AMD Radeon VII vs NVIDIA Quadro P6000 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro P6000 and AMD Radeon VII represent two distinct approaches to high-end workstation graphics, separated by over two years of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the Radeon VII dominates in compute-oriented workloads, while the Quadro P6000 holds its ground as a professional visualization card with a massive memory pool. The Radeon VII wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks, yet the Quadro P6000 maintains a higher average benchmark score across all tested applications, illustrating that aggregate performance metrics can obscure significant per-application advantages.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon VII is the clear winner in raw compute throughput. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 91,947 against the Quadro P6000’s 66,382, a 27.8% advantage. This gap reflects the Radeon VII’s architectural focus on parallel floating-point execution. The Vulkan results tell a similar story: the Radeon VII posts 91,788 versus 73,590 for the Quadro, a 19.8% lead. For workloads that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan compute — such as rendering, scientific simulation, or machine learning inference — the Radeon VII is the superior choice based on these numbers alone.

The NVIDIA Quadro P6000, despite losing both direct comparisons, still commands a higher average benchmark score of 69,986 across all recorded tests, compared to the Radeon VII’s 66,004. This suggests the Quadro excels in other benchmark categories not included in the direct head-to-head, likely due to its driver optimization for professional OpenGL and CAD applications. The Quadro’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile (70,140, only 0.2% higher) and AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, 0.2% lower), placing it in a tightly contested performance band. The Radeon VII’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733, 1.1% higher), indicating it sits slightly below its closest competitor in aggregate scoring.

For users prioritizing compute density per card, the Radeon VII wins decisively. For those needing maximum compatibility with ISV-certified professional software, the Quadro P6000’s higher aggregate score and professional pedigree make it the safer choice despite losing the two recorded benchmarks.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The Quadro P6000 uses the GP102 chip based on NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 11,800 million transistors into a 471 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.1 million per square millimeter. The Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip with AMD’s GCN 5.1 architecture, built on a more advanced 7 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 13,230 million transistors on a smaller 331 mm² die, achieving a density of 40.0 million per square millimeter — a 60% higher density that reflects the newer manufacturing node.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Quadro P6000 offers 24 GB of GDDR5X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 432.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon VII counters with 16 GB of HBM2 on a massive 4096-bit bus, providing 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth — more than double the Quadro’s throughput. This bandwidth advantage is critical for memory-bound compute tasks, explaining the Radeon VII’s OpenCL and Vulkan wins. However, the Quadro’s larger capacity is valuable for datasets that exceed 16 GB, such as massive 3D scenes or large model training.

Both cards feature 3840 shading units and 240 texture mapping units, but the Radeon VII has only 64 ROPs versus the Quadro’s 96. This explains the Quadro’s higher pixel rate of 157.9 GPixel/s compared to 112.0 GPixel/s, despite the Radeon’s higher texture rate of 420.0 GTexel/s versus 394.8 GTexel/s. Clock speeds are close: the Quadro runs at 1506 MHz base and 1645 MHz boost, while the Radeon VII runs at 1400 MHz base and 1750 MHz boost. The Radeon’s higher boost clock and FP32 throughput of 13.44 TFLOPS (versus 12.63 TFLOPS for the Quadro) contribute to its compute performance edge. The Radeon VII also supports FP16 at 26.88 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, whereas the Quadro’s FP16 is severely limited at 197.4 GFLOPS (1:64), making the Radeon vastly superior for half-precision workloads.

Power and physical characteristics differ. The Quadro P6000 has a 250 W TDP and requires a single 8-pin power connector, while the Radeon VII draws 295 W and needs two 8-pin connectors. Both are dual-slot cards with PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces and a 600 W suggested PSU. The Quadro is shorter at 267 mm versus 280 mm for the Radeon, and narrower at 111 mm versus 125 mm; the Radeon also has a specified width of 40 mm. Display outputs differ: the Quadro offers 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Radeon provides 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon VII scores 91,947 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 27.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000’s 66,382. This makes the Radeon VII the clear winner for OpenCL-based workloads.

Q: Does the Quadro P6000 win any benchmark against the Radeon VII?

A: In the recorded head-to-head benchmarks, the Quadro P6000 wins none. The Radeon VII wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests. However, the Quadro has a higher overall average benchmark score of 69,986 versus 66,004, implying it performs better in other unlisted benchmarks.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The Radeon VII provides 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth via 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The Quadro P6000 provides 432.8 GB/s via 24 GB of GDDR5X on a 384-bit bus. The Radeon’s bandwidth is more than double, but the Quadro has 50% more memory capacity.

Q: Which card has higher FP16 performance?

A: The Radeon VII delivers 26.88 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, while the Quadro P6000 delivers only 197.4 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. The Radeon is over 100 times faster in half-precision compute.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Quadro P6000 has a 250 W TDP and uses a single 8-pin power connector. The Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP and uses two 8-pin connectors. Both recommend a 600 W power supply.

Q: Which card is more recent?

A: The Radeon VII was released on 2019-02-06, while the Quadro P6000 was released on 2016-09-30. The Radeon is over two years newer and built on a 7 nm process versus 16 nm.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro P6000 | AMD Radeon VII |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 5.1 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 11,800 million | 13,230 million |

| Die Size | 471 mm² | 331 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 40.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1506 MHz | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1645 MHz | 1750 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5X | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.8 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 157.9 GPixel/s | 112.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 394.8 GTexel/s | 420.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 12.63 TFLOPS | 13.44 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 197.4 GFLOPS (1:64) | 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 295 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Length | 267 mm | 280 mm |

| Height | 111 mm | 125 mm |

| Width | Not specified | 40 mm |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 4x DP 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DP 1.4a |

| Vulkan API | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2016-09-30 | 2019-02-06 |

| Launch MSRP | 5,999 USD | 699 USD |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test provides the starkest contrast. The Radeon VII scores 91,947, a 27.8% advantage over the Quadro P6000’s 66,382. This is a substantial margin that cannot be explained by clock speed alone. The Radeon’s 1.02 TB/s memory bandwidth and superior FP16 capability (26.88 TFLOPS versus 197.4 GFLOPS) play significant roles in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads. In practical terms, a task that takes 10 minutes on the Quadro would complete in roughly 7.2 minutes on the Radeon, assuming linear scaling.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a smaller but still decisive gap. The Radeon VII scores 91,788 against 73,590 for the Quadro P6000, a 19.8% lead. Vulkan’s lower-level API access benefits the Radeon’s architecture, though the gap narrows compared to OpenCL. This suggests the Quadro’s Pascal architecture is relatively more competitive in Vulkan than in OpenCL, but still trails significantly.

The aggregate benchmark scores tell a different story. The Quadro P6000 averages 69,986 across all tests, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile scores 70,140 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 scores 69,870 (0.2% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE scores 70,829 (1.2% lower). The small deltas indicate the Quadro sits in a very competitive mid-high performance tier. The Radeon VII also sits in the 90th percentile with an average score of 66,004, but its rivals are lower-ranked: the NVIDIA Tesla T4 scores 66,733 (1.1% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla P40 scores 65,095 (1.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 scores 64,212 (2.8% lower). This indicates the Radeon VII, despite winning the head-to-head compute tests, is surrounded by weaker competitors on aggregate, suggesting its strengths are concentrated in specific workload types rather than broad general performance.

The wins are decisive in compute, but the aggregate picture shows the Quadro P6000 maintaining a higher overall standing. For buyers, the choice hinges on workload: the Radeon VII for compute-heavy OpenCL/Vulkan tasks, the Quadro for broader professional application compatibility and larger memory capacity. The data does not support a single "best" card; it supports two different tools for two different jobs.