NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M vs NVIDIA Quadro 5000 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro 5000 and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M are both Fermi-based NVIDIA parts, but they serve entirely different markets. The Quadro 5000 is a professional workstation card aimed at compute and CAD workloads, while the GT 555M is a mobile consumer GPU designed for laptops. The benchmark data in the database shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the architectural gap between these two parts is the more interesting story.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head comparison for these two GPUs, using the Geekbench OpenCL workload. In that test, the NVIDIA Quadro 5000 scores 7289 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M scores 6493 points. This gives the Quadro 5000 a 12.3% advantage, a meaningful margin for compute-oriented tasks that scale with shading units and memory bandwidth.

Looking at the broader field, the Quadro 5000 sits at the 40th percentile among all GPUs in the database for average benchmark score. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, which scores 7222 points, putting the Quadro 5000 just 0.9% ahead. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile follows at 7203 points, a 1.2% gap, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE comes in at 7171 points, a 1.6% deficit. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 rounds out the nearest rivals at 7170 points, 1.7% behind. The data shows that the Quadro 5000, despite its age and workstation focus, lands in a competitive cluster with several much newer mainstream parts, though it barely edges them out rather than dominating them.

The GT 555M sits at the 37th percentile, which is noticeably lower. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M at 6481 points, a mere 0.2% difference, effectively a statistical tie. The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile scores 6476 points, just 0.3% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M scores 6513 points, which is 0.3% ahead of the GT 555M, and the Intel UHD Graphics P750 scores 6554 points, 0.9% ahead. The picture here is one of a tightly packed group of mobile and low-power parts, where the GT 555M is neither the fastest nor the slowest in its immediate neighborhood. The 12.3% delta between the Quadro 5000 and the GT 555M is larger than any of the gaps between the GT 555M and its own nearest rivals, which underscores how the Quadro pulls ahead of this mobile chip despite both being Fermi designs.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs share the Fermi architecture and the 40 nm TSMC process node, but they are built on very different chips. The Quadro 5000 uses the GF100 die, which packs 3,100 million transistors onto a 529 mm² die. The GT 555M uses the GF106 die, with 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die. The transistor density figures reflect this: the Quadro 5000 achieves 5.9M transistors per mm², while the GT 555M manages 4.9M per mm². The GF100 is a much larger, more complex chip, and that size directly translates into more compute resources.

The shading unit count tells a stark story. The Quadro 5000 has 352 shading units, while the GT 555M has only 144. That is a 144% difference in raw shader count. The texture mapping units follow the same pattern: 44 on the Quadro versus 24 on the GT 555M. The render output units are 40 on the Quadro versus 16 on the GT 555M. These are not incremental differences; the Quadro 5000 has more than double the shading units and 2.5 times the ROPs of the mobile part. The theoretical pixel rate is 11.29 GPixel/s on the Quadro versus 3.540 GPixel/s on the GT 555M, and the texture rate is 22.57 GTexel/s versus 14.16 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute rating is 722.3 GFLOPS for the Quadro and 339.8 GFLOPS for the GT 555M, meaning the Quadro delivers more than twice the single-precision floating point throughput.

Memory architecture is another major divider. The Quadro 5000 comes with 2.5 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GT 555M has 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, with 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro has more than four times the memory bandwidth, which matters heavily for the compute workloads that a professional card is expected to handle. The memory clocks also differ: the Quadro runs at 750 MHz, which the database lists as 3 Gbps effective, while the GT 555M runs at 900 MHz, listed as 1800 Mbps effective. The GDDR5 versus DDR3 distinction is crucial here; the GT 555M uses slower memory technology, which is typical for a mobile part constrained by power and thermal limits.

The power envelope is a direct consequence of these architectural choices. The Quadro 5000 has a TDP of 152 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested power supply of 450 W. The GT 555M has a TDP of just 35 W and does not list a power connector or suggested PSU, because it is designed to run inside a laptop where the motherboard handles power delivery. The Quadro is a dual-slot card measuring 248 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the GT 555M has no recorded dimensions because it is a mobile chip soldered to a motherboard, with display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent."

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, and neither lists Vulkan support. Both use a PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface. The production status for both is end-of-life. The Quadro 5000 was released in February 2011, while the GT 555M followed in July 2011. The Quadro's predecessor is the Quadro FX Tesla, with the Quadro Kepler as its successor. The GT 555M's predecessor is the GeForce 400M, with the GeForce 600M as its successor. The Quadro 5000 carries a launch MSRP of 2,499 USD, while the GT 555M has no recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 5000 scores 7289 in the Geekbench OpenCL test, which is 12.3% higher than the GT 555M's score of 6493.

Q: How does the Quadro 5000 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Quadro 5000 sits 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GTX 750, 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, 1.6% ahead of the GeForce GTX 560 SE, and 1.7% ahead of the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580.

Q: How does the GT 555M compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GT 555M is 0.2% ahead of the Quadro M5000M and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile, but 0.3% behind the GeForce GTX 670M and 0.9% behind the Intel UHD Graphics P750.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The Quadro 5000 has 2.5 GB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 120.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GT 555M has 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, and neither supports Vulkan.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Quadro 5000 has a TDP of 152 W, while the GT 555M has a TDP of 35 W.

Specification Differences

The recorded data shows these differences between the two GPUs:

• Chip: GF100 on the Quadro 5000, GF106 on the GT 555M
• Generation: Quadro Fermi (x000) on the Quadro, GeForce 500M on the GT 555M
• Transistors: 3,100 million on the Quadro, 1,170 million on the GT 555M
• Die size: 529 mm² on the Quadro, 238 mm² on the GT 555M
• Transistor density: 5.9M / mm² on the Quadro, 4.9M / mm² on the GT 555M
• Memory clock: 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) on the Quadro, 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) on the GT 555M
• Memory size: 2.5 GB on the Quadro, 1024 MB on the GT 555M
• Memory type: GDDR5 on the Quadro, DDR3 on the GT 555M
• Memory bus width: 320 bit on the Quadro, 128 bit on the GT 555M
• Memory bandwidth: 120.0 GB/s on the Quadro, 28.80 GB/s on the GT 555M
• Shading units: 352 on the Quadro, 144 on the GT 555M
• TMUs: 44 on the Quadro, 24 on the GT 555M
• ROPs: 40 on the Quadro, 16 on the GT 555M
• Pixel rate: 11.29 GPixel/s on the Quadro, 3.540 GPixel/s on the GT 555M
• Texture rate: 22.57 GTexel/s on the Quadro, 14.16 GTexel/s on the GT 555M
• FP32: 722.3 GFLOPS on the Quadro, 339.8 GFLOPS on the GT 555M
• TDP: 152 W on the Quadro, 35 W on the GT 555M
• Slot width: dual-slot on the Quadro, not recorded on the GT 555M
• Power connectors: 1x 6-pin on the Quadro, not recorded on the GT 555M
• Suggested PSU: 450 W on the Quadro, not recorded on the GT 555M
• Display outputs: 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort on the Quadro, Portable Device Dependent on the GT 555M
• Dimensions: 248 mm length and 111 mm height on the Quadro, not recorded on the GT 555M
• Release date: February 2011 for the Quadro, July 2011 for the GT 555M
• Predecessor: Quadro FX Tesla on the Quadro, GeForce 400M on the GT 555M
• Successor: Quadro Kepler on the Quadro, GeForce 600M on the GT 555M
• Launch MSRP: 2,499 USD on the Quadro, not recorded on the GT 555M

The two GPUs share the same manufacturer, architecture, process node, foundry, bus interface, DirectX version, OpenGL version, and production status.

The Verdict

The benchmark data makes the choice straightforward for compute performance. The Quadro 5000 is 12.3% ahead of the GT 555M in OpenCL, and it delivers more than double the FP32 throughput, more than double the shading units, and roughly four times the memory bandwidth. The GT 555M cannot compete with the Quadro on raw performance, and the architecture differences confirm that this is not a close contest. The Quadro 5000 is built on a much larger die with far more compute resources, and it shows in every recorded metric.

The GT 555M does have one clear advantage in the data: power consumption. At 35 W, it uses less than a quarter of the Quadro's 152 W TDP, and it requires no external power connector or dedicated PSU recommendation. For a mobile platform, that is the deciding factor. The GT 555M is a laptop part, and the absence of recorded dimensions and the "Portable Device Dependent" display output confirm that it belongs in notebooks where power efficiency is paramount. The Quadro 5000, with its dual-slot design, 248 mm length, and 450 W suggested PSU, is strictly a desktop workstation component.

The percentile rankings reinforce this split. The Quadro 5000 sits at the 40th percentile, which places it in the lower-middle range of all GPUs in the database, but it is competitive with newer parts like the GTX 750. The GT 555M sits at the 37th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all mobile or low-power parts. The data suggests that buyers who need workstation-grade compute should pick the Quadro 5000. Buyers who need a low-power mobile GPU should pick the GT 555M, accepting the lower performance as the trade-off for the much smaller power footprint. The launch MSRP of 2,499 USD for the Quadro 5000 reflects its professional positioning, while the GT 555M has no recorded launch MSRP, consistent with it being an OEM mobile component. The verdict is not about which GPU is better in absolute terms; it is about which use case each one serves. The Quadro serves desktop compute, the GT 555M serves mobile graphics, and the recorded data shows that the Quadro is the far stronger performer.