GPU Comparison

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 is in a completely different performance class than the AMD Radeon 780M. Across every shared test, the Quadro RTX 4000 delivers a victory, with margins ranging from 134.1% to 300.7%. While both cards occupy the same 61st percentile among all GPUs, that percentile grouping is misleading given the sheer magnitude of the scoring gaps in the head-to-head results.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single largest disparity appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 74,540 points, while the AMD Radeon 780M manages only 18,602 points. This translates to a delta of 300.7% — the Quadro RTX 4000 is roughly four times faster in raw compute throughput. This result is consistent with the fundamental design differences between a dedicated workstation card and an integrated graphics processor.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test tells a similar story, though with a slightly narrower gap. The Quadro RTX 4000 posts 1,873 points against the Radeon 780M's 480 points, yielding a 290.2% advantage. This is a DirectX 12 Ultimate workload, and the Quadro's dedicated 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 416.0 GB/s of bandwidth provides a massive advantage over the Radeon's system-shared memory configuration, where bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent."

The closest contest occurs in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark, yet the outcome remains decisive. The Quadro RTX 4000 achieves 78,844 points, while the Radeon 780M reaches 33,683 points. The 134.1% delta is substantial, but notably smaller than the OpenCL gap. This suggests the Radeon 780M's RDNA 3.0 architecture handles Vulkan's lower-level API more efficiently relative to its OpenCL performance, though it still trails by a wide margin.

The aggregate benchmark averages reinforce this hierarchy. The Quadro RTX 4000 holds an average benchmark score of 17,789, while the Radeon 780M sits at 17,588. The delta between them is just 1.1%, which is remarkably small given the head-to-head results. This discrepancy occurs because the averages include many additional tests where the Radeon 780M was not measured head-to-head. When directly compared across identical workloads, the Quadro RTX 4000 wins all three tests.

The Verdict

The data dictates a clear verdict: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 is the superior performer for any workload that appears in these benchmarks. It wins every head-to-head test, and it wins by margins that are impossible to ignore. The Geekbench OpenCL result alone — a 300.7% advantage — establishes the Quadro RTX 4000 as the choice for compute-heavy tasks.

The AMD Radeon 780M, however, is not without its own rationale. Its 15 W TDP is dramatically lower than the Quadro RTX 4000's 160 W, and it requires no power connectors — it draws power directly from the motherboard. The Quadro RTX 4000, by contrast, needs a single 8-pin connector and a 450 W suggested power supply. For systems where power consumption is the primary constraint, the Radeon 780M is the only viable option, despite its performance deficit.

The architectural differences explain why these two products exist in different markets. The Quadro RTX 4000 is a single-slot, 241 mm long dedicated card with a launch MSRP of 899 USD. The Radeon 780M is an integrated graphics processor with no physical dimensions listed, no launch MSRP, and no display outputs of its own — those are "Motherboard Dependent." One is a professional workstation component; the other is an IGP designed for compact, low-power systems.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 uses the TU104 chip built on the Turing architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 13,600 million transistors onto a 545 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.0M / mm². The AMD Radeon 780M uses the Phoenix chip on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, also from TSMC, but on a much more advanced 4 nm node. Its 25,390 million transistors fit onto a 178 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 142.6M / mm² — nearly six times higher.

The compute resources differ substantially. The Quadro RTX 4000 has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It also includes 36 ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores. The Radeon 780M has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with 12 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores at all. Despite having fewer shading units, the Radeon 780M's FP32 throughput is higher: 8.909 TFLOPS versus 7.119 TFLOPS. This is possible because the Radeon 780M boosts to 2900 MHz, while the Quadro RTX 4000 boosts to 1545 MHz.

The FP16 capabilities reveal another divergence. The Quadro RTX 4000 achieves 14.24 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning it doubles its FP32 throughput. The Radeon 780M stays at 8.909 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, showing no FP16 acceleration. Clock speeds also differ in base frequency: the Quadro RTX 4000 runs at 1005 MHz base, while the Radeon 780M starts lower at 800 MHz but boosts much higher.

Specification Differences

The most consequential specification difference is memory. The Quadro RTX 4000 has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 416.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 13 Gbps effective. The Radeon 780M uses "System Shared" memory, with the bus width and type also listed as "System Shared," and bandwidth described as "System Dependent." For GPU-bound workloads, this is a decisive advantage for the Quadro RTX 4000.

Power requirements are starkly opposed. The Quadro RTX 4000 has a 160 W TDP, requires one 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 450 W power supply. The Radeon 780M has a 15 W TDP, needs no power connectors, and lists no suggested PSU. Physical footprint differs as well: the Quadro RTX 4000 measures 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height, occupying a single slot. The Radeon 780M is an IGP with no dimensions listed.

The bus interface favors the newer AMD part. The Quadro RTX 4000 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Radeon 780M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: the Quadro RTX 4000 provides 3x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C, while the Radeon 780M's outputs are "Motherboard Dependent." Production status separates them further — the Quadro RTX 4000 is end-of-life, released on 2018-11-12, while the Radeon 780M is active, released on 2024-01-30.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 wins decisively with 1,873 points against the AMD Radeon 780M's 480 points, a 290.2% advantage.

Q: How does the power consumption compare between the two?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has a 160 W TDP and requires a 1x 8-pin power connector with a 450 W suggested PSU. The Radeon 780M has a 15 W TDP, needs no power connectors, and has no suggested PSU listed.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The AMD Radeon 780M actually leads in raw FP32 throughput with 8.909 TFLOPS, compared to 7.119 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000, despite having far fewer shading units.

Q: Are both GPUs in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both are in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, but their average benchmark scores differ slightly: 17,789 for the Quadro RTX 4000 and 17,588 for the Radeon 780M.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has 416.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. The Radeon 780M's bandwidth is "System Dependent" since it uses system-shared memory.

Q: What production status do these cards hold?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 is end-of-life, while the Radeon 780M is active. The Quadro was released on 2018-11-12, and the Radeon on 2024-01-30.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 wins every measured benchmark category. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it leads by 290.2%. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 300.7%. In Geekbench Vulkan, it leads by 134.1%. Its 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory and 416.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for professional workstation tasks that demand consistent, high-bandwidth memory access. The 288 tensor cores and 36 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for AI and ray tracing workloads — features the Radeon 780M lacks entirely in tensor form.

The AMD Radeon 780M wins where the benchmarks do not measure: power efficiency and integration. Its 15 W TDP is 145 W lower than the Quadro RTX 4000's 160 W, and it requires no additional power connectors. It is an IGP with no physical footprint of its own, making it ideal for ultra-portable or low-power systems where a dedicated card cannot fit. Its higher FP32 throughput (8.909 TFLOPS) and advanced 4 nm process node also indicate better compute-per-watt, even if the total compute is lower in practice.

For a workstation that needs maximum performance in DirectX 12, OpenCL, and Vulkan workloads, the Quadro RTX 4000 is the clear pick — it wins every shared test by a substantial margin. For an integrated solution that prioritizes minimal power draw and motherboard integration over raw performance, the Radeon 780M serves a different purpose entirely. The data does not suggest they compete for the same buyer; it shows two products optimized for opposite ends of the performance-per-watt spectrum.