NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q vs NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB Comparison

# NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB vs NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q represent two very different eras of NVIDIA's professional GPU lineup. The RTX A2000, built on the Ampere architecture with an 8nm process from Samsung, delivers a modern feature set and dramatically higher compute throughput. The GRID M60-1Q, a Maxwell 2.0-era part from 2015 fabricated on TSMC's 28nm node, targets a completely different workload profile with its 1 GB framebuffer and no display outputs. Benchmark data shows the RTX A2000 achieving an average score of 34,154 across its tested workloads, while the GRID M60-1Q manages 31,220 — a gap of roughly 9.4% on aggregate, though the two cards are tested under different benchmark suites, making direct comparisons nuanced.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A2000 12 GB wins decisively in compute-heavy and modern API workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 66,998 demonstrates exceptional raw compute capability, more than double the GRID M60-1Q's Geekbench Vulkan score of 31,220. The A2000 also posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,309, a test the GRID M60-1Q cannot participate in due to its older DirectX 12 (12_1) feature level versus the A2000's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support. All of the A2000's shading units — 3,328 versus 2,048 — benefit from the Ampere architecture's 1:1 FP16/FP32 ratio, delivering 7.987 TFLOPS in both precision formats. The GRID M60-1Q has no listed FP16 capability at all, meaning any half-precision workload is either unsupported or severely penalized.

The GRID M60-1Q wins in one specific area: raw pixel and texture throughput relative to its compute class. With 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs, it achieves a pixel rate of 75.39 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 150.8 GTexel/s. The RTX A2000, despite having more shading units, is limited to 48 ROPs and 104 TMUs, producing 57.60 GPixel/s and 124.8 GTexel/s respectively. This means the Maxwell card outperforms the Ampere card by approximately 31% in pixel fillrate and 21% in texture fillrate. For legacy rasterization workloads that are fillrate-bound rather than compute-bound, the GRID M60-1Q retains an edge. However, this advantage is narrow — the GRID M60-1Q's 1 GB memory capacity and 160.4 GB/s bandwidth severely constrain real-world fillrate utilization in modern scenes.

The percentile rankings tell a similar story. The RTX A2000 sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the GRID M60-1Q ranks in the 76th — a modest but meaningful separation. The A2000's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (0.1% ahead) and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (0.2% behind), placing it in a tightly competitive midrange bracket. The GRID M60-1Q's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (0% delta) and the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (0.4% ahead), which is notable because the GRID card matches a much newer GPU in this specific benchmark subset.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX A2000 uses the GA106 chip on Samsung's 8nm process, packing 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die — a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The GRID M60-1Q employs the GM204 chip on TSMC's 28nm node, with 5,200 million transistors spread across a larger 398 mm² die, yielding just 13.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The A2000 achieves over three times the transistor density, which explains how it fits more compute resources into a smaller physical footprint.

Memory configurations could not be more different. The RTX A2000 ships with 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth and a 12 Gbps effective memory speed. The GRID M60-1Q offers just 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 160.4 GB/s bandwidth and 5 Gbps effective speed. The A2000 has 31% more bandwidth and 12 times the capacity. For any workload that exceeds 1 GB of working set — which includes virtually all modern professional applications — the GRID M60-1Q will thrash or fail outright.

Feature support diverges sharply. The RTX A2000 includes 26 RT cores and 104 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI inference. The GRID M60-1Q has neither. The A2000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GRID M60-1Q is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the A2000's Vulkan implementation runs on a modern architecture with dedicated hardware units. The A2000 draws power from the PCIe slot alone, with a 70W TDP and 250W suggested PSU, whereas the GRID M60-1Q requires a single 8-pin connector, consumes 225W, and needs a 550W PSU. The A2000 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs; the GRID M60-1Q has no display outputs at all, reflecting its server/VDI heritage.

Clock behavior is also notable. The A2000 has a base clock of 562 MHz and boost of 1200 MHz, while the GRID M60-1Q runs at 557 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost. Despite similar clock speeds, the A2000's FP32 throughput of 7.987 TFLOPS is 65% higher than the GRID M60-1Q's 4.825 TFLOPS, purely from architectural efficiency and wider execution resources. The A2000's 1,280 additional shading units make the difference.

The Verdict

The data points to the RTX A2000 12 GB as the superior GPU for virtually any modern workload. The 12 GB memory capacity alone disqualifies the GRID M60-1Q for contemporary professional use — the 1 GB framebuffer cannot hold modern textures, models, or datasets. The A2000's 65% advantage in FP32 compute, 79th versus 76th percentile ranking, and support for ray tracing and tensor cores make it the clear choice for compute, AI, and graphics work. The GRID M60-1Q's fillrate advantages do not compensate for its memory and feature limitations.

The GRID M60-1Q retains relevance only in narrow legacy scenarios. Its 75.39 GPixel/s pixel rate and 150.8 GTexel/s texture rate exceed the A2000's figures, and its 0% delta against the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 shows it remains competitive in its specific benchmark niche. Buyers running old fillrate-bound applications that fit within 1 GB of video memory might find the GRID M60-1Q adequate. However, the 225W TDP, 550W PSU requirement, and 1x 8-pin connector make it far less efficient than the A2000's 70W slot-powered design.

The RTX A2000 also has longevity on its side. It was released in November 2021 versus August 2015 for the GRID M60-1Q, and while both are end-of-life, the A2000's successor is Workstation Ada, while the GRID M60-1Q has no listed successor. The A2000's launch MSRP is 449 USD, which positions it as a mainstream professional card, though pricing comparisons are not part of this analysis.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB delivers 7.987 TFLOPS FP32, which is 65% higher than the GRID M60-1Q's 4.825 TFLOPS. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A2000 scores 66,998 versus the GRID M60-1Q's Geekbench Vulkan score of 31,220.

Q: Can the GRID M60-1Q handle modern games or professional applications?

A: The 1 GB memory capacity and lack of DirectX 12 Ultimate support make it unsuitable for modern workloads. The RTX A2000's 12 GB memory and DirectX 12_2 support are required for contemporary applications.

Q: Does the GRID M60-1Q have any performance advantage?

A: Yes, in fillrate. The GRID M60-1Q achieves 75.39 GPixel/s and 150.8 GTexel/s versus the RTX A2000's 57.60 GPixel/s and 124.8 GTexel/s. This gives the older card a 31% pixel rate and 21% texture rate advantage.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX A2000 has a 70W TDP, requires no power connectors, and needs a 250W PSU. The GRID M60-1Q has a 225W TDP, requires one 8-pin connector, and needs a 550W PSU.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and AI workloads?

A: Only the RTX A2000. It includes 26 RT cores and 104 tensor cores. The GRID M60-1Q has no RT or tensor cores, making it incapable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing or tensor-based AI inference.

Q: How do their overall performance rankings compare?

A: The RTX A2000 sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 34,154. The GRID M60-1Q ranks in the 76th percentile with an average score of 31,220.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark table is empty, so comparison relies on the individual benchmark data. The RTX A2000's Geekbench OpenCL score of 66,998 is its strongest result, representing a comprehensive compute workload that exercises the GPU's 3,328 shading units and 104 tensor cores. This score places it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 480, while sitting 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000 and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V. The A2000's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,309 tests modern DirectX 12 Ultimate features that the GRID M60-1Q cannot run.

The GRID M60-1Q's only benchmark is Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 31,220. This matches the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 exactly (0% delta) and comes within 0.4% of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. The GRID M60-1Q trails the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell by 1% and the TITAN RTX by 1.4%. In this Vulkan test, the GRID M60-1Q demonstrates that its Maxwell architecture still executes Vulkan workloads respectably, but this is a single data point versus the A2000's two benchmarks.

The average benchmark scores tell the aggregate story: 34,154 for the A2000 versus 31,220 for the GRID M60-1Q, a 9.4% advantage for the Ampere card. However, this comparison mixes different benchmark types. The A2000's average includes its massive OpenCL result, while the GRID M60-1Q's average is solely its Vulkan score. In a Vulkan-only comparison, the GRID M60-1Q's 31,220 versus the A2000's lack of a Vulkan benchmark leaves that comparison unresolved. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,309 on the A2000, though, shows modern API performance that the GRID M60-1Q's DirectX 12_1 limitation prevents it from matching.

The biggest win for the A2000 is compute throughput — its OpenCL score is more than double the GRID M60-1Q's Vulkan result. The biggest win for the GRID M60-1Q is fillrate efficiency, where its 75.39 GPixel/s pixel rate and 150.8 GTexel/s texture rate exceed the A2000's output. Neither card has a head-to-head win recorded, as the headToHeadBenchmarks array is empty, so these individual benchmark comparisons are the only quantitative basis for evaluation. The A2000's 79th percentile ranking versus the GRID M60-1Q's 76th percentile reinforces the overall performance gap, though both cards remain within the upper quartile of all GPUs.