AMD Radeon Vega 3 vs NVIDIA Quadro K2100M Comparison

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 and NVIDIA Quadro K2100M represent two distinct approaches to mobile graphics, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the AMD IGP wins decisively in Metal workloads, while the NVIDIA discrete GPU counters in OpenCL and Vulkan. Their average scores are remarkably close—4268 for the Vega 3 against 4151 for the Quadro K2100M—yet the underlying hardware could hardly be more different, from the 12 nm Picasso die to the 28 nm GK106S chip.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic divergence appears in the Geekbench Metal test. The AMD Radeon Vega 3 posts a score of 4880, which is 38.5% higher than the Quadro K2100M's 3524. This is the largest margin in any head-to-head comparison, and it is not a marginal victory. The delta suggests a fundamental advantage in Metal-optimized workloads, likely stemming from the Vega architecture's modern feature set and driver maturity on Apple's API. For any application that leverages Metal, the AMD part is the clear choice—this is a substantial, not incremental, lead.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M fights back in the other two benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 4587 against the Vega 3's 3963, a delta of -13.6% (meaning the Quadro leads by that margin). The gap is meaningful but not as wide as the Metal deficit. OpenCL performance favors the Quadro's 576 shading units and dedicated GDDR5 memory, which provide a raw compute advantage that the Vega 3's 192 shading units cannot match despite its higher boost clock. The texture rate tells a similar story: the Quadro delivers 32.02 GTexel/s versus the Vega 3's 13.20 GTexel/s, and its pixel rate of 8.004 GPixel/s doubles the AMD part's 4.400 GPixel/s.

Vulkan results follow the same pattern. The Quadro K2100M scores 4343, beating the Vega 3's 3961 by 8.8%. This is a narrower win than OpenCL but still consistent. Vulkan's lower-level access to the hardware appears to favor the discrete GPU's dedicated memory bandwidth of 48.13 GB/s, whereas the Vega 3 relies on system-shared memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." In practice, that dependency likely becomes a bottleneck in sustained Vulkan workloads, explaining the Quadro's edge.

Across all three tests, the total score tally favors NVIDIA: 2 wins to AMD's 1. However, the magnitude of the AMD win in Metal (38.5%) outweighs the combined margins of the NVIDIA victories in OpenCL (13.6%) and Vulkan (8.8%). The average benchmark scores reflect this tension: the Vega 3 averages 4268, while the Quadro averages 4151, a difference of only 117 points, or roughly 2.8%. The data indicates two GPUs with comparable overall performance but sharply different API-specific strengths.

The Verdict

The data does not crown a single winner; it describes a split personality. The AMD Radeon Vega 3 wins in Metal by a landslide, making it the superior choice for any Metal-centric environment. Its 4880 Metal score places it ahead of the Quadro's 3524 by a margin that no other benchmark reverses. If your workload is dominated by Metal—common in macOS ecosystems or Metal-based compute—the Vega 3 is the definitive pick, and the 38.5% lead is too large to ignore.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M takes the other two benchmarks. Its OpenCL score of 4587 and Vulkan score of 4343 both exceed the Vega 3's corresponding results. For OpenCL compute tasks, the Quadro's 768.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the Vega 3's 422.4 GFLOPS provides a hardware-level explanation for the win. The Quadro also offers a fixed 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with 48.13 GB/s bandwidth, which is a tangible advantage over the Vega 3's system-shared memory in scenarios where dedicated VRAM matters.

The percentile rankings are identical—both sit at the 25th percentile among all GPUs—which suggests they occupy the same performance tier. The nearest rivals confirm this: the Vega 3's closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M, averages 4282, just 0.3% higher, while the Quadro K2100M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R5 M330, averages 4170, only 0.4% lower. Neither GPU breaks out of its class. The verdict is conditional: choose the Vega 3 for Metal, choose the Quadro for OpenCL and Vulkan, and expect near-parity everywhere else.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 wins in Metal-specific applications. This includes any software that targets Apple's graphics API, whether for rendering, compute, or machine learning. The 38.5% delta in the head-to-head Metal test is the single most decisive result in the entire comparison, and it is the only benchmark where the Vega 3's architecture demonstrates clear superiority. The Vega 3 also benefits from a lower 15 W TDP, which is 40 W less than the Quadro's 55 W. For power-constrained systems, the AMD part is the more efficient option, though the benchmark scores do not directly reflect this.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M wins in OpenCL and Vulkan. Its OpenCL score of 4587 is 624 points higher than the Vega 3's, and its Vulkan score of 4343 is 382 points higher. These wins are consistent across both compute APIs, indicating a general advantage in cross-platform compute workloads. The Quadro also has a higher raw throughput: 32.02 GTexel/s versus 13.20 GTexel/s, and 8.004 GPixel/s versus 4.400 GPixel/s. For tasks that stress texture filtering or pixel fill—such as certain simulation or post-processing effects—the Quadro's hardware resources provide a structural edge.

The use-case split is clean. Metal users should favor the Vega 3; OpenCL and Vulkan users should favor the Quadro K2100M. For mixed workloads, the average scores suggest the systems will trade blows, and the deciding factor will be the specific API mix.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3 averages 4268 across all benchmarks, while the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M averages 4151. The AMD part leads by 117 points.

Q: What is the largest performance gap in the head-to-head results?

A: The Geekbench Metal test shows the AMD Radeon Vega 3 scoring 4880 against the Quadro K2100M's 3524, a 38.5% difference in favor of the AMD part. This is the only head-to-head test the Vega 3 wins.

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

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M scores 4587 in Geekbench OpenCL, beating the AMD Radeon Vega 3's 3963 by 13.6%. The Quadro's FP32 throughput of 768.4 GFLOPS exceeds the Vega 3's 422.4 GFLOPS.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3 uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bandwidth. The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 48.13 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 3, built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, has a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, has a density of 11.5M per mm².

Q: Do both GPUs support the same API versions?

A: No. The AMD Radeon Vega 3 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD part has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 is built on the GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The chip, codenamed Picasso, contains 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². It integrates 192 shading units, 12 texture mapping units, and 4 raster output units. Clock speeds run from a 300 MHz base to a 1100 MHz boost. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, and bandwidth is marked as system-dependent. The Vega 3 is an IGP with a 15 W TDP, requiring no power connectors and no separate slot width. It supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Its pixel rate is 4.400 GPixel/s, texture rate is 13.20 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 422.4 GFLOPS, with FP16 at 844.8 GFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio. The predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP, and the successor is Vega II IGP.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M uses the Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The GK106S chip contains 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, with a transistor density of 11.5M per mm². It has 576 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The base and boost clocks are both fixed at 667 MHz, with memory running at 752 MHz or 3 Gbps effective. The memory configuration is 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 48.13 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro is an MXM module with a 55 W TDP, using the MXM-A (3.0) bus interface and no power connectors. It supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. Its pixel rate is 8.004 GPixel/s, texture rate is 32.02 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 768.4 GFLOPS; FP16 is not specified. Its predecessor is Quadro Fermi-M, and its successor is Quadro Maxwell-M.

The architectural contrast is stark. The Vega 3 uses a newer, denser process and a more modern feature set, but it is an integrated part with shared memory and far fewer execution units. The Quadro K2100M is older, larger per transistor, and consumes nearly four times the power, but it pairs 3x more shading units with dedicated GDDR5 memory. The 48.13 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth is a structural advantage over the Vega 3's system-shared design, which is likely why the Quadro wins in OpenCL and Vulkan. The Vega 3's 12 nm process and GCN 5.0 architecture deliver superior Metal performance and API support, but the Quadro's raw compute resources dominate elsewhere. The data shows two GPUs optimized for different eras and priorities: one for efficiency and modern APIs, the other for raw throughput with dedicated memory.