GRID K120Q vs Radeon R1E

GRID K120Q

2013Core: 745 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon R1E

2023Core: 400 MHzBoost: 2200 MHz
Similar parts
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GRID K120Q vs Radeon R1E Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GRID K120Q vs Radeon R1E: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GRID K120Q

2013

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($125 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 1400% higher power demand at 225W vs 15W.

Radeon R1E

2023

Why buy it

  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 15W instead of 225W, a 210W reduction.
  • More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 2.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $125 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R1E is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.7% in PassMark G3D (301 vs 293), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon R1E is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 5nm process instead of 28nm, 2 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2023 generation instead of 2013. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GRID K120Q makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, GRID K120Q is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon R1E has the stronger long-term case.

GRID K120Q vs Radeon R1E Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GRID K120Q

The GRID K120Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 28 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 745 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 293 points. Launch price was $937.

AMD

Radeon R1E

The Radeon R1E is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 3 2023. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2200 MHz. It has 128 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 2 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 301 points.

Graphics Performance

The GRID K120Q scores 293 and the Radeon R1E reaches 301 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GRID K120Q is built on Kepler while the Radeon R1E uses RDNA 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GRID K120Q) vs 128 (Radeon R1E). Raw compute: 2.289 TFLOPS (GRID K120Q) vs 0.5632 TFLOPS (Radeon R1E).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
G3D Mark Score
293
301+3%
Architecture
Kepler
RDNA 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
1536+1100%
128
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.289 TFLOPS+306%
0.5632 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+700%
4
TMUs
128+1500%
8
L1 Cache
128 KB+300%
32 KB
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
2 MB+300%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GRID K120Q and 64-bit on the Radeon R1E. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (GRID K120Q) vs 2 MB (Radeon R1E) — the Radeon R1E has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
2 MB+300%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GRID K120Q) vs 12 (Radeon R1E). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.0. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
DirectX
12 (11_0)
12
Vulkan
1.2+20%
1.0
OpenGL
4.6+2%
4.5
Max Displays
0
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1 (GRID K120Q) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R1E). Decoder: NVDEC 1 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GRID K120Q) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,HEVC (Radeon R1E).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
Encoder
NVENC 1
VCE 2.0
Decoder
NVDEC 1
UVD 4.2
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,HEVC
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GRID K120Q draws 225W versus the Radeon R1E's 15W — a 175% difference. The Radeon R1E is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GRID K120Q) vs 350W (Radeon R1E). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
TDP
225W
15W-93%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
75
Perf/Watt
1.3
20.1+1446%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GRID K120Q came in at $125, while the Radeon R1E launched at $0. On MSRP, Radeon R1E was 100+% cheaper ($125 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.3 (GRID K120Q) vs Infinity (Radeon R1E) — the Radeon R1E offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R1E (2023 vs 2013).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R1E
MSRP
$125
$0-100%
Performance per Dollar
2.3
Infinity
Codename
GK104
Dragon Range
Release
June 28 2013
January 3 2023
Ranking
#589
#843

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