AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile vs NVIDIA Quadro K620 Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile compare to the NVIDIA Quadro K620 in overall benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 7203, while the NVIDIA Quadro K620 scores 6282. This places the AMD part at the 39th percentile among all GPUs, slightly above the Quadro K620's 36th percentile.

Q: Which GPU wins in the Geekbench OpenCL test, and by how much?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 7435, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 6693. That is an 11.1% advantage for the AMD integrated part.

Q: What about the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile again comes out ahead, scoring 6970 versus the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 5870. The margin here is larger, at 18.7% in favor of the AMD card.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each GPU in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, which has an average score of 7222, a difference of -0.3% relative to the AMD chip. The NVIDIA Quadro K620's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M350, scoring 6327, which is -0.7% relative to the Quadro.

Q: What are the key architectural differences between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is built on GCN 5.0 using a 14 nm process (GlobalFoundries), with 512 shading units and 32 TMUs. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 uses Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process (TSMC), with 384 shading units and 24 TMUs. The AMD chip has a transistor count of 4,940 million, while the NVIDIA chip has 1,870 million.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses system shared memory, with bandwidth described as system dependent. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has 2 GB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 28.80 GB/s.

The Verdict

The data in the database points to a clear winner for general compute workloads: the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile. It wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks, with a 2-0 record. The AMD chip's average benchmark score of 7203 is 14.7% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 6282.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL and Vulkan performance, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is the stronger choice. Its 11.1% lead in OpenCL and 18.7% lead in Vulkan are substantial margins. The AMD part also offers a higher FP32 throughput of 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 863.2 GFLOPS for the NVIDIA card.

However, the NVIDIA Quadro K620 has advantages in certain areas. It has a higher pixel rate (17.98 GPixel/s vs 8.808 GPixel/s), more ROPS (16 vs 8), and a dedicated 2 GB memory buffer with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD chip relies entirely on system shared memory, which means its memory performance is dependent on the host system.

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 is a single-slot, 45 W card with a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, designed for workstation integration. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 25 W TDP, meaning it is built into a processor rather than being a discrete card.

For users building a system with a dedicated graphics card, the NVIDIA Quadro K620 offers the benefit of its own memory and higher pixel throughput. For those relying on integrated graphics in a mobile or compact platform, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile delivers superior compute performance in the recorded benchmarks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile winning both recorded tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD chip scores 7435 against the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 6693. This 11.1% delta is significant for compute-heavy applications that rely on OpenCL acceleration.

The gap widens in Geekbench Vulkan. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 6970, while the NVIDIA Quadro K620 manages 5870. That is an 18.7% advantage, indicating the AMD architecture handles Vulkan workloads particularly well relative to the older NVIDIA Maxwell design.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile's average score of 7203 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 (7222, -0.3%) and slightly above the GeForce GTX 560 SE (7171, +0.4%). This places the AMD integrated chip in the same performance class as those older discrete graphics cards.

The NVIDIA Quadro K620's average score of 6282 sits close to the AMD Radeon R7 M350 (6327, -0.7%) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 (6330, -0.8%). Interestingly, the database lists the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 as near rivals with scores of 6270, which is 0.2% lower than the Quadro K620. This is unusual, but the recorded data shows these cards with nearly identical average scores in this benchmark suite.

The FP32 compute figures reinforce the benchmark results. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile delivers 1,127.4 GFLOPS, which is 30.6% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 863.2 GFLOPS. The AMD chip also has a higher texture rate at 35.23 GTexel/s versus 26.98 GTexel/s.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every core specification. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPS. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPS. The AMD chip has double the TMUs, while the NVIDIA card has double the ROPS.

Clock speeds differ notably. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1101 MHz. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 runs at a base clock of 1058 MHz and boosts to 1124 MHz. The NVIDIA card's higher base clock contributes to its superior pixel rate of 17.98 GPixel/s, compared to the AMD chip's 8.808 GPixel/s.

Memory configurations are fundamentally different. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses system shared memory with a system dependent bandwidth. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has 2 GB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus with a fixed 28.80 GB/s bandwidth.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has a 25 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors or slot width. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 has a 45 W TDP, is a single-slot card with no power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 200 W. The NVIDIA card measures 160 mm in length (6.3 inches) and 69 mm in height (2.7 inches).

The bus interface differs as well. The AMD chip uses an IGP interface, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs also differ, with the AMD chip being portable device dependent and the NVIDIA card offering 1x DVI and 1x DisplayPort 1.2.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with a transistor count of 4,940 million on a 210 mm² die. This gives a transistor density of 23.5 million per mm².

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 uses Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process from TSMC, with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die. Its transistor density is 12.6 million per mm². Despite being an older process, the smaller die size and lower transistor count result in a more compact chip.

The AMD chip supports FP16 compute at 2.255 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA Quadro K620 does not have recorded FP16 capabilities. In API support, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile lists DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 lists DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The AMD chip's generation is listed as Vega IGP (Raven Ridge-M), with a predecessor of GCN 3.0 IGP and a successor of Navi II IGP. The NVIDIA Quadro K620 is from the Quadro Kepler (Kx200) generation, with a predecessor of Quadro Fermi and a successor of Quadro Maxwell.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins in compute-oriented workloads. Its 11.1% lead in OpenCL and 18.7% lead in Vulkan make it the better choice for applications that leverage these APIs. The higher FP32 throughput (1,127.4 GFLOPS) and texture rate (35.23 GTexel/s) further support its compute advantage.

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 wins in pixel throughput. Its 17.98 GPixel/s pixel rate is more than double the AMD chip's 8.808 GPixel/s. With 16 ROPS versus 8, the NVIDIA card is better suited for fill-rate-limited scenarios, such as certain rendering tasks at lower resolutions.

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 also offers the benefit of dedicated memory. With 2 GB of DDR3 and a fixed 28.80 GB/s bandwidth, it does not depend on system memory performance. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile's system shared memory means its effective bandwidth varies with the host system's RAM configuration.

For power-sensitive integrated designs, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile's 25 W TDP is significantly lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 45 W. The AMD chip also has a higher transistor density (23.5M per mm²) and a more recent manufacturing process (14 nm vs 28 nm).

The NVIDIA Quadro K620 is the only one of the two with a physical card form factor. It is a single-slot card with a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, making it suitable for desktop workstations where a dedicated card is required. The AMD chip is an IGP, meaning it is integrated into a processor, which suits compact or mobile platforms.

In the database's nearest rival comparisons, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile sits at the 39th percentile, just ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K620's 36th percentile. The AMD chip's average score of 7203 is also closer to higher-tier rivals like the GeForce GTX 750, while the NVIDIA card's 6282 average places it near lower-tier mobile parts like the Radeon R7 M350.