AMD Radeon Vega 3 vs NVIDIA Quadro K2000 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 and NVIDIA Quadro K2000 represent two very different generations of GPU design, with the former being a modern integrated processor from 2019 and the latter a dedicated workstation card from 2013. Benchmark results from the Geekbench suite reveal a split decision that hinges on the specific workload and API, with the AMD part dominating in Metal while the NVIDIA card edges ahead in OpenCL and Vulkan. The data shows an average benchmark score of 4268 for the AMD Radeon Vega 3 versus 3964 for the NVIDIA Quadro K2000, placing both cards in the bottom quartile of all GPUs at the 25th and 24th percentiles respectively.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic discrepancy appears in the Geekbench Metal test, where the AMD Radeon Vega 3 scores 4880 against the NVIDIA Quadro K2000's 3630. That is a 34.4% advantage for the AMD part, a substantial margin that reflects the Vega 3's architectural efficiency in this particular API. This single result also serves as the high-water mark for the AMD card, outperforming its own OpenCL score of 3963 by over 900 points, suggesting that Metal optimizations are particularly well-tuned for the GCN 5.0 architecture.

The tables turn in the OpenCL benchmark, where the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 achieves 4071 versus the AMD Vega 3's 3963. The 2.7% delta is narrow, but it is consistent with the K2000's higher raw compute specifications. The NVIDIA card's FP32 throughput of 732.7 GFLOPS compared to the Vega 3's 422.4 GFLOPS gives it a theoretical edge that materializes in this test, albeit by a slim margin. The texture and pixel rates tell a similar story, with the K2000 delivering 30.53 GTexel/s and 7.632 GPixel/s against the Vega 3's 13.20 GTexel/s and 4.400 GPixel/s.

Vulkan results follow the same pattern as OpenCL, with the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 scoring 4191 against the AMD Vega 3's 3961, a 5.5% difference. This is the largest NVIDIA victory in the head-to-head comparisons, and it suggests that the Kepler architecture's driver maturity in Vulkan 1.2.175 provides a measurable benefit over the Vega 3's Vulkan 1.3 implementation. The K2000's shading unit count of 384 versus the Vega 3's 192, along with 32 TMUs against 12, explains why the NVIDIA card maintains an advantage in these compute-oriented workloads despite its older design.

The overall win tally favors the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 with two wins out of three benchmarks, but the magnitude of the AMD victory in Metal is nearly double the combined NVIDIA margins. The average scores from the nearest rivals bracket these two cards closely: the AMD Radeon Vega 3 sits between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M at 4282 (-0.3%) and the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M at 4241 (0.6%), while the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 is slightly above the AMD Radeon R5 M420 at 3956 (0.2%) and below the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 at 3977 (-0.3%). These clustering patterns indicate that neither card has a decisive performance class advantage; they are trading blows within a narrow performance band.

The Verdict

From the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon Vega 3 is the clear choice for users operating in Metal-based environments, where its 34.4% lead over the K2000 is decisive. The 4880 Metal score represents the highest single-test result for either card, and it positions the Vega 3 as the better option for macOS-centric workflows or any application that leverages Metal acceleration. The Vega 3's integrated design with 15 W TDP also makes it suitable for low-power systems where the K2000's 51 W requirement would be prohibitive.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2000, on the other hand, wins the compute-oriented benchmarks in OpenCL and Vulkan, with margins of 2.7% and 5.5% respectively. Its dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth and 128-bit bus provides a tangible advantage over the Vega 3's system-shared memory, which has bandwidth described as "System Dependent." For users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the K2000's consistent, if modest, superiority makes it the safer choice. The K2000 also offers a fixed set of display outputs (1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2) whereas the Vega 3's outputs are motherboard dependent, which may matter for workstation configurations.

The data does not support a universal recommendation. The AMD Radeon Vega 3's average score of 4268 is 7.7% higher than the K2000's 3964, but this aggregate figure is heavily influenced by the outlier Metal result. If Metal is not part of the workload, the K2000's average across OpenCL and Vulkan (4131) beats the Vega 3's (3962) by roughly 4.3%. Neither card ranks above the 25th percentile of all GPUs, confirming that these are entry-level performers. The choice should hinge on the API ecosystem of the target applications: Metal users pick the Vega 3; OpenCL and Vulkan users pick the K2000.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3 wins with a score of 4880, which is 34.4% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K2000's 3630.

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

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 scores 4071 in Geekbench OpenCL, edging out the AMD Radeon Vega 3's 3963 by a 2.7% margin.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3 has an average benchmark score of 4268, while the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 averages 3964.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 leads in Geekbench Vulkan with 4191 points, a 5.5% advantage over the AMD Radeon Vega 3's 3961.

Q: How many benchmark wins does each card have in the head-to-head comparison?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 wins 2 benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon Vega 3 wins 1 benchmark.

Q: What percentile ranking does each GPU hold among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3 sits at the 25th percentile, and the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 sits at the 24th percentile.

Specification Differences

The most fundamental difference lies in the memory architecture. The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon Vega 3 uses system-shared memory with bus width and bandwidth listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent" respectively. This gives the K2000 predictable memory performance, whereas the Vega 3's performance varies with the host system's RAM.

The compute resources diverge significantly. The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 packs 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the AMD Radeon Vega 3 has 192 shading units, 12 TMUs, and only 4 ROPs. The K2000's pixel rate of 7.632 GPixel/s and texture rate of 30.53 GTexel/s are substantially higher than the Vega 3's 4.400 GPixel/s and 13.20 GTexel/s. FP32 performance also favors the NVIDIA card at 732.7 GFLOPS versus 422.4 GFLOPS, with the Vega 3 additionally offering FP16 at 844.8 GFLOPS (2:1) while the K2000 lists no FP16 capability.

Clock behavior differs in that the AMD Radeon Vega 3 specifies a base clock of 300 MHz and boost clock of 1100 MHz, while the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 lists no base or boost clocks but has a memory clock of 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The power envelope is dramatically different, with the Vega 3 at 15 W TDP and the K2000 at 51 W TDP; the K2000 suggests a 250 W PSU while the Vega 3 has no suggested PSU. Physical specifications also diverge: the K2000 is a single-slot card measuring 202 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the Vega 3 is an IGP with no dimensions listed.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 is built on the GCN 5.0 architecture with the Picasso chip, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 12 nm process node. It integrates 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². This is part of the Vega IGP generation from 2019, succeeding GCN 3.0 IGP and preceding Vega II IGP. The NVIDIA Quadro K2000 uses the Kepler architecture with the GK107 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It contains 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die, with a transistor density of 10.8M per mm². The K2000 belongs to the Quadro Kepler generation from 2013, succeeding Quadro Fermi and preceding Quadro Maxwell.

API support shows a generational shift. The AMD Radeon Vega 3 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Vega 3's newer Vulkan 1.3 specification and higher DirectX feature level reflect its more recent design, though the benchmark data does not always translate this into performance wins. The K2000 offers fixed display outputs of 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2, whereas the Vega 3's outputs are motherboard dependent. The bus interface also differs, with the K2000 using PCIe 2.0 x16 and the Vega 3 using an integrated IGP connection.