NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M vs NVIDIA Quadro K620M Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro K620M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M are two end-of-life mobile graphics solutions built on very different architectural eras. The data shows a clear split: the GTX 580M takes the sole benchmark win in the head-to-head comparison, but the K620M offers a starkly lower power draw and a more modern feature set. This analysis breaks down where each GPU holds an advantage, based strictly on the available specifications and benchmark results.

Where Each One Wins

The GeForce GTX 580M is the outright performance winner in compute workloads. In the only shared benchmark test — Geekbench OpenCL — the GTX 580M scores 6389 versus the Quadro K620M’s 5957. That is a 6.8% advantage for the older Fermi-based chip, placing it at the 37th percentile among all GPUs compared to the K620M’s 34th. This makes the GTX 580M the better choice for any task that relies on raw OpenCL throughput, such as general-purpose GPU compute or legacy rendering pipelines.

The Quadro K620M, however, wins decisively in efficiency and architectural modernity. Its 30 W TDP is less than a third of the GTX 580M’s 100 W, a massive gap for mobile platforms where thermal headroom and battery life are critical. The K620M also supports Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 580M lists no Vulkan support at all. For users running modern APIs or needing a low-power professional-grade solution, the K620M is the superior fit despite its lower raw score.

The wins are not symmetrical. The GTX 580M wins the only benchmark, but the K620M wins the architectural argument. The data suggests the K620M is the better long-term investment for software compatibility, while the GTX 580M remains the faster compute part for its era.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from opposite ends of NVIDIA’s design philosophy. The Quadro K620M uses the GM108S chip built on the Maxwell architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,020 million transistors onto a 77 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2 million per square millimeter. The GeForce GTX 580M, by contrast, uses the GF114 chip on the older Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process. That die is enormous at 332 mm², holding 1,950 million transistors — nearly double the count — but with a much lower density of 5.9 million per square millimeter.

Shading unit counts are identical at 384, but everything else diverges. The K620M has 16 texture mapping units and 8 ROPs, while the GTX 580M features 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs. That fourfold difference in TMUs and ROPs explains why the GTX 580M’s texture rate is 39.68 GTexel/s versus 17.98 GTexel/s for the K620M, and its pixel rate is 9.920 GPixel/s versus 8.992 GPixel/s.

Memory architecture is another chasm. The K620M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 16.02 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580M also has 2 GB, but it is GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 96.00 GB/s — exactly six times the bandwidth. Clock speeds also favor the older card in some respects: the GTX 580M’s memory runs at 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) versus the K620M’s 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective), though the K620M’s core clock of 1029 MHz base and 1124 MHz boost are not directly comparable since the GTX 580M lists no base or boost core clocks.

The generation labels reflect their lineage: the K620M is part of the Quadro Kepler-M (Kx200M) generation despite its Maxwell chip, while the GTX 580M belongs to GeForce 500M. The K620M succeeds the Quadro Fermi-M and is succeeded by Quadro Maxwell-M; the GTX 580M succeeds GeForce 400M and is succeeded by GeForce 600M.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is a decisive win for the GeForce GTX 580M. The GTX 580M scores 6389 against the Quadro K620M’s 5957, a delta of -6.8% from the K620M’s perspective. That margin is modest in absolute terms, but it places the two cards in different competitive tiers. The GTX 580M’s score ties it exactly with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE at 6389, while the K620M sits near a cluster of rivals: the AMD Radeon HD 8730M at 5955 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 8750M at 5970 (-0.2%), the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 at 5982 (-0.4%), and the Intel UHD Graphics 730 at 5929 (+0.5%).

Looking at the rival deltas, the K620M is essentially neck-and-neck with its immediate competitors, none of which are more than 0.5% away. That indicates the K620M performs exactly as expected for its class. The GTX 580M, on the other hand, has a wider spread of rivals: it matches the GTX 460 SE at 0%, sits 0.3% behind the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell (6407), and leads the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 (6330) by 0.9% and the AMD Radeon R7 M350 (6327) by 1%. The GTX 580M’s 6.8% lead over the K620M is significantly larger than any intra-class gap for either card, meaning the performance difference between these two is real and consistent.

The FP32 compute figures reinforce the benchmark. The GTX 580M delivers 952.3 GFLOPS versus the K620M’s 863.2 GFLOPS — about a 10% theoretical advantage. The GTX 580M also has a higher pixel rate (9.920 vs 8.992 GPixel/s) and more than double the texture rate. The memory bandwidth gap is the most dramatic: 96.00 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s, which is a 6x difference that likely explains why the OpenCL score favors the Fermi card despite its older architecture.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M scores 6389, which is 6.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K620M’s 5957 in the geekbench_opencl benchmark.

Q: How do the two cards compare in power consumption?

A: The Quadro K620M has a 30 W TDP, while the GeForce GTX 580M draws 100 W. The K620M uses less than a third of the power of the GTX 580M.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same modern APIs?

A: No. The Quadro K620M supports Vulkan 1.4, DirectX 12 (11_0), and OpenGL 4.6. The GeForce GTX 580M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but lists no Vulkan support.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The GeForce GTX 580M has 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth using GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The Quadro K620M has 16.02 GB/s using DDR3 on a 64-bit bus. That is a 6x difference.

Q: Which card has higher texture and pixel fill rates?

A: The GeForce GTX 580M has a texture rate of 39.68 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 9.920 GPixel/s. The Quadro K620M has 17.98 GTexel/s and 8.992 GPixel/s respectively.

Q: How does each card rank against all GPUs?

A: The GeForce GTX 580M sits at the 37th percentile, while the Quadro K620M is at the 34th percentile.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The process node is a fundamental split: the Quadro K620M uses a 28 nm process, while the GeForce GTX 580M uses a 40 nm process. The K620M’s die is 77 mm² with 1,020 million transistors, versus the GTX 580M’s 332 mm² die with 1,950 million transistors. Transistor density is 13.2M / mm² for the K620M and 5.9M / mm² for the GTX 580M.

Core configuration differs sharply in TMUs and ROPs. The K620M has 16 TMUs and 8 ROPs, while the GTX 580M has 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs. Both have 384 shading units. The K620M’s base clock is 1029 MHz with a boost of 1124 MHz; the GTX 580M lists no base or boost clocks. Memory clocks are 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) for the K620M and 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) for the GTX 580M.

Memory type and bus width are completely different: the K620M uses 2 GB DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, while the GTX 580M uses 2 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. Bandwidth is 16.02 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s. Pixel rate is 8.992 GPixel/s for the K620M and 9.920 GPixel/s for the GTX 580M. Texture rate is 17.98 GTexel/s versus 39.68 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 863.2 GFLOPS versus 952.3 GFLOPS.

Power draw is a major differentiator: the K620M is rated at 30 W, the GTX 580M at 100 W. Both use MXM modules, but the K620M uses MXM-A (3.0) while the GTX 580M uses MXM-B (3.0). Neither has power connectors, and both have display outputs listed as portable device dependent. The K620M supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 580M does not; both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. Release dates are 2015-02-28 for the K620M and 2011-06-27 for the GTX 580M. Neither card has a launch MSRP listed.