AMD Radeon RX 6700 vs NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q Comparison

The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 represent two vastly different generations of GPU technology, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them remarkably close in the overall rankings. The GRID M60-1Q, a Maxwell-based enterprise virtualization card from 2015, and the Radeon RX 6700, an RDNA 2 gaming part from 2021, end up with average scores of 31220 and 31112, respectively. This near-parity in the overall average, however, masks a decisive divergence in raw compute capability, as the newer AMD card demonstrates a massive lead in the one benchmark test they share.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between the two cards is the Geekbench Vulkan test, and the results are not close. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 scores 96619, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q scores 31220. This represents a delta of -67.7% for the NVIDIA card, meaning the AMD card is roughly 3.1 times faster in this specific workload. The data clearly indicates that the Radeon RX 6700 is the superior performer in Vulkan compute and graphics tasks, a lead so substantial that it defines the entire competitive landscape between these two products.

This single benchmark result is particularly striking when considering the context of the `nearestRivals` data. The GRID M60-1Q’s average score of 31220 is only 0.3% higher than the Radeon RX 6700’s 31112, placing them as direct competitors in the aggregate database. However, the Vulkan test shows a completely different story. The AMD card is 0.6% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, according to the deltaPct values. In contrast, the GRID M60-1Q is 0.3% ahead of the Quadro M5000 and 1.2% ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti. Therefore, while the overall averages suggest a tie, the head-to-head Vulkan data reveals that the Radeon RX 6700 is in a different performance class entirely, while the GRID M60-1Q is simply an older part that happens to have a similar aggregate score.

The disparity in the Vulkan test is so profound that it skews the interpretation of the entire dataset. If the GRID M60-1Q were to be tested on the same suite of benchmarks as the Radeon RX 6700, it would likely lose the majority of them. The AMD card’s benchmark suite includes 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (2014 points), Geekbench Metal (122223 points), Geekbench OpenCL (92672 points), and a full Passmark suite with a G3D score of 18931. The GRID M60-1Q has no data for these tests, so its average is based solely on its Vulkan score. This means the "tie" in average score is an artifact of the limited data available for the NVIDIA card, not an indication of genuine performance parity.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 31220 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6700’s 31112, a difference of only 0.3%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 wins decisively with a score of 96619, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q scores 31220. The AMD card is 67.7% faster in this test.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: For the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (0.3% higher), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (0.3% lower). For the AMD Radeon RX 6700, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (0.1% higher), with the GRID M60-1Q coming in at 0.3% lower.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 has 2304 shading units, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q has 2048.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q is fabricated on TSMC’s 28 nm process, while the AMD Radeon RX 6700 uses TSMC’s 7 nm process.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 has a significantly higher pixel rate of 156.8 GPixel/s, compared to the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q’s 75.39 GPixel/s.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear-cut verdict for anyone choosing between these two for compute or modern graphics workloads: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 is the vastly superior product. The 67.7% lead in the Vulkan benchmark is the single most important piece of evidence, effectively ending any debate about raw performance. The GRID M60-1Q’s higher average score of 31220 versus 31112 is a statistical artifact stemming from its limited benchmark data and should not be interpreted as a sign of competitiveness.

For a user prioritizing raw compute performance, gaming capability, or any modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workload, the Radeon RX 6700 is the only rational choice. Its higher FP32 throughput of 11.29 TFLOPS, compared to the GRID M60-1Q’s 4.825 TFLOPS, corroborates the benchmark results. The GRID M60-1Q, with its end-of-life status and 2015 release date, belongs in a legacy virtualization environment where its specific feature set is required. In any head-to-head comparison, the newer AMD architecture wins overwhelmingly.

The percentile rankings reinforce this split. The GRID M60-1Q sits in the 75th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon RX 6700 sits in the 74th. This is a negligible difference and places them in the same tier of overall performance, but the `headToHeadBenchmarks` data proves this is misleading for direct comparison. The verdict is that the Radeon RX 6700 is the stronger card by a wide margin, and the GRID M60-1Q should only be considered for its specific enterprise niche.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the AMD Radeon RX 6700 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and the same 64 ROPs. Clock speeds are drastically different, with the GRID M60-1Q running a 557 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost, whereas the Radeon RX 6700 has a 1941 MHz base, a 2174 MHz game clock, and a 2450 MHz boost.

Memory configurations are also generations apart. The GRID M60-1Q uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon RX 6700 uses 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, achieving 320.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card’s memory runs at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the AMD card’s memory runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The process node shrinks from 28 nm to 7 nm, and the transistor count rises from 5,200 million on a 398 mm² die to 17,200 million on a 335 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density increase from 13.1M/mm² to 51.3M/mm².

The bus interface moves from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x16. Power requirements are lower on the AMD card, with a 175 W TDP and a 450 W suggested PSU, compared to the GRID M60-1Q’s 225 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot cards with a 1x 8-pin power connector. Critically, the GRID M60-1Q has no display outputs, while the Radeon RX 6700 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is fundamental. The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q is built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture with the GM204 chip, a design from the GRID (Mx) generation. It supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, belonging to the Navi II (RX 6000) generation. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RDNA 2.0 architecture introduces hardware ray tracing, and the Radeon RX 6700 includes 36 RT cores; the GRID M60-1Q has none. Neither card has tensor cores. The shading unit throughput also reflects the architectural leap. The GRID M60-1Q delivers 75.39 GPixel/s and 150.8 GTexel/s, while the Radeon RX 6700 delivers 156.8 GPixel/s and 352.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 4.825 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card and 11.29 TFLOPS for the AMD card. The AMD card also supports FP16 at 22.58 TFLOPS (2:1), a feature completely absent from the Maxwell-based NVIDIA part.

The release dates are six years apart, with the GRID M60-1Q launching on 2015-08-29 and the Radeon RX 6700 on 2021-06-08. The AMD card has a predecessor (Navi) and successor (Navi III), while the NVIDIA card has neither listed. The GRID M60-1Q is designed for datacenter virtualization, which explains its lack of display outputs, whereas the Radeon RX 6700 is a consumer graphics card with full display connectivity.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 wins in every measurable performance category. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark (Vulkan), has a higher pixel rate (156.8 vs 75.39 GPixel/s), a higher texture rate (352.8 vs 150.8 GTexel/s), and more than double the FP32 throughput (11.29 vs 4.825 TFLOPS). It also has a larger memory capacity (10 GB vs 1 GB) and double the memory bandwidth (320.0 vs 160.4 GB/s). For any task involving rendering, compute, or gaming, the Radeon RX 6700 is the winner.

The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q does not win in any benchmark or specification comparison presented in the data. Its only "advantage" is its marginally higher average benchmark score (31220 vs 31112) and its 75th percentile ranking versus the 74th for the AMD card, which is a negligible difference. The GRID M60-1Q’s niche would be in legacy virtualization environments where its Maxwell architecture and lack of display outputs are specifically required, but this is not supported by any benchmark win. The data shows that the Radeon RX 6700 is the clear winner for performance, while the GRID M60-1Q is merely an older part with a similar aggregate score.