GPU Comparison

# Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data presents a clear split between these two cards, though it is heavily weighted toward one side. The AMD Radeon RX 570X claims the only direct head-to-head benchmark victory, winning the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 38,939 against the NVIDIA Quadro M2000's 14,588. That represents a delta of -62.5% from the AMD card's perspective, meaning the Quadro M2000 trails by more than 60% in that specific compute workload. The data shows zero wins for the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 in the head-to-head comparison, while the AMD Radeon RX 570X secures one win.

However, the average benchmark scores tell a slightly different story. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 posts an average benchmark score of 14,532 across its two recorded tests (Geekbench OpenCL at 14,588 and Geekbench Vulkan at 14,475). The AMD Radeon RX 570X has an average score of 13,871, but this figure is pulled down by its Passmark G2D result of 750, which is a 2D graphics test. The AMD card's other benchmarks include a Passmark G3D score of 1,923 and that strong Geekbench OpenCL score of 38,939. When isolating the compute-oriented OpenCL test, the AMD card is overwhelmingly ahead. When looking at the full average, the NVIDIA card actually holds a slim edge of roughly 4.8% over the AMD card, despite losing the head-to-head compute test.

The percentile rankings are nearly identical. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 sits at the 56th percentile against all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 570X sits at the 55th percentile. This suggests that despite the massive OpenCL delta, the overall positioning in the broader GPU landscape is comparable, with both cards landing in the mid-range of the performance distribution.

# Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 uses the GM206 chip built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. The die size is 228 mm² and packs 2,940 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 12.9 million per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 570X, by contrast, uses the Polaris 20 chip built on the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process node. The die size is slightly larger at 232 mm², but it contains 5,700 million transistors, nearly double the count, giving it a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm².

The compute resources differ dramatically. The NVIDIA card has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation pipelines. The AMD card has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation pipelines. This means the AMD card has roughly 2.7 times the shading units and 2.7 times the texture units, while the ROP count is identical at 32. Neither card features dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, so those fields are absent from both specifications.

The memory subsystems are also fundamentally different. The NVIDIA card uses 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 105.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, more than double the memory capacity and more than double the bandwidth.

The API support shows a notable divergence. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version, while the AMD card's DirectX support stops at the 12_0 feature level.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon RX 570X scores 38,939, while the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 scores 14,588. The delta percentage is -62.5%, which means the NVIDIA card's score is 62.5% lower than the AMD card's score in this test. This is a massive margin, indicating that the AMD card is roughly 2.7 times faster in OpenCL compute workloads.

This outcome aligns with the raw specification differences. The AMD card's FP32 throughput is rated at 5.095 TFLOPS, while the NVIDIA card is rated at 1.786 TFLOPS. That is a 2.85x advantage for AMD in raw floating-point compute. The texture fill rate tells a similar story: the AMD card achieves 159.2 GTexel/s versus the NVIDIA card's 55.82 GTexel/s, a 2.85x difference. The pixel rates are closer, with the AMD card at 39.81 GPixel/s and the NVIDIA card at 37.22 GPixel/s, a margin of only about 7%.

The memory bandwidth advantage also plays a role. The AMD card's 224.0 GB/s is more than double the NVIDIA card's 105.8 GB/s, which matters for memory-intensive compute workloads. The AMD card's base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost of 1244 MHz, while the NVIDIA card's base clock is 796 MHz with a boost of 1163 MHz.

It is worth noting that the NVIDIA card also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 14,475, which is not part of the head-to-head comparison but does appear in its benchmark list. There is no corresponding Vulkan score for the AMD card in the data, so a Vulkan comparison cannot be made from the FACT PACK.

# Specification Differences

The specification tables reveal several key differences between the two cards. The process node differs: NVIDIA uses 28 nm from TSMC, while AMD uses 14 nm from GlobalFoundries. The transistor count is 2,940 million for NVIDIA versus 5,700 million for AMD. The die size is 228 mm² for NVIDIA versus 232 mm² for AMD, a relatively small physical difference despite the large transistor disparity.

Memory capacity differs: 4 GB for NVIDIA versus 8 GB for AMD. The memory bus width is 128-bit for NVIDIA versus 256-bit for AMD. Memory bandwidth is 105.8 GB/s for NVIDIA versus 224.0 GB/s for AMD. The memory clock is 1653 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA versus 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for AMD.

The shading unit count is 768 for NVIDIA versus 2,048 for AMD. Texture mapping units are 48 for NVIDIA versus 128 for AMD. Raster operation pipelines are the same at 32 for both. The FP32 compute rating is 1.786 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 5.095 TFLOPS for AMD. The AMD card also lists FP16 performance at 5.095 TFLOPS (1:1), while the NVIDIA card has no listed FP16 rating.

Clocks differ: base clock is 796 MHz for NVIDIA versus 1168 MHz for AMD; boost clock is 1163 MHz for NVIDIA versus 1244 MHz for AMD. The pixel rate is 37.22 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 39.81 GPixel/s for AMD. The texture rate is 55.82 GTexel/s for NVIDIA versus 159.2 GTexel/s for AMD.

Power requirements differ substantially. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 75 W and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The AMD card has a TDP of 150 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 450 W. The NVIDIA card is single-slot, while the AMD card is dual-slot. The physical length is 201 mm (7.9 inches) for NVIDIA versus 241 mm (9.5 inches) for AMD.

Display outputs differ: the NVIDIA card has 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the AMD card has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The API support differs as noted: DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 for NVIDIA versus DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 for AMD. Release dates differ: April 2016 for NVIDIA versus April 2018 for AMD. Both cards are end-of-life. The NVIDIA card's predecessor is Quadro Kepler and successor is Quadro Pascal; the AMD card's predecessor is Polaris and successor is Vega.

# FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 has an average benchmark score of 14,532, while the AMD Radeon RX 570X has an average score of 13,871. The NVIDIA card leads by about 4.8% in this aggregate metric.

Q: How large is the AMD card's win in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570X scores 38,939 versus the NVIDIA Quadro M2000's 14,588, a delta of -62.5% from the AMD card's perspective. The AMD card is roughly 2.7 times faster in this specific test.

Q: Do the two cards have similar overall GPU percentile rankings?

A: Yes. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 is at the 56th percentile against all GPUs, and the AMD Radeon RX 570X is at the 55th percentile. They are effectively in the same performance tier.

Q: Which card has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570X has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 105.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports a newer DirectX feature level?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the AMD Radeon RX 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The NVIDIA card has the higher feature level.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M2000 has a TDP of 75 W with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The AMD Radeon RX 570X has a TDP of 150 W with one 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W.

# The Verdict

The data presents a nuanced picture. The AMD Radeon RX 570X is the clear winner in raw compute performance, as evidenced by its 38,939 Geekbench OpenCL score versus the NVIDIA Quadro M2000's 14,588. Its 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 rating, 2,048 shading units, 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, and 8 GB memory capacity give it a substantial hardware advantage for compute-heavy workloads. The 2.85x difference in FP32 throughput and texture fill rate directly translates into the observed benchmark margin.

However, the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 holds a slight edge in average benchmark score (14,532 versus 13,871) and a higher percentile ranking (56th versus 55th). Its DirectX 12 (12_1) feature level and Vulkan 1.4 support are more modern than the AMD card's DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card also runs at 75 W TDP with no power connectors, making it far easier to integrate into space- and power-constrained systems. Its single-slot design and 201 mm length contrast sharply with the AMD card's dual-slot, 241 mm length and 150 W TDP.

For buyers prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL workloads, the AMD Radeon RX 570X is the data-backed choice. For those needing a lower-power, single-slot card with newer API feature support, the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 is the more appropriate selection. The average benchmark scores suggest the two cards are closely matched overall, but the specific workload and system constraints should determine the pick. The AMD card wins the compute test decisively; the NVIDIA card counters with efficiency, API modernity, and a marginally higher aggregate score.