AMD Radeon Vega 3 vs NVIDIA Quadro P400 Comparison
AMD Radeon Vega 3
Quadro P400
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Radeon Vega 3 vs NVIDIA Quadro P400
The Verdict
The data splits this matchup cleanly. The NVIDIA Quadro P400 wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks, taking the OpenCL test by 7.2% and the Vulkan test by a decisive 29.2%. Its average benchmark score of 4684 sits 9.7% above the AMD Radeon Vega 3's 4268 average. The Quadro P400 also holds a slightly higher overall percentile rank, landing at 27 versus the Vega 3's 25. For any workload that leans on compute APIs, the Quadro P400 is the clear pick from the recorded numbers.
The AMD Radeon Vega 3 is not without a case, however. It posts a Metal score of 4880, a test the Quadro P400 does not appear in, and it does so while carrying a 15 W TDP, half the Quadro's 30 W. The Vega 3 is also an integrated part of a Picasso APU, meaning it requires no separate card slot and draws from system memory. For a low-power, space-constrained system where the workload is Metal-based or memory bandwidth is not the bottleneck, the Vega 3 has a role. But in raw cross-API compute performance, the Quadro P400 leads in every shared test.
Where Each One Wins
The Quadro P400 wins where compute throughput and memory bandwidth matter most. Its OpenCL score of 4249 beats the Vega 3's 3963, and its Vulkan score of 5119 crushes the Vega 3's 3961 by 29.2%. The Quadro's dedicated GDDR5 memory, with 32.06 GB/s of bandwidth on a 64-bit bus, gives it a structural advantage over the Vega 3's system-shared memory, whose bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." The Quadro also has a higher pixel rate at 20.03 GPixel/s versus 4.400 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate at 20.03 GTexel/s versus 13.20 GTexel/s. Its FP32 output of 641.0 GFLOPS is roughly 52% higher than the Vega 3's 422.4 GFLOPS.
The Vega 3 wins in power efficiency and integration. Its 15 W TDP is half the Quadro's 30 W, and it needs no power connectors, no slot, and no dedicated memory, it is an IGP with system-shared resources. It also offers FP16 throughput of 844.8 GFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, versus the Quadro's 10.02 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, a massive difference for any workload that can exploit half-precision math. The Vega 3's Metal score of 4880 is its single strongest recorded result, and it outpaces both of its own OpenCL and Vulkan scores by a wide margin.
Architecture Differences
The two parts come from different foundries and process nodes. The Quadro P400 is built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture with the GP107 chip, manufactured by Samsung on a 14 nm process. It packs 3,300 million transistors into a 132 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The Vega 3 is AMD's GCN 5.0 architecture with the Picasso chip, built by GlobalFoundries on a 12 nm process. It holds 4,940 million transistors across a 210 mm² die, for a density of 23.5M per mm². The Vega 3's die is larger and holds more transistors, but the Quadro's Pascal design is denser per square millimeter.
The compute resources differ substantially. The Quadro P400 has 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Vega 3 has 192 shading units, 12 TMUs, and just 4 ROPs. That ROP gap explains the pixel rate difference: 20.03 GPixel/s for the Quadro versus 4.400 GPixel/s for the Vega 3. The Quadro's base clock is 1228 MHz with a boost of 1252 MHz, while the Vega 3 runs at a 300 MHz base and an 1100 MHz boost. The Vega 3's low base clock is typical of an IGP that idles down aggressively.
Memory architecture is the starkest divide. The Quadro P400 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus with 32.06 GB/s of bandwidth and a memory clock of 1002 MHz, 4 Gbps effective. The Vega 3 uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth. That means the Vega 3's memory performance is entirely at the mercy of the host system's RAM configuration, while the Quadro has fixed, dedicated bandwidth.
API support is close but not identical. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6. The Quadro P400 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega 3 supports Vulkan 1.3. The Vega 3 also reports a Metal score, indicating macOS or similar Metal-capable environments, while the Quadro has no Metal listing. Display outputs differ as well: the Quadro offers 3x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Vega 3's outputs are motherboard dependent.
The Quadro is a single-slot, 150 mm card (5.9 inches) with a 69 mm height (2.7 inches), requiring a 200 W suggested PSU. The Vega 3 is an IGP with no dimensions, no slot width, and no separate power needs. The Quadro connects via PCIe 3.0 x16; the Vega 3 uses the IGP bus interface.
FAQ
Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?
A: The NVIDIA Quadro P400, with an average benchmark score of 4684, compared to the AMD Radeon Vega 3's 4268.
Q: How much faster is the Quadro P400 in Vulkan?
A: The Quadro P400 scores 5119 in Vulkan, which is 29.2% higher than the Vega 3's 3961.
Q: Does the Vega 3 win any shared benchmark?
A: No. In the two shared tests, OpenCL and Vulkan, the Quadro P400 wins both. The Vega 3's only top result is Metal, a test the Quadro does not have in the database.
Q: What is the power draw difference?
A: The Quadro P400 has a 30 W TDP, while the Vega 3 has a 15 W TDP, exactly half.
Q: How do their memory systems compare?
A: The Quadro P400 uses 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus with 32.06 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 3 uses system-shared memory, with system-dependent bandwidth.
Q: Which has better half-precision (FP16) throughput?
A: The Vega 3, with 844.8 GFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, compared to the Quadro P400's 10.02 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The database records two shared benchmark tests between these GPUs, and the Quadro P400 wins both. The first is Geekbench OpenCL, where the Quadro scores 4249 against the Vega 3's 3963, a 7.2% advantage. This is a moderate win, reflecting the Quadro's higher FP32 throughput and dedicated memory bandwidth. A 7.2% gap in OpenCL is meaningful but not transformative; it places the Quadro in a clearly higher performance tier while remaining within striking distance of the Vega 3 for compute tasks that are memory-light.
The second test is Geekbench Vulkan, and here the margin expands dramatically. The Quadro P400 scores 5119, while the Vega 3 manages 3961. That is a 29.2% difference, the largest single gap in the entire head-to-head set. The Quadro's Vulkan result is also its best benchmark score in the database, beating its own OpenCL score by 20.5%. The Vega 3's Vulkan score is nearly identical to its OpenCL score, just 2 points lower, suggesting it scales similarly across these two APIs. The Quadro, by contrast, appears to gain significantly from Vulkan's lower-level overhead and better utilization of its fixed hardware resources.
The Vega 3 does have one benchmark the Quadro cannot contest: Geekbench Metal, where it scores 4880. That is 23.0% higher than its own OpenCL score and 23.2% higher than its Vulkan score. It is also 16.4% higher than the Quadro's OpenCL score of 4249, though comparing across different APIs is not a direct apples-to-apples measurement. Still, this Metal result shows that the Vega 3 is not uniformly slower; in a Metal-centric environment, it produces a competitive number.
Looking at the nearest rivals in the database adds context. The Quadro P400's average score of 4684 sits just 0.6% above the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB and the AMD Radeon R5 M320, both at 4657. It trails the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX by 0.9% and beats the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M by 1.2%. The Vega 3's average of 4268 is 0.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M, 0.6% below the AMD FirePro W2100, 0.6% above the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M, and 1.5% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6. These comparisons show both cards landing in a narrow band of low-end and older mobile GPUs, with the Quadro's band sitting roughly 9% higher than the Vega 3's.
The recorded data paints a simple picture: the Quadro P400 is the faster GPU in every shared test, with its Vulkan advantage being the standout number. The Vega 3 counters with lower power consumption, integrated simplicity, and a strong Metal showing, but it cannot match the Quadro where both are measured. Buyers prioritizing compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan should choose the Quadro P400; those needing an efficient, integrated solution with Metal support should look to the Vega 3.