NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti vs NVIDIA Quadro K4200 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct benchmark comparison between the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the Quadro K4200 scores 12313, while the GTX 560 Ti scores 10690. The K4200 wins this head-to-head by 15.2%, a substantial margin that reflects the architectural gap between the two generations.

The 15.2% advantage in OpenCL is not a marginal difference. It places the K4200 in a different performance tier entirely. When contextualized against the broader database, the K4200's average benchmark score of 12398 sits at the 52nd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 560 Ti's average of 10690 sits at the 49th percentile. The K4200 is 3.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A (avg score 11998) in the nearest rivals list, and it trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (avg score 12773) by 2.9%. This indicates the K4200 is competing with mid-range GeForce cards of a later generation, not just the older GTX 560 Ti.

The GTX 560 Ti, for its part, is not without company. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600S, which sits 0.6% behind it, and the AMD Radeon Pro 450, which sits 1.1% ahead. The GTX 560 Ti's score of 10690 is within a tight cluster: the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 scores 10761, only 0.7% higher. This suggests the GTX 560 Ti remains competitive with entry-level workstation and laptop parts from much later generations, but it cannot match the K4200's raw compute output.

The single head-to-head measurement only covers OpenCL, but the score delta is consistent with what the recorded specifications suggest. The K4200's shading unit count is more than triple that of the GTX 560 Ti, and its FP32 throughput of 2.107 TFLOPS is a significant jump over the GTX 560 Ti's 1,263.4 GFLOPS. The texture rate difference is also stark: 87.81 GTexel/s versus 52.67 GTexel/s. These are not small increments, they are fundamental gaps that appear in the benchmark results.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 is the clear winner in raw compute benchmarks. It wins the only head-to-head test by 15.2%, and its average benchmark score of 12398 is 15.9% higher than the GTX 560 Ti's 10690. The K4200 also holds a higher percentile ranking across all GPUs. If the use case involves OpenCL workloads, professional visualization, or any compute task that scales with shader count and texture throughput, the K4200 is the correct pick.

The GTX 560 Ti is not without its place. It remains within 0.7% of the Quadro K2200 and within 1.1% of the AMD Radeon Pro 450, which means it can still handle older or lighter compute loads. However, the data shows no scenario in the benchmark set where the GTX 560 Ti wins. It loses the only head-to-head test, and its average score is lower. For a user who only cares about the recorded performance, the K4200 is the only choice.

The GTX 560 Ti does have one advantage in the data: its launch MSRP was 249 USD. But this is a historical fact, not a current performance metric, and the database contains no pricing information for the K4200, so no comparison can be made. From the performance data alone, the K4200 is objectively stronger.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K4200 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 12313 against the GTX 560 Ti's 10690, a 15.2% advantage.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two?

A: The K4200 has an average benchmark score of 12398, while the GTX 560 Ti has an average of 10690. The K4200 is 16% higher.

Q: How does the GTX 560 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 560 Ti is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6600S, which is 0.6% faster, and the AMD Radeon R9 M275X, which is 1% slower. It is also 0.7% slower than the Quadro K2200.

Q: Does the GTX 560 Ti have any benchmark wins over the K4200?

A: No. The recorded head-to-head data shows 1 win for the K4200 and 0 wins for the GTX 560 Ti.

Q: How does the K4200's performance percentile compare to the GTX 560 Ti's?

A: The K4200 sits at the 52nd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 560 Ti sits at the 49th percentile.

Q: What is the GTX 560 Ti's launch MSRP?

A: The GTX 560 Ti had a launch MSRP of 249 USD.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The K4200 is built on a 28 nm process, while the GTX 560 Ti uses a 40 nm process. The K4200 has a transistor count of 3,540 million on a 294 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 12.0M per mm². The GTX 560 Ti has 1,950 million transistors on a larger 332 mm² die, resulting in a density of only 5.9M per mm².

Memory is another major differentiator. The K4200 comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 172.8 GB/s. The GTX 560 Ti has only 1024 MB of GDDR5 on the same 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 128.3 GB/s. The K4200's memory clock is 5.4 Gbps effective, while the GTX 560 Ti runs at 4 Gbps effective.

The compute cores tell the largest story. The K4200 has 1344 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 560 Ti has just 384 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The K4200's pixel rate is 21.95 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 87.81 GTexel/s, while the GTX 560 Ti manages only 13.17 GPixel/s and 52.67 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 2.107 TFLOPS for the K4200 versus 1,263.4 GFLOPS for the GTX 560 Ti.

Power and physical dimensions also differ. The K4200 has a TDP of 108 W with a single 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 300 W. It is a single-slot card with dimensions of 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The GTX 560 Ti has a TDP of 170 W, requires two 6-pin connectors and a 450 W PSU, and is a dual-slot card with a length of 229 mm. The K4200 uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, and so does the GTX 560 Ti.

Display outputs also differ. The K4200 provides 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The GTX 560 Ti provides 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

Architecture Differences

The K4200 is based on the GK104 chip, which uses NVIDIA's Kepler architecture. It is part of the Quadro Kepler (Kx200) generation. The GTX 560 Ti is based on the GF114 chip, which uses the older Fermi 2.0 architecture, and belongs to the GeForce 500 generation.

The manufacturing process is a significant architectural difference. The K4200 is built on a 28 nm TSMC process, while the GTX 560 Ti is built on a 40 nm TSMC process. This allows the K4200 to pack 12.0 million transistors per square millimeter on a 294 mm² die, compared to the GTX 560 Ti's 5.9 million per square millimeter on a 332 mm² die. The K4200 is a smaller physical chip, yet it holds nearly double the transistors.

The memory architecture is also fundamentally different. The K4200 has 1024 MB more memory, but the bus width is the same at 256 bits. The key is the effective memory clock: the K4200 runs at 5.4 Gbps effective versus the GTX 560 Ti's 4 Gbps effective. This explains the K4200's 172.8 GB/s bandwidth advantage.

The shading design is another architectural chasm. The K4200's 1344 shading units are organized in Kepler's configuration, which is more efficient per clock than Fermi 2.0. The GTX 560 Ti's 384 shading units, while accurate, represent the older Fermi design that requires more power per unit of performance. The K4200 also supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the GTX 560 Ti does not list any Vulkan support in the database. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6.

The K4200 is a professional workstation card, as evidenced by its DisplayPort outputs and single-slot design. The GTX 560 Ti is a consumer gaming card from 2011, with dual-slot cooling and mini-HDMI output. The K4200 has a launch date of July 2014, three and a half years after the GTX 560 Ti's January 2011 release. The K4200's predecessor is Quadro Fermi, and its successor is Quadro Maxwell. The GTX 560 Ti's predecessor is GeForce 400, and its successor is GeForce 600.

Where Each One Wins

The K4200 wins in every benchmark category where data exists. In the OpenCL compute test, it is 15.2% faster. In the broader database average, it is 15.98% faster. Its higher shading unit count, higher texture rate, and higher memory bandwidth all point to it winning any compute-bound task: rendering, scientific simulation, data processing, or OpenCL-accelerated applications.

The GTX 560 Ti has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its only advantage is a historical one: it was released earlier, and it had a launch MSRP of 249 USD. For a user who is looking at the database strictly for performance, there is no workload where the GTX 560 Ti is the superior choice.

However, the GTX 560 Ti is not worthless. Its average score of 10690 places it within 1.1% of the AMD Radeon Pro 450 and within 0.7% of the Quadro K2200, meaning it can still handle workloads that these cards can handle. For a legacy system that already has the GTX 560 Ti installed, it can still run older OpenCL workloads, but the K4200 would deliver better performance in every scenario.

The K4200 is also the better choice for a professional user who needs the Vulkan API support, which the GTX 560 Ti lacks. The K4200's 4 GB memory also makes it more suitable for larger datasets than the 1 GB GTX 560 Ti. The GTX 560 Ti's only advantage is its power connector layout if the user has a PSU with only a single 6-pin available, but the K4200's lower TDP of 108 W versus 170 W means it is more power-efficient, and the K4200's 300 W PSU recommendation is lower than the GTX 560 Ti's 450 W.

In summary, the K4200 wins every measurable category. The GTX 560 Ti remains a functioning card for its era, but the database shows no reason to choose it over the K4200 for any workload. The K4200 is the winner.