AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT vs NVIDIA Quadro K4200 Comparison

The Verdict

The data clearly separates these two GPUs into different eras and entirely different performance classes. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks decisively, making it the superior choice for any modern workload. The NVIDIA Quadro K4200, while holding a respectable position in its own generation, cannot compete with the architectural and performance advantages of the newer AMD part.

For users seeking maximum compute performance, modern API support, and high-resolution gaming or professional workloads, the RX 7900 XT is the only rational choice. Its benchmark scores dwarf the K4200 in Vulkan performance by a staggering margin, and it leads in OpenCL as well. The K4200 remains relevant only for legacy systems requiring a single-slot professional card with modest power requirements. The data shows a 52nd percentile ranking for the K4200 against all GPUs, while the RX 7900 XT sits at the 55th percentile, but this narrow percentile gap masks the massive absolute performance difference in modern API tests.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XT wins every benchmark category recorded in the database. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 12,756 versus the K4200's 12,313, a 3.6% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap becomes enormous: 71,068 versus 12,482, a 469.4% advantage. This Vulkan result is the single most telling metric, as it reflects modern driver optimization and architectural support for current graphics APIs.

The K4200 offers no competitive advantage in any measured test. Its only redeeming qualities lie in physical attributes: it is a single-slot card with a 108 W TDP, a 300 W suggested PSU, and a 1x 6-pin power connector. These features make it suitable for legacy workstations with limited power delivery and physical space. However, from a pure performance standpoint, the K4200 is not a viable alternative to the RX 7900 XT for any benchmark recorded.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different design philosophies separated by eight years of silicon evolution. The RX 7900 XT uses the Navi 31 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm TSMC process. It contains 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 109.1M per mm². The K4200 uses the GK104 chip with Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm TSMC process with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, for a density of 12.0M per mm².

The RX 7900 XT features 5,376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. It also includes 84 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the K4200. The K4200 has 1,344 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 7900 XT's memory subsystem uses 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth. The K4200 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 172.8 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7900 XT's pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s dwarf the K4200's 21.95 GPixel/s and 87.81 GTexel/s.

The RX 7900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The K4200 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RX 7900 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16 while the K4200 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The RX 7900 XT outputs include HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB Type-C, versus the K4200's DVI and DisplayPort 1.2 outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 71,068 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 469.4% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K4200's score of 12,482.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, while the K4200 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the RX 7900 XT has dedicated ray tracing cores, with 84 RT cores. The K4200 has no ray tracing hardware.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RX 7900 XT has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with 2x 8-pin connectors. The K4200 has a 108 W TDP and requires a 300 W suggested PSU with 1x 6-pin connector.

Q: How do their OpenCL scores compare?

A: The RX 7900 XT scores 12,756 in Geekbench OpenCL, leading the K4200's 12,313 by 3.6%.

Q: Which card is newer?

A: The RX 7900 XT was released on November 2, 2022, while the K4200 was released on July 21, 2014. The RX 7900 XT is also marked as end-of-life, as is the K4200.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data shows a complete sweep for the RX 7900 XT. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7900 XT scores 12,756 against the K4200's 12,313, a 3.6% delta. This is a modest but consistent lead, indicating that even in compute-heavy workloads where the older Kepler architecture might show some strength, the RDNA 3.0 part pulls ahead.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a far more dramatic story. The RX 7900 XT scores 71,068, while the K4200 manages only 12,482. This represents a 469.4% delta, meaning the RX 7900 XT is nearly six times faster in this test. This result reflects the modern Vulkan driver support and hardware feature set of the RX 7900 XT, including its 84 ray tracing cores and RDNA 3.0 architecture. The K4200's Vulkan support is limited to version 1.2.175, and its Kepler architecture lacks the specialized hardware required for modern graphics workloads.

When comparing against their respective nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score of 13,745 places it just 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon 660M and 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, while leading the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT by 1.5%. The K4200's average score of 12,398 trails the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm by 1.8% and the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT by 2.5%, while leading the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A by 3.3%. These rival comparisons show that the RX 7900 XT sits in a competitive mid-range position among modern GPUs, while the K4200 is grouped with older, less capable parts.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The RX 7900 XT uses a 5 nm process node versus the K4200's 28 nm node. Transistor counts are 57,700 million versus 3,540 million. Die size is 529 mm² versus 294 mm². Transistor density is 109.1M per mm² versus 12.0M per mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially: the RX 7900 XT has a base clock of 1387 MHz and boost clock of 2394 MHz, while the K4200 has a base clock of 771 MHz and boost of 784 MHz. The RX 7900 XT also has a game clock of 2025 MHz, which the K4200 lacks. Memory clocks are 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) versus 1350 MHz (5.4 Gbps effective).

The RX 7900 XT has 5,376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, plus 84 RT cores. The K4200 has 1,344 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT cores. FP32 performance is 51.48 TFLOPS versus 2.107 TFLOPS. The RX 7900 XT has FP16 performance of 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1), while the K4200 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Physical specifications also differ: the RX 7900 XT is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 700 W suggested PSU, while the K4200 is single-slot with 1x 6-pin and a 300 W suggested PSU. The RX 7900 XT measures 276 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 51 mm in width. The K4200 measures 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height, with no width recorded.

The RX 7900 XT supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the K4200 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the RX 7900 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the K4200 offers 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2. API support also differs, with the RX 7900 XT supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, versus the K4200's DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RX 7900 XT carries a launch MSRP of 899 USD, while the K4200 has no recorded launch MSRP.