NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M vs NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between these two NVIDIA parts is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a close contest. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 scores 4,979 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M scores 4,855 points. That gives the Quadro 4000 a 2.6% edge in this single compute-oriented test. In raw delta terms, that is a 124-point gap — meaningful enough to call a win, but hardly a decisive blowout.

When placed against the broader GPU landscape, both cards sit near the bottom of the performance pile. The Quadro 4000 lands in the 29th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 560M sits just one percentile behind at 28th. The Quadro 4000’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, which scores 4,970 (a 0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics at 4,998 (a -0.4% delta). The GTX 560M’s closest competitors are the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX at 4,844 (0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX at 4,867 (-0.2% delta). Neither card is threatening modern hardware; they are both firmly in entry-level or legacy territory.

The single benchmark win for the Quadro 4000 is its only win in the head-to-head comparison. The GTX 560M does not take a single test in this dataset. However, the 2.6% margin is within the noise of typical OpenCL variability, so the practical difference in day-to-day compute workloads may be negligible. Still, the data shows a consistent, if small, advantage for the Quadro 4000 in this specific metric. The average benchmark score for the Quadro 4000 is 4,979, and for the GTX 560M it is 4,855 — the same numbers as the single Geekbench result, confirming there is no other benchmark data to diversify the picture.

# Where Each One Wins

The Quadro 4000 wins the compute benchmark outright, but the story is more nuanced when looking at the specifications that drive real-world use cases. The Quadro 4000 carries 256 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GTX 560M has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. In pixel throughput, the Quadro 4000 delivers 7.600 GPixel/s versus 6.200 GPixel/s for the GTX 560M — a 22.6% advantage in fill-rate-bound scenarios. This makes the Quadro 4000 better suited for tasks that hammer the rasterizer, such as high-resolution 2D and 3D viewport rendering in professional applications.

However, the GTX 560M strikes back in texture throughput. Its 24.80 GTexel/s exceeds the Quadro 4000’s 15.20 GTexel/s by a substantial 63.2%. That is a massive difference in texturing-heavy workloads, which suggests the GTX 560M would excel in games or applications that rely heavily on texture fetches and filtering. The GTX 560M also posts a higher FP32 compute figure at 595.2 GFLOPS versus 486.4 GFLOPS for the Quadro 4000 — a 22.4% advantage in raw shader math. So while the Quadro 4000 wins the OpenCL test, the GTX 560M has superior theoretical peak throughput in both texture and FP32 operations.

The memory subsystem tells a similar story of trade-offs. The Quadro 4000 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 89.86 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 560M has 1.5 GB (1536 MB) on a 192-bit bus, with 60.00 GB/s. The Quadro 4000’s bandwidth advantage is 49.8%, which helps in memory-bound professional workloads like large data sets or multi-sample anti-aliasing. The GTX 560M’s smaller memory and narrower bus would bottleneck such tasks, but its higher texture rate compensates in gaming-style workloads. The GTX 560M also draws far less power at 75 W TDP versus 142 W for the Quadro 4000, making it the choice for thermally constrained mobile platforms.

# Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on NVIDIA’s Fermi architecture family, but they are not identical. The Quadro 4000 uses the GF100 chip, which is the original Fermi design, while the GTX 560M uses the GF116 chip, branded as Fermi 2.0. The process node is the same — 40 nm at TSMC — but the transistor counts diverge sharply. The GF100 packs 3,100 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, while the GF116 has 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die. That means the Quadro 4000’s die is more than twice the size, with a transistor density of 5.9M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm² for the GTX 560M.

The Fermi 2.0 architecture in the GTX 560M is a refined iteration of the original Fermi design. It retains the same core feature set — including DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 support, both of which are identical across the two cards — but it achieves higher clock-for-clock efficiency. The GTX 560M’s FP32 output of 595.2 GFLOPS from just 192 shading units demonstrates this efficiency: it delivers 3.1 GFLOPS per shading unit, whereas the Quadro 4000 delivers only 1.9 GFLOPS per shading unit from its 256 units. The GTX 560M also achieves a higher texture rate per TMU — 0.775 GTexel/s per TMU versus 0.475 GTexel/s per TMU for the Quadro 4000.

Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both predate those technologies. The Quadro 4000’s larger die and higher transistor count are dedicated to more ROPs (32 vs 24) and more shading units (256 vs 192), which explains its pixel-rate advantage. The GTX 560M’s smaller die, by contrast, focuses on texture throughput and power efficiency. The Quadro 4000’s memory clock is 702 MHz (2.8 Gbps effective), while the GTX 560M runs at 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective). This higher memory clock, combined with the wider 256-bit bus, gives the Quadro 4000 its bandwidth lead. The GTX 560M’s lower memory clock and narrower bus are clear architectural compromises for mobile power constraints.

# Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification except for their API support. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, and neither supports Vulkan. The process node is the same 40 nm TSMC fabrication, but that is where the similarities end.

The Quadro 4000 has 256 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, versus 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs for the GTX 560M. Memory capacity is 2 GB versus 1.5 GB (1536 MB), with the Quadro 4000 using a 256-bit bus and the GTX 560M a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth is 89.86 GB/s versus 60.00 GB/s. Pixel rate is 7.600 GPixel/s against 6.200 GPixel/s, while texture rate flips in favor of the GTX 560M at 24.80 GTexel/s versus 15.20 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 595.2 GFLOPS for the GTX 560M and 486.4 GFLOPS for the Quadro 4000.

Power and physical specifications are starkly different. The Quadro 4000 has a 142 W TDP, is single-slot, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W power supply. It measures 241 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 20 mm in width. The GTX 560M, by contrast, has a 75 W TDP, uses an MXM Module form factor, requires no power connectors, and has no listed dimensions. The bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16 for the Quadro 4000 and MXM-B (3.0) for the GTX 560M. Display outputs are 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort on the Quadro 4000, while the GTX 560M’s outputs are portable-device dependent.

Release timing also differs. The Quadro 4000 launched on 2010-11-01 with a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD. The GTX 560M launched later on 2011-05-29 with no launch MSRP listed. Both are end-of-life products. The Quadro 4000’s predecessor is the Quadro FX Tesla and its successor is the Quadro Kepler. The GTX 560M’s predecessor is the GeForce 400M and its successor is the GeForce 600M. The Quadro 4000’s generation is "Quadro Fermi (x000)" while the GTX 560M’s generation is "GeForce 500M."

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 scores 4,979, which is 2.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M’s 4,855.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Quadro 4000 is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (4,970) and 0.4% of the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (4,998). The GTX 560M is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4,844) and 0.2% of the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX (4,867).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The Quadro 4000 has 256 shading units, while the GTX 560M has 192 shading units.

Q: Which card provides more memory bandwidth?

A: The Quadro 4000 provides 89.86 GB/s over a 256-bit bus, which is 49.8% higher than the GTX 560M’s 60.00 GB/s over a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The GTX 560M has higher FP32 compute at 595.2 GFLOPS, which is 22.4% higher than the Quadro 4000’s 486.4 GFLOPS.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Quadro 4000 has a 142 W TDP, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W power supply. The GTX 560M has a 75 W TDP and requires no power connectors.