NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M vs NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M and the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 represent two very different eras of NVIDIA’s mobile and workstation GPU design. The GTX 870M is a Kepler-era notebook part from 2014, while the Quadro P4000 is a Pascal-era professional card from 2017. Benchmark data shows a clear, but not uniform, performance hierarchy between the two, with the Quadro P4000 dominating the available compute metrics.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is not a close contest. The NVIDIA Quadro P4000 scores 36,212 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M manages 12,630 points. This results in a deltaPct of -65.1% for the GTX 870M relative to the Quadro P4000, meaning the older mobile GPU delivers less than half the raw compute throughput of the professional card. In absolute terms, the Quadro P4000 is roughly 2.9 times faster in this specific OpenCL workload.

The Geekbench Metal benchmark provides a secondary data point for the GTX 870M, which scores 7,288 points. The Quadro P4000 has no Metal score listed, as that API is primarily relevant to Apple platforms. However, the GTX 870M’s average benchmark score across all listed tests is 9,959 points, while the Quadro P4000’s average is 9,665 points. This is a curious inversion: despite losing the OpenCL head-to-head by a wide margin, the GTX 870M has a slightly higher average score based on its available benchmark suite. This discrepancy is explained by the composition of tests—the Quadro P4000 has a much larger and more diverse benchmark list, including PassMark tests for DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, as well as G2D, G3D, and compute workloads.

Examining the Quadro P4000’s individual PassMark results shows a mixed profile. Its PassMark G3D score is 11,466, which is its strongest 3D gaming-oriented result. In contrast, its PassMark DirectX 12 score is only 40, while its DirectX 9 score is 181 and DirectX 11 score is 86. The PassMark G2D score of 786 indicates strong 2D desktop performance. Its PassMark GPU compute score of 4,913 is respectable but not exceptional. The Quadro P4000 also lists a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,115 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 41,786, the latter being its single highest raw score.

The GTX 870M’s nearest rival data places it in a tight cluster. Its average score of 9,959 is within 1.1% of the NVIDIA Quadro 6000 (9,846), and it trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M (10,013) by just 0.5%. It also sits within 1.1% of the AMD Radeon R9 M375 (10,070) and the NVIDIA Quadro K5100M (10,043). This indicates the GTX 870M is a mid-pack performer in its generation.

The Quadro P4000’s nearest rivals tell a similar story of tight competition. Its average score of 9,665 is within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 (9,653) and within 0.3% of the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 (9,637). It also sits just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M (9,645) and 0.5% behind the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9,716). This suggests the Quadro P4000’s overall average is pulled down by its low DirectX scores, masking its OpenCL and Vulkan strength.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The GTX 870M uses the GK104 chip, based on the Kepler architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 3,540 million transistors on a die size of 294 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.0 million per mm². The Quadro P4000 uses the GP104 chip, based on the Pascal architecture, also from TSMC but on a more advanced 16 nm node. It packs 7,200 million transistors onto a 314 mm² die, achieving a density of 22.9 million per mm²—nearly double the density of the older part.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The GTX 870M has a base clock of 941 MHz and a boost clock of 967 MHz, a very narrow boost range. The Quadro P4000 runs at a base of 1202 MHz and boosts to 1480 MHz, with a far more aggressive boost curve. Memory clocks also favor the newer card: the GTX 870M runs GDDR5 at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the Quadro P4000 runs GDDR5 at 1901 MHz (7.6 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The GTX 870M has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, providing 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro P4000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 243.3 GB/s—more than double the bandwidth. The Quadro P4000 also doubles the ROP count to 64 versus 24 on the GTX 870M, and increases shading units from 1,344 to 1,792. TMU counts are identical at 112 for both cards.

Compute throughput reflects these architectural gains. The Quadro P4000 delivers 5.304 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the GTX 870M manages 2.599 TFLOPS. The Quadro P4000 also lists FP16 performance of 82.88 GFLOPS (at a 1:64 ratio), a feature absent from the GTX 870M’s spec sheet. Pixel rate on the Quadro P4000 is 94.72 GPixel/s versus 27.08 GPixel/s on the GTX 870M, and texture rate is 165.8 GTexel/s versus 108.3 GTexel/s.

API support also differs. The GTX 870M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the Quadro P4000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), a higher feature level. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan support differs: the GTX 870M lists Vulkan 1.2.175, while the Quadro P4000 lists Vulkan 1.4. The Quadro P4000 also has a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and a single-slot form factor with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the GTX 870M uses an MXM-B (3.0) module with portable-device-dependent outputs.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro P4000 wins decisively in raw compute and memory bandwidth. Its OpenCL score of 36,212 is the standout result, and its Vulkan score of 41,786 further emphasizes its compute strength. The doubling of memory bandwidth to 243.3 GB/s, combined with higher clock speeds and more shading units, makes it the clear choice for any workload that stresses FP32 throughput or large memory buffers. Its 8 GB frame buffer also provides headroom for larger datasets or higher-resolution textures that the 3 GB GTX 870M cannot accommodate.

The GTX 870M’s wins are more subtle and defensive. Its average benchmark score of 9,959 is slightly higher than the Quadro P4000’s 9,665, driven by its Geekbench OpenCL result being one of only two tests listed for it. This does not indicate superiority—it simply reflects a smaller test suite. The GTX 870M’s nearest rival deltaPs are all within 1.1%, showing it competes well with its direct contemporaries like the Quadro K5100M and Radeon Pro 5300M. Its lower TDP of 100 W versus 105 W for the Quadro P4000 is a marginal advantage, but both are relatively low-power parts.

The Quadro P4000’s PassMark results show a clear split: it excels in G3D (11,466) and G2D (786) but performs poorly in DirectX 9 (181), DirectX 11 (86), and especially DirectX 12 (40). This suggests that its architecture is optimized for professional OpenGL or compute workloads rather than older or newer gaming API paths. The GTX 870M, with no PassMark data available, cannot be directly compared on those specific metrics.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 is the superior GPU for compute-intensive tasks, while the GTX 870M holds its own only within its own generation. The Quadro P4000’s OpenCL score is 2.9 times higher than the GTX 870M’s, and its memory bandwidth is more than double. For anyone running OpenCL, Vulkan, or professional workloads that leverage FP32 throughput, the Quadro P4000 is the clear choice from the data.

The GTX 870M’s case rests on its average score being slightly higher, but this is misleading. Its benchmark list includes only Geekbench Metal and OpenCL, whereas the Quadro P4000 includes a broader set of PassMark tests, many of which show low scores. The Quadro P4000’s percentile rank of 47 is just one point below the GTX 870M’s 48, indicating that when all GPUs are considered, they occupy nearly identical overall standing. This is remarkable given the Quadro P4000’s clear compute advantage, and it suggests that the GTX 870M’s gaming-oriented design yields better results in some legacy or mixed workloads.

Who should pick which? Strictly from the data, a user prioritizing raw compute performance, larger memory capacity, and modern API support (DirectX 12_1, Vulkan 1.4) should choose the Quadro P4000. A user with a legacy laptop that already has a GTX 870M should not expect it to match the Quadro P4000, but its average score shows it remains competitive with its own peers. The Quadro P4000’s launch MSRP is 815 USD, a fact worth noting for context, but the performance gap in compute benchmarks is the defining factor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P4000 scores 36,212, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M scores 12,630, giving the Quadro P4000 a 65.1% lead.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The GTX 870M has an average score of 9,959, slightly above the Quadro P4000’s 9,665, despite the latter winning the head-to-head OpenCL test.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The Quadro P4000 provides 243.3 GB/s, while the GTX 870M provides 120.0 GB/s, a difference of over 100 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Quadro P4000 has 1,792 shading units, compared to 1,344 on the GTX 870M.

Q: Does the Quadro P4000 support a higher DirectX version?

A: Yes, the Quadro P4000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GTX 870M supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The GTX 870M is on a 28 nm process, while the Quadro P4000 is on a 16 nm process, both from TSMC.