GPU Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 and the AMD Radeon HD 8730M represent two very different eras of mobile workstation graphics. The data shows a clear generational gap, with the Quadro P2000 dominating the single available benchmark comparison. However, a closer look at their specifications, architectures, and overall standing within their respective performance tiers reveals more nuanced differences beyond raw speed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance. The results are stark. The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 scores 20125, while the AMD Radeon HD 8730M scores 5955. This translates to a 238% advantage for the NVIDIA card. This is not a marginal victory; it is a performance gap of over threefold, indicating that the P2000 is in a completely different performance class for compute workloads.

This head-to-head result aligns with the overall average benchmark scores for each card. The Quadro P2000 has an average benchmark score of 6049, while the Radeon HD 8730M's average score is 5955. While the P2000's average is higher, it is important to note that the P2000's average is dragged down by its low scores in several DirectX-specific tests (e.g., 34 in DirectX 10, 47 in DirectX 11, 28 in DirectX 12). These low scores are likely due to driver optimizations for professional CAD and compute applications rather than gaming workloads. In contrast, the HD 8730M only has a single benchmark score (the Geekbench OpenCL result), which makes a direct average-to-average comparison less comprehensive.

Despite the massive win for the P2000 in OpenCL, the percentile rankings show both cards are surprisingly close in the broader GPU landscape. The Quadro P2000 sits at the 35th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon HD 8730M sits at the 34th percentile. This suggests that while the P2000 is much faster, both cards are still relatively low-powered compared to the vast majority of modern desktop and high-end mobile GPUs. The P2000's nearest rivals by average score include the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 (6077, -0.5% delta), the NVIDIA RTX A400 (6078, -0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon 760M (6019, +0.5% delta). This shows that while the P2000 is far ahead of the HD 8730M, it is only slightly ahead of or behind these other low-tier modern chips. The HD 8730M's closest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K620M (5957, 0% delta), indicating it is essentially performance-equivalent to that older professional chip.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 in compute performance?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the Quadro P2000 scores 20125 compared to the Radeon HD 8730M's 5955, making the NVIDIA card 238% faster in this specific test.

Q: Are these two GPUs in the same performance tier overall?

A: Despite the large compute gap, their percentile rankings are similar. The Quadro P2000 is in the 35th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon HD 8730M is in the 34th percentile. This indicates both are positioned in the lower-to-mid range of overall GPU performance.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 has a significantly higher pixel rate of 59.20 GPixel/s, compared to the AMD Radeon HD 8730M's 5.600 GPixel/s. This suggests the P2000 can handle higher resolutions and more complex framebuffer operations much more effectively.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The Quadro P2000 offers 140.2 GB/s of bandwidth via a 160-bit GDDR5 bus. The Radeon HD 8730M provides only 28.80 GB/s over a 128-bit DDR3 bus. This makes the P2000's memory subsystem roughly five times faster, which is critical for data-intensive tasks.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 has a transistor density of 22.0M / mm², which is significantly higher than the AMD Radeon HD 8730M's 12.3M / mm². This is a direct result of the P2000's more advanced 16 nm manufacturing process compared to the HD 8730M's 28 nm process.

Q: Do both GPUs support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6. However, the Quadro P2000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon HD 8730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, meaning the NVIDIA card has a more feature-complete implementation of these APIs.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 is the clear winner in virtually every technical and performance category. Its dominant 238% lead in OpenCL compute makes it the obvious choice for professional workloads that leverage GPU acceleration, such as rendering, simulation, and data processing. Its massive advantage in memory bandwidth (140.2 GB/s vs. 28.80 GB/s) and pixel rate (59.20 GPixel/s vs. 5.600 GPixel/s) further cements its position for handling large textures, high-resolution displays, and complex scenes. The P2000 is a capable solution for demanding professional applications where the HD 8730M would simply be a bottleneck.

The AMD Radeon HD 8730M has no benchmark wins over the Quadro P2000. Its only potential advantage lies in its legacy nature, being a smaller and older chip. With a die size of 77 mm² compared to the P2000's 200 mm², it would consume less power and produce less heat, but this is a qualitative assessment as no TDP is listed for the AMD card. Its only real "win" is in its close percentile ranking (34th vs. 35th), which suggests that for purely general-purpose 3D graphics tasks (not compute), the user experience might not be as drastically different as the raw numbers suggest. However, for any task that pushes the GPU, the P2000 is overwhelmingly superior.

Specification Differences

The most fundamental difference lies in their memory subsystems. The Quadro P2000 features 5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 140.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon HD 8730M is equipped with only 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s. This is a five-fold difference in bandwidth and a significant difference in capacity, directly impacting texture streaming and large dataset handling.

The core configurations also differ drastically. The P2000 has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 40 render output units (ROPs). The HD 8730M has only 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. This explains the P2000's much higher texture rate (94.72 GTexel/s vs. 16.80 GTexel/s) and pixel rate. Clock speeds also play a role, with the P2000 running at a base of 1076 MHz and a boost of 1480 MHz, while the HD 8730M operates at a much lower 650 MHz base and 700 MHz boost.

The physical and power profiles are different as well. The Quadro P2000 is a single-slot card with a TDP of 75 W and no additional power connectors, requiring a 250 W power supply. It also has a defined length of 196 mm and height of 111 mm, with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The HD 8730M, being a mobile chip, has no listed TDP, dimensions, or display outputs. The bus interface also differs: the P2000 uses a full PCIe 3.0 x16 connection, while the HD 8730M uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, halving the potential data transfer rate to the host system.

Architecture Differences

These two GPUs are built on entirely different architectures from different eras. The Quadro P2000 is based on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture (using the GP106 chip), which was a major step forward in efficiency. It is manufactured on a 16 nm process at TSMC, allowing for a transistor count of 4,400 million on a 200 mm² die. This yields a high transistor density of 22.0M / mm². The Pascal architecture brought significant improvements in compute performance and power efficiency.

In contrast, the AMD Radeon HD 8730M is based on the much older GCN 1.0 architecture (using the Mars chip). It is built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC, but packs only 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, resulting in a density of 12.3M / mm². GCN 1.0 was AMD's first generation of its Graphics Core Next architecture, which was a departure from its previous VLIW design. While it laid the foundation for future AMD GPUs, it is technologically primitive compared to Pascal.

The generations are clearly distinct: the P2000 is part of the Quadro Pascal (Px000) generation, succeeding the Quadro Maxwell and preceding Quadro Volta. The HD 8730M belongs to the Solar System (HD 8700M) generation, succeeding the "London" and preceding the "Gem System". The FP32 compute capability reflects the architectural gap, with the P2000 delivering 3.031 TFLOPS versus the HD 8730M's 537.6 GFLOPS. Furthermore, the P2000 has a specified FP16 performance of 47.36 GFLOPS (1:64) , while no FP16 data is listed for the AMD card. These architectural differences explain the P2000's overwhelming performance advantage and its ability to support newer API features like Vulkan 1.4.