NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q represent two extremes of NVIDIA's GPU lineage, separated by twelve years of architecture evolution. The GTX 780M is a Kepler-based mobile part from 2013, while the RTX PRO 6000D is a Blackwell 2.0 workstation flagship from 2025. Benchmark data shows the GTX 780M holds a narrow lead in aggregate score (11,261 vs 11,088, a 1.6% difference), though this comparison is complicated by the fact that the two cards were tested under different benchmark suites — the GTX 780M ran Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan tests, while the RTX PRO 6000D was evaluated with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Both cards sit at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, indicating that these particular benchmark conditions place them in similar overall standing despite their vastly different underlying hardware.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 780M scores 11,261 on average, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX PRO 6000D's 11,088. The nearest rival data shows the GTX 780M is 1.6% ahead of the RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q (average score 11,088), while the RTX PRO 6000D is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 550 (11,075) and 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (11,047).

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of memory capacity?

A: The RTX PRO 6000D has 96 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 780M has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX PRO 6000D offers 24 times the memory capacity and roughly 11 times the bandwidth.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two?

A: The GTX 780M uses a 28 nm process at TSMC with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the RTX PRO 6000D uses a 5 nm process at TSMC with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The transistor density improves from 12.0M per mm² to 122.9M per mm².

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the RTX PRO 6000D features 188 ray tracing cores and 752 tensor cores. The GTX 780M has no RT cores or tensor cores, reflecting its Kepler architecture from before these features existed.

Q: What are the TDP differences?

A: The GTX 780M is rated at 122 W and uses an MXM module form factor with no power connectors, while the RTX PRO 6000D is rated at 300 W, uses a dual-slot design with a 16-pin connector, and requires a 700 W suggested power supply.

Q: What is the release date gap?

A: The GTX 780M was released on 2013-05-10 and is end-of-life, while the RTX PRO 6000D was released on 2025-03-17 and is active in production. The RTX PRO 6000D has a launch MSRP of 8,565 USD.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between Kepler and Blackwell 2.0 is fundamental. The GTX 780M uses the GK104 chip on TSMC's 28 nm process, packing 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die with a density of 12.0M transistors per mm². The RTX PRO 6000D uses the GB202 chip on a 5 nm process, integrating 92,200 million transistors across 750 mm², achieving 122.9M transistors per mm² — a tenfold density improvement. This allows the Blackwell part to deploy 24,064 shading units against the GTX 780M's 1,536, a 15.7x increase. Texture mapping units jump from 128 to 752, and ROPs from 32 to 192.

Clock speeds also diverge significantly. The GTX 780M runs at a 771 MHz base and 797 MHz boost, while the RTX PRO 6000D operates at 1590 MHz base and 2288 MHz boost. Memory technology advances from GDDR5 at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) to GDDR7 at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The RTX PRO 6000D introduces 188 RT cores and 752 tensor cores, capabilities entirely absent from the Kepler part. The API support reflects this: the GTX 780M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), Vulkan 1.2.175, and OpenGL 4.6, whereas the RTX PRO 6000D supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

The form factor differences are equally stark. The GTX 780M is an MXM Module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The RTX PRO 6000D is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm, using PCIe 5.0 x16 and providing 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. The power delivery system changes from a 122 W module with no connectors to a 300 W card requiring a 16-pin connector and a 700 W suggested PSU. The production status also differs: the GTX 780M is end-of-life with a GeForce 600M predecessor and GeForce 800M successor, while the RTX PRO 6000D is active with a Workstation Ada predecessor and no successor listed.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 780M demonstrates its strengths in legacy compute workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 12,769 and Vulkan score of 12,696 represent the highest individual benchmark results in this comparison, while its Metal score of 8,319 rounds out a multi-API profile. This suggests the Kepler architecture remains competitive in older compute APIs that may not fully leverage the newer Blackwell feature set. The GTX 780M's average score of 11,261 places it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 and 0.3% ahead of the AMD FirePro W4300, indicating it holds a slight edge over those contemporary workstation parts in aggregate performance.

The RTX PRO 6000D wins decisively in sheer hardware capability. Its 96 GB memory capacity, 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, and 110.1 TFLOPS FP32 performance dwarf the GTX 780M's 4 GB, 160.0 GB/s, and 2.448 TFLOPS respectively. The Blackwell part also brings ray tracing, tensor cores, and modern API support that the Kepler card cannot match. However, its single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088 places it 1.2% behind the AMD FirePro W4300 and 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 550, showing that in this specific DX12 workload, the RTX PRO 6000D does not dramatically outperform older parts.

The practical use-case split is clear: the GTX 780M suits legacy applications and older API environments where its drivers and architecture are well-established, while the RTX PRO 6000D is designed for modern workstation workloads requiring massive memory, ray tracing, and tensor acceleration. The GTX 780M's 50th percentile ranking and the RTX PRO 6000D's identical 50th percentile ranking suggest that in the aggregate benchmark database, these cards occupy similar relative standing, but the nature of their workloads is entirely different.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across every major specification category. The GTX 780M uses a 28 nm process, 3,540 million transistors, and a 294 mm² die; the RTX PRO 6000D uses 5 nm, 92,200 million transistors, and a 750 mm² die. Transistor density rises from 12.0M to 122.9M per mm². Clock speeds: the GTX 780M has a 771 MHz base and 797 MHz boost, while the RTX PRO 6000D has 1590 MHz base and 2288 MHz boost. Memory: 4 GB GDDR5 at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s versus 96 GB GDDR7 at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s.

Compute resources: the GTX 780M has 1,536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. The RTX PRO 6000D has 24,064 shading units, 752 TMUs, 192 ROPs, 188 RT cores, and 752 tensor cores. Pixel rate jumps from 25.50 GPixel/s to 439.3 GPixel/s, texture rate from 102.0 GTexel/s to 1,720.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 from 2.448 TFLOPS to 110.1 TFLOPS. The RTX PRO 6000D also provides FP16 at 110.1 TFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 780M does not list.

Power and physical design: the GTX 780M is a 122 W MXM Module with no power connectors and a portable-device-dependent display output; the RTX PRO 6000D is a 300 W dual-slot card with a 16-pin connector, 700 W suggested PSU, PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, and 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. Dimensions: the RTX PRO 6000D measures 267 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm; the GTX 780M has no listed dimensions. Release dates: 2013-05-10 versus 2025-03-17. The RTX PRO 6000D has a launch MSRP of 8,565 USD; the GTX 780M has none listed. The GTX 780M's predecessor is GeForce 600M and successor is GeForce 800M; the RTX PRO 6000D's predecessor is Workstation Ada with no successor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data between these two cards is empty, meaning no direct comparative tests exist in the database. Instead, the comparison relies on their respective benchmark suites and nearest rival relationships. The GTX 780M's benchmark results span three APIs: Geekbench Metal at 8,319, Geekbench OpenCL at 12,769, and Geekbench Vulkan at 12,696. These produce an average of 11,261. The RTX PRO 6000D has a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088, which serves as its average.

The nearest rival data provides context for each card's standing. The GTX 780M sits 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 (11,228) and AMD FirePro W4300 (11,225), and 1.6% above both the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q (11,088) and the RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q (11,088). The RTX PRO 6000D, in turn, is exactly level with the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q (0% delta), 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 550 (11,075), 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (11,047), and 1.2% behind the AMD FirePro W4300 (11,225).

The biggest win for the GTX 780M is its 1.6% aggregate advantage over the RTX PRO 6000D, derived from its higher average across three Geekbench tests. The biggest win for the RTX PRO 6000D is 1.2% over the AMD FirePro W4300 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, though this is a single workload. The data shows that the GTX 780M's OpenCL and Vulkan scores (12,769 and 12,696) are its strongest results, while the RTX PRO 6000D's DX12 score is more modest relative to its hardware specifications. The win counts are 0 for both cards in head-to-head benchmarks, reflecting the absence of direct comparative testing. Overall, the numbers suggest that the GTX 780M excels in legacy compute APIs while the RTX PRO 6000D's capabilities are better demonstrated through its architectural features rather than its current benchmark footprint.