NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti vs NVIDIA Quadro K2100M Comparison

The data places the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M in the same performance tier, with average benchmark scores of 4193 and 4151 respectively. This 1% difference in favor of the GeForce part puts both cards at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that while they are not performance leaders, they occupy a similar niche. However, a closer look at the individual benchmarks reveals a far more lopsided contest than the overall averages suggest, with the GeForce card dominating in every measurable compute workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking finding in the head-to-head comparison is the sheer magnitude of the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti's victories. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 1050 Ti scores 18,129, which is a staggering 295.2% higher than the Quadro K2100M's score of 4,587. This is not a marginal win; it represents a nearly four-fold performance advantage in this general-purpose compute workload. The data suggests the Pascal architecture's higher clock speeds and more efficient shader execution provide a massive generational leap over the older Kepler design.

The pattern continues with API-specific tests. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1050 Ti achieves 10,001 points, a 130.3% improvement over the K2100M's 4,343. Similarly, in the Geekbench Metal test, the GeForce card scores 7,834, which is 122.3% ahead of the Quadro's 3,524. While the OpenCL gap is the largest, the fact that the GTX 1050 Ti more than doubles the Quadro's score in both Vulkan and Metal indicates a fundamental performance advantage that is consistent across different graphics APIs. The Quadro K2100M fails to secure a single win in any of the three head-to-head tests, leaving the overall win tally at 3-0 in favor of the GTX 1050 Ti.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in the OpenCL benchmark?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti scores 18,129, which is 295.2% higher than the Quadro K2100M's score of 4,587. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards across all tested benchmarks.

Q: Does the Quadro K2100M have any advantages in the head-to-head tests?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows the Quadro K2100M losing all three tests. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti wins in Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, with the closest margin being a 122.3% difference in the Metal test.

Q: What is the overall average benchmark score for each card?

A: The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4,193, while the Quadro K2100M averages 4,151. This places the GTX 1050 Ti just 1% ahead of the Quadro in the aggregate data.

Q: How do these cards compare to the AMD Radeon R5 M330?

A: Both cards are closely matched with the Radeon R5 M330. The GTX 1050 Ti is 0.6% ahead of the R5 M330, while the Quadro K2100M is 0.4% behind it. This makes the R5 M330 a relevant performance reference point for both.

Q: Are there performance benchmarks where the two cards are close?

A: Based on the individual head-to-head results, no. The smallest delta is 122.3% in Geekbench Metal, indicating the GTX 1050 Ti is always more than twice as fast as the Quadro in these specific tests.

Q: What is the performance percentile for both GPUs?

A: Both the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and the Quadro K2100M are placed at the 25th percentile when compared to all GPUs in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures, which explains their divergent performance profiles. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti utilizes the Pascal architecture on a 14 nm process node at Samsung's foundry, featuring the GP107 chip. This is a stark contrast to the Quadro K2100M, which uses the older Kepler architecture on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with the GK106S chip. The smaller 14 nm process node allows the GTX 1050 Ti to pack 3,300 million transistors into a 132 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The Quadro, by comparison, has 2,540 million transistors spread across a much larger 221 mm² die, yielding a density of just 11.5M per mm².

This architectural shift has profound implications. The GTX 1050 Ti's clock speeds are significantly higher, with a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz. The Quadro K2100M operates at a fixed 667 MHz for both base and boost. This clock speed advantage alone gives the GeForce card a massive throughput edge. The memory subsystems also differ, with the GTX 1050 Ti using 1752 MHz memory (7 Gbps effective) versus the K2100M's 752 MHz (3 Gbps effective). The API support reflects their respective eras, with the GTX 1050 Ti supporting DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Quadro supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet reveals a clear generational gap in almost every measurable category. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti offers 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro K2100M has half the memory at 2 GB, but uses the same 128-bit bus, resulting in a much lower bandwidth of 48.13 GB/s. The compute resources are also lopsided: the GTX 1050 Ti has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the Quadro has 576 shading units, 48 TMUs, but only 16 ROPs.

The raw throughput numbers further illustrate the disparity. The GTX 1050 Ti achieves a pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s, compared to the Quadro's 8.004 GPixel/s and 32.02 GTexel/s. In terms of floating-point performance, the GeForce card delivers 2.138 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the Quadro manages just 768.4 GFLOPS. The GTX 1050 Ti also supports FP16 at 33.41 GFLOPS (1:64), a feature absent from the Quadro. Physical and power characteristics differ as well: the GTX 1050 Ti is a dual-slot card with a 75 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the Quadro is an MXM module with a 55 W TDP. The GeForce card relies on PCIe 3.0 x16 and offers standard display outputs, whereas the Quadro uses an MXM-A (3.0) interface with display outputs that are dependent on the portable device.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the clear winner for any application that leverages compute or modern graphics APIs. Its 295.2% lead in OpenCL suggests it is vastly superior for general-purpose GPU computing tasks, such as video encoding, physics simulations, or data processing. The 130.3% advantage in Vulkan and 122.3% in Metal indicates that it will also provide a significantly better experience in modern games and applications that use these low-level APIs. The GTX 1050 Ti's higher pixel and texture rates also point to better performance in traditional rasterization workloads, even if no direct game benchmarks are in the pack.

The Quadro K2100M's potential strengths are not evident in the performance data. Its only distinguishing features are its form factor and power draw. As an MXM module with a 55 W TDP, it is designed for mobile workstations where space and power are at a premium. The GTX 1050 Ti, with its 75 W TDP and dual-slot design, is a more conventional desktop card. Therefore, the Quadro's "win" is not about performance, but about its specific form factor for integration into laptops or compact systems. The data does not provide any scenario where the Quadro outperforms the GTX 1050 Ti in a benchmark test.

The Verdict

The choice between these two GPUs is straightforward based on the facts. For any user prioritizing performance, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the only logical option. It wins every single head-to-head benchmark by a wide margin, offers double the memory capacity and bandwidth, and delivers over twice the raw compute throughput. The data shows a 295.2% lead in OpenCL and a 130.3% lead in Vulkan, making it categorically superior for compute and modern graphics workloads.

The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M is not a competitive alternative in terms of performance. Its only potential appeal lies in its physical specifications. As an MXM module with a lower 55 W power draw, it might be the sole option for a specific proprietary laptop chassis that requires this exact form factor. However, from a pure performance standpoint, the GTX 1050 Ti is the decisive winner, being 1% ahead in average score and more than 100% ahead in every direct comparison. The data is unambiguous: the GTX 1050 Ti is the superior card, while the Quadro K2100M is a legacy mobile part that is outclassed in every measurable way.