TFLOPS for FP16 with a 2:1 ratio. The Radeon RX 6950 XT, on the other hand, fields 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. Its pixel rate is 295.7 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 739.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 23.65 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 47.31 TFLOPS, again at a 2:1 ratio. The RX 6950 XT is more than double the Quadro in raw FP32 and FP16 compute, which aligns with its dominant OpenCL result.

Clock speeds also tell the story. The Quadro GP100 runs at a base clock of 1304 MHz and a boost of 1443 MHz. The RX 6950 XT has a base of 1860 MHz, a game clock of 2100 MHz, and a boost of 2310 MHz. Even at its base, the AMD card runs 43% faster than the NVIDIA card's boost. This, combined with higher shader counts, explains the massive throughput gap.

Feature sets differ as well. The RX 6950 XT includes 80 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature the Quadro GP100 lacks entirely. The NVIDIA card has no tensor cores either, whereas the AMD card's RDNA 2.0 architecture is designed with DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2), while the GP100 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.4, while the NVIDIA card is limited to Vulkan 1.3.

Power and physical design are also distinct. The Quadro GP100 has a 235 W TDP, is a dual-slot card, and requires a single 8-pin power connector, with a suggested 550 W power supply. The RX 6950 XT is far hungrier: a 335 W TDP, triple-slot width, two 8-pin connectors, and a suggested 700 W power supply. The AMD card is also slightly taller (120 mm versus 111 mm) and has a width of 50 mm, while the NVIDIA card's width is not recorded. Both share the same 267 mm length.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 205,998 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 57.6% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro GP100's 87,445. The AMD card wins the only direct benchmark comparison between the two.

Q: What are the memory bandwidth figures for each card?

A: The Quadro GP100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, yielding 732.2 GB/s. The RX 6950 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has a 27% bandwidth advantage.

Q: Does the Radeon RX 6950 XT support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 6950 XT includes 80 ray tracing cores. The Quadro GP100 has no ray tracing cores, making this a significant architectural difference.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two GPUs?

A: The Quadro GP100 is built on a 16 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 6950 XT uses a 7 nm process at the same foundry. The 7 nm node allows the AMD chip to pack 26,800 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, versus 15,300 million in the NVIDIA's 610 mm² die.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6950 XT boosts to 2310 MHz, with a game clock of 2100 MHz and a base of 1860 MHz. The Quadro GP100 has a base of 1304 MHz and a boost of 1443 MHz. The AMD card's boost is 60% higher than the NVIDIA card's boost.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU across all tests?

A: The Quadro GP100 has an average score of 87,445, placing it at the 93rd percentile. The RX 6950 XT has an average score of 58,392, placing it at the 88th percentile. The GP100's higher average reflects its consistency, while the RX 6950 XT's average is dragged down by lower scores in non-OpenCL tests.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro GP100 | AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Pascal | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 15,300 million | 26,800 million |

| Die Size | 610 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 51.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1304 MHz | 1860 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1443 MHz | 2310 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2100 MHz |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 732.2 GB/s | 576.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 224 | 320 |

| ROPs | 96 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 80 |

| Pixel Rate | 138.5 GPixel/s | 295.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 323.2 GTexel/s | 739.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 10.34 TFLOPS | 23.65 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 20.69 TFLOPS | 47.31 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 235 W | 335 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Triple-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions (H) | 111 mm | 120 mm |

| Dimensions (W) | N/A | 50 mm |

| Release Date | 2016-09-30 | 2022-05-09 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Maxwell | Navi |

| Successor | Quadro Volta | Navi III |

The Verdict

The data points to a clear performance hierarchy, but the choice depends on workload. In the single recorded OpenCL benchmark, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is the definitive winner, delivering 57.6% higher performance than the NVIDIA Quadro GP100. Its FP32 throughput of 23.65 TFLOPS versus 10.34 TFLOPS, combined with 5120 shading units and a 2310 MHz boost clock, makes it the superior choice for compute-heavy tasks that leverage modern shader hardware. The RX 6950 XT also brings ray tracing support and a newer DirectX 12 Ultimate API, which the GP100 cannot offer.

However, the Quadro GP100 retains clear advantages in specific areas. Its HBM2 memory, with 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth, exceeds the RX 6950 XT's 576.0 GB/s, making it potentially better suited for bandwidth-bound workloads like large dataset transfers or certain scientific simulations. Its lower 235 W TDP and dual-slot design mean it is easier to integrate into dense workstation chassis, and its single 8-pin connector reduces power supply demands compared to the RX 6950 XT's 335 W TDP and two 8-pin connectors. The GP100's 93rd percentile average score also indicates it is more consistent across a broader mix of tests, whereas the RX 6950 XT's 88th percentile average is pulled down by weaker DirectX and Passmark results.

For users prioritizing raw compute in a single OpenCL-style workload, the RX 6950 XT is the data-backed pick. For users who need high memory bandwidth, lower power draw, and a professional form factor, the Quadro GP100 remains a viable option despite its age. The RX 6950 XT launch MSRP is 1,099 USD, which is recorded in the database. The GP100 has no recorded launch MSRP. Ultimately, the RX 6950 XT wins the only head-to-head test decisively, but the GP100's architectural strengths in memory and power efficiency should not be dismissed for specialized professional use cases.