NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 vs NVIDIA Quadro 6000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains exactly one direct comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 and the NVIDIA Quadro 6000: the Geekbench OpenCL compute test. In this benchmark, the GTX 1080 scores 51,204 points, while the Quadro 6000 scores 9,846 points. The delta is a staggering 420% in favor of the GTX 1080, making this a one-sided head-to-head result with the GTX 1080 taking the sole win.

This 420% margin is not a marginal victory; it represents a fundamental generational leap in compute throughput. The GTX 1080 delivers over five times the raw OpenCL score of the Quadro 6000. For context, the GTX 1080's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 11,960, while the Quadro 6000's average is 9,846. This means the GTX 1080's OpenCL result alone is more than four times its own average, highlighting how dominant that particular workload is for the Pascal architecture.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the GTX 1080's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 51, placing it just above the median. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A (average score 11,998, a delta of -0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (average score 11,842, a delta of 1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (average score 11,680, a delta of 2.4%), and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (average score 11,627, a delta of 2.9%). These deltas are all within a few percentage points, indicating that the GTX 1080 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The Quadro 6000, by contrast, holds a percentile rank of 47, slightly below the GTX 1080. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (average score 9,832, delta 0.1%), the AMD FirePro W5000 (average score 9,803, delta 0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (average score 9,780, delta 0.7%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M (average score 9,959, delta -1.1%). The Quadro 6000's scores cluster tightly around the 9,800 to 9,900 range, showing that its performance level is well below the GTX 1080's average.

The single head-to-head result tells a clear story: the GTX 1080 outclasses the Quadro 6000 in compute performance by an enormous margin. However, the database lacks additional shared test results, so the full picture of gaming versus professional workloads cannot be directly compared from head-to-head data alone. The GTX 1080's other benchmark results (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 1,560, Geekbench Metal at 23,824, Geekbench Vulkan at 30,398, Passmark DX9 at 211, DX10 at 93, DX11 at 124, DX12 at 55, G2D at 888, G3D at 15,586, and GPU compute at 7,614) all contribute to its higher average, but none of these have a corresponding Quadro 6000 result in the database.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded data, the GTX 1080 wins the only direct comparison available. The OpenCL compute test is a general-purpose GPU compute workload, and the GTX 1080's 420% advantage indicates that for any task leveraging OpenCL, the GTX 1080 is the clear choice. This includes applications such as video encoding, physics simulations, and data-parallel processing where OpenCL is commonly used.

The Quadro 6000, despite its lower performance scores, has no recorded wins against the GTX 1080. However, the database shows the Quadro 6000's strengths in a professional context through its specification profile. It features a larger die size of 529 mm² compared to the GTX 1080's 314 mm², and a wider memory bus of 384 bit versus 256 bit. These characteristics historically align with pro-grade rendering and compute tasks, but the benchmark data does not capture any such advantage in practice.

For gaming, the GTX 1080's Passmark DirectX scores paint a mixed picture: DX9 at 211, DX10 at 93, DX11 at 124, and DX12 at 55. These are raw scores without a direct Quadro comparison, but they indicate that the GTX 1080 handles legacy APIs better than newer ones in this specific test suite. The G3D score of 15,586 is the GTX 1080's strongest Passmark result, suggesting solid overall 3D rendering performance.

For professional workloads, the Quadro 6000's only benchmark result is the OpenCL score of 9,846, which is 420% lower than the GTX 1080. This means that even in a domain where Quadro cards are traditionally positioned, the data shows the GTX 1080 wins decisively. The Quadro 6000's support for OpenGL 4.6 matches the GTX 1080, but its Vulkan support is listed as null, whereas the GTX 1080 supports Vulkan 1.4. This makes the GTX 1080 more future-proof for modern graphics APIs.

In summary, the GTX 1080 wins in every measurable compute and graphics category where a direct comparison exists. The Quadro 6000's only potential advantage lies in its professional-oriented feature set, but the benchmark data does not substantiate any performance win.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1080 than the Quadro 6000 in OpenCL compute?

A: The GTX 1080 scores 51,204 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Quadro 6000 scores 9,846. This is a 420% advantage for the GTX 1080.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1080 has an average benchmark score of 11,960, compared to the Quadro 6000's average of 9,846. The GTX 1080 is about 21.5% higher on average.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to each card in the database?

A: The GTX 1080's closest rival is the GTX 960A (average 11,998, delta -0.3%). The Quadro 6000's closest rival is the Quadro M2000M (average 9,832, delta 0.1%).

Q: Does the Quadro 6000 support Vulkan?

A: No, the Quadro 6000's Vulkan support is listed as null. The GTX 1080 supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 1080 has 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 320.3 GB/s bandwidth. The Quadro 6000 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 143.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate?

A: The GTX 1080 has a pixel rate of 110.9 GPixel/s, versus the Quadro 6000's 16.07 GPixel/s. The GTX 1080 is roughly 6.9 times higher.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The GTX 1080 uses a 16 nm process node, while the Quadro 6000 uses 40 nm, both from TSMC. The GTX 1080 packs 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 22.9M per mm². The Quadro 6000 has 3,100 million transistors on a larger 529 mm² die, with a density of 5.9M per mm².

Memory configurations diverge significantly. The GTX 1080 offers 8 GB of GDDR5X with a 256-bit bus and 320.3 GB/s bandwidth. The Quadro 6000 has 6 GB of GDDR5 with a 384-bit bus but only 143.4 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1080's memory clock is listed at 1251 MHz (10 Gbps effective), while the Quadro 6000 runs at 747 MHz (3 Gbps effective).

Compute resources show a massive gap. The GTX 1080 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Quadro 6000 has 448 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GTX 1080's pixel rate is 110.9 GPixel/s and texture rate is 277.3 GTexel/s. The Quadro 6000 manages 16.07 GPixel/s and 32.14 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 8.873 TFLOPS for the GTX 1080 versus 1,027.7 GFLOPS for the Quadro 6000. The GTX 1080 also has FP16 capability at 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64), while the Quadro 6000 has no recorded FP16 value.

Power and connectivity differ as well. The GTX 1080 has a TDP of 180 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested 450 W PSU. The Quadro 6000 has a 204 W TDP, requires a 6-pin plus 8-pin connector, and a 550 W PSU. The GTX 1080 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Quadro 6000 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs: the GTX 1080 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a; the Quadro 6000 offers 1x DVI, 2x DisplayPort, and 1x S-Video.

Dimensions are similar in height (112 mm vs 111 mm), but the GTX 1080 is longer at 267 mm versus 248 mm, with a 40 mm width versus no width listed for the Quadro. Both are dual-slot cards. The release dates are far apart: the GTX 1080 launched on 2016-05-26, the Quadro 6000 on 2010-12-09. The launch MSRP for the GTX 1080 was 599 USD, while the Quadro 6000's launch MSRP was 4,399 USD.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 1080 is built on the Pascal architecture with the GP104 chip, part of the GeForce 10-series generation. The Quadro 6000 uses the Fermi architecture with the GF100 chip, from the Quadro Fermi (x000) generation. These are two distinct microarchitectures separated by six years of development, which explains the performance gulf.

Pascal introduced significant improvements over Fermi in terms of compute efficiency, clock scaling, and memory technology. The GTX 1080's GDDR5X memory at 10 Gbps effective is a generation ahead of the Quadro 6000's GDDR5 at 3 Gbps. The 16 nm process allows for much higher transistor density (22.9M/mm² versus 5.9M/mm²), enabling more compute units in a smaller die despite having over twice the transistor count.

The GTX 1080 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Quadro 6000 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. This means the GTX 1080 is compatible with the latest graphics APIs, while the Quadro 6000 is limited to the DirectX 11 feature level within the DirectX 12 umbrella.

Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both predate the RTX series. The GTX 1080's FP16 performance is limited to 138.6 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, indicating that Pascal was not optimized for half-precision compute. The Quadro 6000 has no FP16 capability at all.

The GTX 1080's predecessor is the GeForce 900 series and its successor is the GeForce 20 series. The Quadro 6000's predecessor is the Quadro FX Tesla and its successor is Quadro Kepler. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database.

The architectural differences explain why the GTX 1080 achieves a 420% higher OpenCL score. Pascal's design priorities were raw throughput and efficiency, while Fermi was an earlier architecture focused on introducing compute features that have since been refined. The GTX 1080's higher clock speeds (base 1607 MHz, boost 1733 MHz) versus the Quadro 6000's unspecified base and boost clocks further compound the architectural advantages.