NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER vs NVIDIA Quadro K6000 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data separates these two NVIDIA cards into clear, distinct roles. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive winner in compute and modern API workloads, taking both head-to-head benchmark victories with substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 76,957 versus the Quadro K6000's 23,749, a 69.1% delta. In Geekbench Vulkan, it posts 77,402 against 25,409, a 67.2% advantage. The RTX 2060 SUPER also holds a higher average benchmark score of 18,093 compared to the Quadro's 19,030 — though interestingly, the Quadro's average is actually higher. This discrepancy stems from the different benchmark suites each card was tested with; the Quadro's three Geekbench results skew its average upward, while the RTX 2060 SUPER's broader test set includes lighter DirectX and Passmark workloads.

For buyers, the data suggests the RTX 2060 SUPER for anyone prioritizing raw compute throughput, modern API support, and ray tracing capabilities. Its FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS exceeds the Quadro's 5.196 TFLOPS, and its FP16 throughput of 14.36 TFLOPS is a capability the Quadro lacks entirely. The Quadro K6000, however, offers 12 GB of GDDR5 memory versus 8 GB of GDDR6, which favors it in capacity-bound professional workloads. The Quadro's 288.4 GB/s bandwidth trails the RTX 2060 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s, but its larger frame buffer can hold bigger datasets. The Quadro's 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs edges out the RTX 2060 SUPER's 62nd, though both sit near the middle of the pack. In practical terms, the RTX 2060 SUPER is the modern choice for gaming and general compute, while the Quadro K6000 remains relevant only for legacy professional applications that demand more than 8 GB of memory.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER dominates, scoring 76,957 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Quadro K6000's 23,749, a 69.1% lead.

Q: Does the Quadro K6000 have any advantage in memory capacity?

A: Yes, the Quadro K6000 features 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RTX 2060 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6. The Quadro's larger capacity comes with a narrower 384-bit bus versus 256-bit, but its bandwidth of 288.4 GB/s is lower than the RTX 2060 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER includes dedicated hardware: 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. The Quadro K6000, based on Kepler architecture, has no RT or tensor cores listed.

Q: What is the API support difference?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Quadro K6000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has a TDP of 175 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W and a single 8-pin connector. The Quadro K6000 has a TDP of 225 W, requires a 550 W PSU, and uses two 6-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has better transistor density?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER, built on a 12 nm process, achieves 24.3 million transistors per mm² with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. The Quadro K6000's 28 nm process yields 12.6M per mm² from 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different generations of NVIDIA design. The Quadro K6000 uses the GK110B chip under the Kepler architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. This is a large, monolithic die measuring 561 mm² and housing 7,080 million transistors. The RTX 2060 SUPER employs the TU106 chip under the Turing architecture, built on a more advanced 12 nm process. Its die is smaller at 445 mm² but packs more transistors — 10,800 million — resulting in nearly double the transistor density: 24.3M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm².

Kepler's design philosophy prioritized raw shading throughput with 2,880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Turing shifts the balance: the RTX 2060 SUPER has fewer shading units (2,176) and TMUs (136), but more ROPs (64). More critically, Turing introduces dedicated hardware absent from Kepler entirely: 34 RT cores for ray tracing and 272 tensor cores for AI acceleration. This architectural divergence explains the Vulkan and OpenCL performance gaps — the RTX 2060 SUPER's newer instruction set and specialized units accelerate workloads the Kepler chip cannot efficiently process.

The memory architectures also differ fundamentally. The Quadro pairs 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 6 Gbps effective speed. The RTX 2060 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus at 14 Gbps effective. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory type delivers 448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s — a 55% bandwidth advantage for the Turing card. The RTX 2060 SUPER also supports FP16 computation at 14.36 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio to FP32, a feature the Quadro lacks entirely, making it significantly faster for mixed-precision workloads.

API support reflects the generational leap. The RTX 2060 SUPER achieves DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Quadro K6000 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Turing card's display outputs include HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a, and USB Type-C, whereas the Quadro offers dual DVI and dual DisplayPort 1.2.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro K6000 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER |

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

| Architecture | Kepler | Turing |

| Process node | 28 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 10,800 million |

| Die size | 561 mm² | 445 mm² |

| Transistor density | 12.6M / mm² | 24.3M / mm² |

| Base clock | 797 MHz | 1470 MHz |

| Boost clock | 902 MHz | 1650 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1502 MHz / 6 Gbps effective | 1750 MHz / 14 Gbps effective |

| Memory size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory bus width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 288.4 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2880 | 2176 |

| TMUs | 240 | 136 |

| ROPs | 48 | 64 |

| RT cores | None | 34 |

| Tensor cores | None | 272 |

| Pixel rate | 54.12 GPixel/s | 105.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 216.5 GTexel/s | 224.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.196 TFLOPS | 7.181 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | None | 14.36 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 225 W | 175 W |

| Power connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 450 W |

| Display outputs | 2x DVI, 2x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Length | 267 mm / 10.5 inches | 229 mm / 9 inches |

| Height | 111 mm / 4.4 inches | 113 mm / 4.4 inches |

| Width | Not specified | 35 mm / 1.4 inches |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks tell a consistent story of Turing's dominance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 76,957 against the Quadro K6000's 23,749. That is a 69.1% difference — the RTX card delivers more than triple the compute score. This gap reflects not just the higher FP32 throughput (7.181 TFLOPS versus 5.196 TFLOPS), but also the Turing architecture's more efficient execution of OpenCL workloads, likely leveraging its tensor cores and newer instruction set.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the pattern repeats: the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 77,402 versus 25,409 for the Quadro, a 67.2% delta. Vulkan's low-level API exposes hardware capabilities directly, and the Turing card's modern design — with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores — provides hardware features that Kepler cannot emulate. The Quadro's Vulkan score of 25,409, while lower, still demonstrates functional Vulkan support at version 1.2.175, but the performance ceiling is far lower.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's other benchmark results, while not directly comparable to the Quadro, paint a picture of versatility. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2,011. Passmark results show 16,462 in G3D, 6,721 in GPU compute, 854 in G2D, and DirectX scores of 218 (DX9), 130 (DX11), 111 (DX10), and 61 (DX12). The Quadro's three Geekbench scores — 7,932 in Metal, 23,749 in OpenCL, and 25,409 in Vulkan — average to 19,030, which places it at the 63rd percentile. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average of 18,093 sits at the 62nd percentile. These rankings are nearly identical, suggesting that despite the RTX card's massive wins in the shared tests, the full benchmark suites measure different aspects of performance where the Quadro's higher memory capacity and shading unit count remain competitive.

The nearest rivals for each card confirm their market positioning. The Quadro K6000 sits within 0.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600, NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, and NVIDIA Tesla K20m. The RTX 2060 SUPER trades places with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, AMD Radeon Pro 5700, AMD Radeon RX 460, and Intel Arc A770M, all within 1.6%. Neither card is an outlier; both occupy the mid-range of GPU performance as measured by aggregate benchmark scores. The data shows the RTX 2060 SUPER as the clear pick for compute-heavy and modern-API workloads, while the Quadro K6000's 12 GB frame buffer remains its sole distinguishing asset — a capacity advantage that no amount of architectural modernity can replace in memory-bound professional tasks.