GRID K120Q vs Radeon R3

GRID K120Q

2013Core: 745 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon R3

2019Core: 1082 MHzBoost: 1218 MHz
Similar parts
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GRID K120Q vs Radeon R3 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 R3: 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

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

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.
  • 150% HIGHER MSRP
    $125 MSRPvs$50 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.3 vs 6.3 G3D/$ ($125 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).
  • 350% higher power demand at 225W vs 50W.

Radeon R3

2019

Why buy it

  • Costs $75 less on MSRP ($50 MSRP vs $125 MSRP).
  • Delivers 167.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.3 vs 2.3 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs $125 MSRP).
  • GRID K120Q is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Radeon R3 is the less risky modern option long term.
  • Draws 50W instead of 225W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2019 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R3 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 7.2% in PassMark G3D (314 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 R3 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 14nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2019 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R3 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $75 cheaper on MSRP at $50 vs $125, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 167.9% (6.3 vs 2.3), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GRID K120Q vs Radeon R3 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 R3

The Radeon R3 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 13 2019. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1218 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 314 points.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GRID K120Q scores 293 versus the Radeon R3's 314 — the Radeon R3 leads by 7.2%. The GRID K120Q is built on Kepler while the Radeon R3 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GRID K120Q) vs 512 (Radeon R3). Raw compute: 2.289 TFLOPS (GRID K120Q) vs 1.247 TFLOPS (Radeon R3).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
G3D Mark Score
293
314+7%
Architecture
Kepler
GCN 4.0
Process Node
28 nm
14 nm
Shading Units
1536+200%
512
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.289 TFLOPS+84%
1.247 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+100%
16
TMUs
128+300%
32
L1 Cache
128 KB
128 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
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 R3.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GRID K120Q) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R3). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
DirectX
12 (11_0)
12 (12_0)
Vulkan
1.2
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
0
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1 (GRID K120Q) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R3). Decoder: NVDEC 1 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GRID K120Q) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon R3).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
Encoder
NVENC 1
VCE 2.0
Decoder
NVDEC 1
UVD 4.2
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GRID K120Q draws 225W versus the Radeon R3's 50W — a 127.3% difference. The Radeon R3 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GRID K120Q) vs 350W (Radeon R3). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
TDP
225W
50W-78%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
70°C
Perf/Watt
1.3
6.3+385%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GRID K120Q came in at $125, while the Radeon R3 launched at $50. On MSRP, Radeon R3 was 60% cheaper ($75 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.3 (GRID K120Q) vs 6.3 (Radeon R3) — the Radeon R3 offers 173.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R3 (2019 vs 2013).

FeatureGRID K120QRadeon R3
MSRP
$125
$50-60%
Performance per Dollar
2.3
6.3+174%
Codename
GK104
Polaris 23
Release
June 28 2013
May 13 2019
Ranking
#589
#757

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