NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M vs NVIDIA Quadro K5100M Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro K5100M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions from NVIDIA, but they are engineered for entirely different purposes. The Quadro K5100M is a professional workstation part built on the Kepler architecture, while the GTX 850M is a consumer gaming chip based on Maxwell. The benchmark data shows a clear hierarchy, with the Quadro K5100M holding a significant edge in raw compute performance, but the GTX 850M offers its own advantages in efficiency and API support. This analysis breaks down their respective strengths and weaknesses based solely on the provided specifications and benchmark results.

Where Each One Wins

The performance split between these two GPUs is heavily weighted toward the Quadro K5100M in sheer computational throughput. Out of the single head-to-head benchmark available, the Quadro K5100M secures the win. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the K5100M scores 11,771, which is a substantial 19.9% higher than the GTX 850M's score of 9,821. This makes the Quadro the definitive choice for tasks that rely on raw parallel processing power, such as professional 3D rendering, scientific simulations, and compute-heavy workstation applications. Its higher average benchmark score of 10,043, compared to the GTX 850M's 9,302, reinforces this positioning as the more capable compute device.

However, the GTX 850M has its own territory where it is the better fit. While it loses the compute battle, its architectural advantages point to strengths in different areas. The GTX 850M is built on the Maxwell architecture, which is generally known for better performance-per-clock and power efficiency than Kepler. This is reflected in its dramatically lower TDP of 45 W, compared to the Quadro K5100M's 100 W. For a mobile user, this translates into longer battery life and less heat generation, making the GTX 850M a more practical choice for everyday consumer tasks and less demanding gaming sessions where the full compute power of the Quadro is unnecessary. The GTX 850M also has a newer Vulkan API support version (1.4) compared to the K5100M (1.2.175), suggesting better compatibility with the latest graphics drivers and software libraries.

The data also shows the GTX 850M holding its own in the broader market context. Its percentile ranking of 46th is close to the Quadro's 48th percentile, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465, is only 0.1% behind its average score. This indicates that while the Quadro is a more powerful chip in absolute terms, the GTX 850M is a very competitive mid-range part. The K5100M, in contrast, sits in a performance tier that is 0.8% above the GeForce GTX 870M and 2% above the older Quadro 6000, placing it in a distinctly higher performance bracket than the GTX 850M.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent two different generations of NVIDIA's mobile graphics technology. The Quadro K5100M is built on the Kepler architecture, using the GK104 chip, while the GTX 850M uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip. Both are fabricated on the same 28 nm process node at TSMC, but their internal designs diverge significantly. The GK104 chip in the Quadro is a large, complex die measuring 294 mm² and containing 3,540 million transistors. This results in a transistor density of 12.0M / mm². In contrast, the GM107 chip in the GTX 850M is much smaller at 148 mm², with 1,870 million transistors, yielding a slightly higher density of 12.6M / mm².

This difference in chip size directly translates to a massive difference in compute resources. The Quadro K5100M boasts 1,536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The GTX 850M, by comparison, has a much leaner setup with only 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This 2.4x advantage in shading units and 3.2x advantage in TMUs for the Quadro explains its massive lead in texture and pixel fill rates. The K5100M delivers a texture rate of 98.69 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 24.67 GPixel/s, while the GTX 850M trails significantly with 36.08 GTexel/s and 14.43 GPixel/s, respectively.

Memory configuration also differs profoundly. The Quadro K5100M is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. The GTX 850M, on the other hand, uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, which severely limits its bandwidth to just 32.03 GB/s. This 3.6x bandwidth advantage for the Quadro is critical for high-resolution textures and large datasets common in professional workloads. The memory clocks also reflect this gap, with the Quadro's memory running at an effective 3.6 Gbps compared to the GTX 850M's 2 Gbps.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it clearly favors the Quadro K5100M. In this test, the Quadro scores 11,771, while the GTX 850M scores 9,821. This results in a 19.9% performance advantage for the Quadro K5100M, marking it as the definitive winner in raw compute throughput. This is a substantial margin that underscores the difference in their compute capabilities, driven by the Quadro's larger die, more shading units, and higher memory bandwidth.

The absence of other common benchmark results, such as Geekbench Metal or Vulkan, is itself informative. The Quadro K5100M only has results for Metal (8,315) and OpenCL (11,771), while the GTX 850M only has results for OpenCL (9,821) and Vulkan (8,782). The GTX 850M's support for Vulkan is a modern feature that the Quadro lacks, and the Quadro's support for Metal is a feature that the GTX 850M lacks. This suggests that the two cards are optimized for different software ecosystems, with the Quadro leaning toward Apple's Metal API and the GTX 850M supporting the cross-platform Vulkan standard.

The overall average benchmark scores further contextualize the head-to-head result. The Quadro K5100M's average score is 10,043, which places it in the 48th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 850M's average score is 9,302, placing it in the 46th percentile. While the percentile difference is small, the 7.4% gap in average score (10,043 vs 9,302) is more meaningful. It shows that the K5100M's advantage is not just a single-test anomaly but is consistent across its benchmark suite, reinforcing its position as the higher-performing graphics processor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K5100M is significantly faster. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 11,771 compared to the GTX 850M's 9,821, a 19.9% advantage. Its average benchmark score of 10,043 also surpasses the GTX 850M's 9,302.

Q: Does the GTX 850M have any performance advantage over the Quadro K5100M?

A: No, in the provided head-to-head benchmark data, the Quadro K5100M wins the only shared test. However, the GTX 850M is more power-efficient, with a 45 W TDP compared to the Quadro's 100 W.

Q: What are the key differences in memory configuration?

A: The Quadro K5100M has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 850M is limited to 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing only 32.03 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The GTX 850M supports Vulkan 1.4, which is a newer version than the Quadro K5100M's Vulkan 1.2.175. The Quadro K5100M also supports Metal, which the GTX 850M does not.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The Quadro K5100M is 0.8% ahead of the GeForce GTX 870M and 2% ahead of the Quadro 6000. The GTX 850M is 0.1% behind the GeForce GTX 465 and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 8.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Quadro K5100M has 1,536 shading units, which is significantly more than the 640 shading units found in the GTX 850M.

Specification Differences

The following specifications highlight the primary differences between the NVIDIA Quadro K5100M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M.

• Architecture: The Quadro K5100M uses the Kepler architecture with the GK104 chip, while the GTX 850M uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip.
• Transistors: The Quadro K5100M has 3,540 million transistors, whereas the GTX 850M has 1,870 million.
• Die Size: The Quadro K5100M's die is 294 mm², compared to the GTX 850M's 148 mm².
• Core Clock: The Quadro K5100M runs at a base and boost clock of 771 MHz. The GTX 850M's core clocks are not specified.
• Memory Size: The Quadro K5100M features 8 GB of memory, while the GTX 850M has 2 GB.
• Memory Type: The Quadro K5100M uses GDDR5, and the GTX 850M uses DDR3.
• Memory Bus Width: The Quadro K5100M has a 256-bit bus, while the GTX 850M has a 128-bit bus.
• Memory Bandwidth: The Quadro K5100M delivers 115.2 GB/s, versus 32.03 GB/s for the GTX 850M.
• Shading Units: The Quadro K5100M has 1,536 shading units, compared to 640 on the GTX 850M.
• TMUs: The Quadro K5100M has 128 texture mapping units, while the GTX 850M has 40.
• ROPs: The Quadro K5100M has 32 render output units, while the GTX 850M has 16.
• Pixel Rate: The Quadro K5100M achieves 24.67 GPixel/s, and the GTX 850M achieves 14.43 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: The Quadro K5100M achieves 98.69 GTexel/s, and the GTX 850M achieves 36.08 GTexel/s.
• FP32 Performance: The Quadro K5100M has 2.369 TFLOPS, and the GTX 850M has 1,154.6 GFLOPS.
• TDP: The Quadro K5100M has a 100 W TDP, while the GTX 850M has a 45 W TDP.
• Slot Width: The Quadro K5100M uses an MXM Module, and the GTX 850M is listed as an IGP.
• Bus Interface: The Quadro K5100M uses MXM-B (3.0), and the GTX 850M uses PCIe 3.0 x16.
• Vulkan Support: The Quadro K5100M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, and the GTX 850M supports Vulkan 1.4.