The name GeForce is deeply embedded in the minds of gamers, but Quadro is likely less well-known.
Like GeForce, Quadro cards are graphics cards, but they are designed for different purposes. As such, they also have distinct specifications. The significant cost discrepancy between the two might lead some people to believe that they are buying a much superior graphics card.
This is not necessarily the case, but we’ll get to that later.
Important: Because NVIDIA’s latest professional-grade GPU A6000 is not officially Quadro branded, we will focus on the comparisons between official Quadro cards and consumer cards that were released around the same period, for fairness’s sake.
First, let’s examine some of the applications of these powerful graphics cards.
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GeForce – A Jack Of All Trades, Master Of One
Being a powerhouse graphics card brand and considered by many to be the ruler of the visual world, it’s no surprise if you instantly associate GPUs with GeForce.
While it definitely deserves its spot atop the market, it’s important to note that GeForce cards are made to give gamers the best possible visual experience while gaming.
The most powerful GeForce cards out there, for example, an RTX 3090, can be quite good with more advanced tasks. Still, they are designed to deliver outstanding optical fidelity, and that is the focus of NVIDIA’s driver updates.
This means that, as new games are launched, NVIDIA works on their GeForce drivers to ensure that they are optimized for those fresh releases.
On the other hand, GeForce drivers might not do so well with CAD or similar professional workspace software. Some users online have compared the use of GeForce for CAD to a looming time bomb because, if a problem occurs on the software side, GeForce is unlikely to offer driver updates to correct that issue rapidly (if at all).
One aspect that is interesting about this comparison is that they offer remarkably similar clock speeds but vastly different VRAM capacities. For example, the RTX 2080 Ti has 11GB of GDDR6 memory, while the Quadro RTX 8000 has an impressive 48GB of GDDR6 memory.
The reason for this is simple: there is no need for that amount of VRAM in modern gaming. As time goes on, there probably will be, but, for now, 11GB is wholly sufficient.
This VRAM distinction is probably the primary reason for such a price difference. You could game on a Quadro card, but those extra gigabytes won’t enhance your gaming experience at all. If the game requires 6GB, it will only use 6GB.
It’s important to state that GeForce cards can be used for 3D modeling or AI training, but typically not to an expert level.
While two GeForce cards can be linked via NVLink, the performance enhancement is related to the application’s technology usage, so we can’t guarantee the identical results for every piece of software.
Quadro – A Jack Of All Trades, Master Of All But One
Quadro is a premium graphics card, meaning it can perform a variety of tasks for several different industries. However, its best uses are in the fields of design and visualization. We’re talking about tasks such as 3D modeling and digital imagery.
For example, a Quadro card will allow you to have a much more fluid experience when working with wireframes or double-sided polygons.
If you’re displaying a complex 3D scene, Quadro is significantly faster than GeForce. This is the reason that rendering clusters are typically made using Quadro cards.
We mentioned earlier that these cards have several times more VRAM, which is exactly what those processes require. However, that isn’t the only reason that Quadro is better suited for these tasks than GeForce.
As we previously mentioned, due to NVIDIA dropping the Quadro naming convention, we will compare Quadro 8000 with the leading GeForce card released at around the same time, the RTX 2080 Ti.
One aspect that we slightly overlooked when discussing the memory sizes of each video card is the bus width. Quadro 8000 has a bus with 384-bit width, while the RTX 2080 Ti boasts a 352-bit bus width.
This might not seem like a significant difference, but the Quadro 8000 has a slightly faster clock and a broader bus, meaning that there will be a much more substantial difference in latency.
Processing power
Processing power is another realm where Quadro clearly wins.
The RTX 2080 Ti is also powerful, with a double-precision (non-boosted) of 367 GFLOPS, but the Quadro RTX 8000’s 509.8 is just outstanding. Even GeForce’s boost to 421 GFLOPS is not enough. The significance of computation power is that Quadro card users can complete more calculations in less time.
This is particularly useful in the domains of AI, scientific experiments, and advancements in the medical field. As big data becomes ever more prevalent in the world of business, so too does the need for extensive and complex data processing, for which the design of Quadro cards is ideal.
For this reason, Quadro cards are specifically designed to endure extended sessions of data crunching. As a bonus, NVIDIA offers a significantly longer warranty on them, which can come in very handy.
Other cards are specifically designed to perform those big data crunches, but Quadro is an exceptional multi-purpose professional solution.
GeForce vs. Quadro: Which Is The Right One For You?
As is often the case, this choice comes down to individual preference and intended use.
If you’re looking for a premium experience while gaming and also want to experiment a little with 3D modeling or animation, GeForce is a reasonably capable solution. You might want to sacrifice a little in the performance department (as far as non-gaming activities go) because of the immense price difference with Quadro.
Choosing a Quadro card is really a question of how much money you are able and willing to invest in your enterprise. Sometimes, your skills won’t be sufficient, and you will need to get excellent equipment to go with it.
If that’s the case, then Quadro is an ideal instrument.
