NVIDIA GeForce 930A vs NVIDIA Quadro P400 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 930A scores 5317, while the NVIDIA Quadro P400 scores 4249. The 930A wins by 25.1%.

Q: Do the two cards use the same architecture?

A: No. The GeForce 930A is built on the Maxwell architecture with the GM108 chip, while the Quadro P400 uses the Pascal architecture with the GP107 chip.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between them?

A: The Quadro P400 has 32.06 GB/s of bandwidth, which is double the 16.02 GB/s of the GeForce 930A. The P400 uses GDDR5 memory, while the 930A uses DDR3.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The Quadro P400 has a pixel rate of 20.03 GPixel/s, compared to 7.528 GPixel/s for the GeForce 930A. That is a substantial advantage for the P400.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The Quadro P400 contains 3,300 million transistors, versus 1,020 million for the GeForce 930A. The P400 also has a higher transistor density at 25.0M / mm², compared to 13.2M / mm².

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The GeForce 930A has 384 shading units, while the Quadro P400 has 256. Despite having fewer shading units, the P400 has a higher base clock (1228 MHz vs 928 MHz).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different design generations. The GeForce 930A uses the GM108 chip built on the Maxwell architecture at a 28 nm process node from TSMC. The Quadro P400 uses the GP107 chip on the Pascal architecture at a 14 nm node from Samsung. This node shrink allows the P400 to pack 3,300 million transistors into a 132 mm² die, giving a density of 25.0M / mm². The older 930A holds 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die for 13.2M / mm². Pascal is a newer architecture with different feature support, including DirectX 12 (12_1) versus DirectX 12 (11_0) for Maxwell.

The shading engine layout differs significantly. The 930A has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The P400 has fewer shading units (256 total, about two-thirds as many), fewer TMUs (16), but double the ROPs (16 total, double the 930A count of 8). This explains why the P400's pixel rate reaches 20.03 GPixel/s, while the 930A only manages 7.528 GPixel/s. The texture rate is close, with the 930A at 22.58 GTexel/s, versus 20.03 GTexel/s for the P400. The 930A's higher TMU count gives the 930A a slight edge in texture fill, even though the P400 is ahead in pixel throughput.

Memory subsystems are entirely different. The 930A uses 2 GB DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, running at 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) for 16.02 GB/s bandwidth. The P400 also uses 2 GB of memory on a 16-bit bus, actually 64-bit, but with GDDR5 at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective), providing 32.06 GB/s, exactly double the bandwidth. The P400 also supports a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface versus x8 for the 930A, and offers three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, whereas the 930A's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Power characteristics differ modestly. The 930A has a TDP of 33 W and is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor with no power connectors. The P400 has a 30 W TDP, a single-slot form factor, no power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 200 W. The P400 also has dimensions of 150 mm length and 69 mm height, while the 930A has none listed.

The P400 supports FP16 compute at 10.02 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), a capability not listed for the 930A. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the P400's DirectX support is 12 (12_1), whereas the 930A is limited to 12 (11_0). The P400's release date is 2017-02-06, with the 930A released on 2015-03-12. Both are end-of-life products. The P400's predecessor is Quadro Maxwell and its successor is Quadro Volta, while the 930A's predecessor is GeForce 800A.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The GeForce 930A scores 5317, and the Quadro P400 scores 4249. The 930A wins by 25.1%. This is a decisive margin in a compute-oriented workload. The data shows the older Maxwell part outperforms the newer Pascal part in this specific OpenCL test, despite the P400's higher clocks and doubled memory bandwidth.

Context from the nearest rivals puts these scores in perspective. The 930A sits at the 31st percentile among all GPUs. Its closest rival, the GeForce 840M, scores 5322, just 0.1% higher. The GTX 980M scores 5308 (0.2% lower), and the GeForce 940M scores 5284 (0.6% lower). The AMD Radeon R7 M445 scores 5358, which is 0.8% above the 930A. So the 930A's OpenCL result is tightly clustered within a 1.4% spread of four comparable mobile parts, indicating its performance level is well established.

The Quadro P400's average benchmark score is 4684, combining its OpenCL result (4249) with a Vulkan score of 5119. This average places it at the 27th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB at 4657 (0.6% higher), the Radeon R5 M320 at 4657 (0.6% higher), the Radeon R8 M445DX at 4727 (0.9% lower), and the GeForce GTX 970M at 4628 (1.2% lower). The P400's average is thus in a similar range to several distinct AMD and NVIDIA parts, all within a 2.1% band.

The head-to-head delta of 25.1% is much larger than any of the rival gaps. In other words, the 930A does not just edge out the P400; it beats it by a quarter in raw OpenCL compute. That margin is significant enough that the architecture and clock differences cannot fully explain the outcome. The 930A's higher shading unit count (384 vs 256) and its higher texture rate likely contribute more to this specific workload than the P400's memory bandwidth advantage.

The P400's Vulkan score of 5119 is not compared directly to the 930A, as the 930A has no Vulkan benchmark recorded. However, the P400's Vulkan result is higher than its own OpenCL score by 870 points (about 20.5%). That suggests the P400 has a stronger relative showing in Vulkan than in OpenCL, but there is no 930A Vulkan data to compare in the database.

Overall, the recorded data gives the GeForce 930A one win and the Quadro P400 zero wins in head-to-head tests. The 930A's victory is by a wide margin, and its percentile rank (31st) is also higher than the P400's (27th).

The Verdict

For users prioritizing OpenCL compute performance, the data clearly favors the NVIDIA GeForce 930A. Its 5317 score beats the Quadro P400's 4249 by 25.1%, and it holds a higher percentile rank (31 vs 27). If the workload is OpenCL-centric, the 930A is the better performer despite its older Maxwell architecture and slower memory.

For users prioritizing memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, the Quadro P400 is the better choice. It delivers 32.06 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s, exactly double, and its pixel rate of 20.03 GPixel/s is nearly 2.7 times the 930A's 7.528 GPixel/s. The P400 also has double the ROP count (16 vs 8) and a higher boost clock (1252 MHz vs 941 MHz). These factors matter in rendering, display output, and tasks that are fill-rate limited rather than compute limited.

The P400 also has a more robust feature set for professional use: three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, PCIe 3.0 x16, DirectX 12 (12_1), and FP16 support. The 930A's display outputs are portable device dependent, meaning it is not designed for fixed desktop multi-monitor setups. The P400 is a single-slot card with a 200 W suggested PSU, while the 930A is an IGP with no listed dimensions.

Architecturally, the Pascal-based P400 is newer (released 2017 vs 2015) and built on a more advanced 14 nm process with higher transistor density. Yet the data shows that newer architecture does not automatically translate to better compute scores. The 930A's larger shading unit count and higher texture rate give it the edge in OpenCL.

In short: pick the GeForce 930A for compute-oriented OpenCL tasks where its 25.1% lead matters. Pick the Quadro P400 for display-centric workloads, memory bandwidth, pixel fill, and professional connectivity. The P400's doubled bandwidth and superior pixel rate are the deciding factors for rendering, while the 930A's compute score is the deciding factor for general-purpose GPU workloads. Neither card dominates across all metrics, so the choice depends entirely on which workload profile matches the user's needs.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce 930A | NVIDIA Quadro P400 |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | Maxwell | Pascal |

| Chip | GM108 | GP107 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 1,020 million | 3,300 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 132 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 25.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 928 MHz | 1228 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 941 MHz | 1252 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) | 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 16.02 GB/s | 32.06 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 256 |

| TMUs | 24 | 16 |

| ROPs | 8 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.528 GPixel/s | 20.03 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 22.58 GTexel/s | 20.03 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 722.7 GFLOPS | 641.0 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 10.02 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 33 W | 30 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 200 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 3x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Dimensions | Not listed | 150 mm length, 69 mm height |

| Release Date | 2015-03-12 | 2017-02-06 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 800A | Quadro Maxwell |

| Successor | Not listed | Quadro Volta |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |