NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M vs NVIDIA Quadro K5000 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro K5000 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M are both built on the same GK104 chip and Kepler architecture, yet they serve entirely different market segments. The database shows that while they split benchmark wins evenly, the nature of those wins reveals a stark contrast in their design priorities. The Quadro K5000, a professional workstation card, dominates in one compute workload, while the GTX 880M, a high-end mobile part, excels in another. The recorded data provides a clear picture of how these two GPUs compare.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are decisively split, with each card claiming a significant victory in one of the two recorded tests. In the Geekbench Metal test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M posts a score of 10458, which is 39.5% higher than the Quadro K5000's score of 6324. This is a substantial margin, indicating that the GTX 880M holds a clear advantage in this particular graphics API workload. The delta is not a minor edge; it is a dominant performance gap that places the mobile GPU well ahead of the workstation card in this specific metric.

However, the tables turn completely in the Geekbench OpenCL test. Here, the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 achieves a score of 11418, while the GTX 880M manages only 5622. The delta for the K5000 is a massive 103.1% advantage, meaning it more than doubles the score of its rival. This result is the single largest performance differential in the head-to-head comparison. It demonstrates that the Quadro K5000's compute capabilities, as measured by OpenCL, are far superior to those of the GTX 880M, despite the latter's higher clock speeds.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the average scores tell a different story. The Quadro K5000 has an average benchmark score of 9637, which places it at the 46th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, scores 9645, a mere 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 is also close at 9653, just 0.2% behind. This suggests that the K5000's overall performance sits in a tight cluster with these other cards, even though its individual OpenCL result is exceptional.

In contrast, the GeForce GTX 880M's average benchmark score is 8040, placing it at the 42nd percentile. Its closest competitor in the database is the NVIDIA Quadro P5000, which scores 8039, a 0% difference. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti and GTX 650 Ti Boost are also nearby, with scores of 8053 and 8067 respectively, showing deltas of -0.2% and -0.3%. The data indicates that while the GTX 880M wins the Metal test decisively, its overall average is dragged down by the much lower OpenCL score, resulting in a lower percentile ranking than the K5000.

The win count is tied at one apiece, but the magnitudes of the victories are not symmetrical. The GTX 880M's win in Metal is a 39.5% margin, which is substantial. The K5000's win in OpenCL is a 103.1% margin, which is more than twice as large. This asymmetry in the delta values is a key takeaway, as it shows that the K5000's advantage in its strong suite is far more pronounced than the GTX 880M's advantage in its own.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K5000 has a higher average benchmark score of 9637, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M's average of 8040.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench Metal test?

A: The GTX 880M wins the Geekbench Metal test with a score of 10458, which is 39.5% higher than the K5000's score of 6324.

Q: Which card wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, and by how much?

A: The Quadro K5000 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 11418, while the GTX 880M scores 5622. This gives the K5000 a 103.1% advantage.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The Quadro K5000 is in the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while the GeForce GTX 880M is in the 42nd percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a larger memory capacity?

A: The GeForce GTX 880M has 8 GB of memory, while the Quadro K5000 has 4 GB.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both the Quadro K5000 and the GTX 880M support DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the same fundamental architecture, as they are built on the GK104 chip using the Kepler design and a 28 nm process node at TSMC. The transistor count is identical at 3,540 million, and the die size is also the same at 294 mm². This results in a transistor density of 12.0M / mm² for both. The core configurations are also identical, with each featuring 1536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Neither GPU includes dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores.

The key architectural differences lie in their clock speeds and memory configurations, though these are more specification-level than fundamental design changes. The Quadro K5000 operates at a base and boost clock of 706 MHz, while the GTX 880M runs at a base clock of 954 MHz and a boost clock of 993 MHz. This clock advantage for the GTX 880M directly translates into higher compute rates: the GTX 880M achieves 31.78 GPixel/s for pixel rate and 127.1 GTexel/s for texture rate, while the K5000 achieves 22.59 GPixel/s and 90.37 GTexel/s respectively. The FP32 performance follows the same pattern, with the GTX 880M delivering 3.050 TFLOPS versus the K5000's 2.169 TFLOPS.

The memory subsystems also differ in their effective speeds. The GTX 880M uses a memory clock of 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective data rate, while the K5000 runs at 1350 MHz with 5.4 Gbps effective. Both use GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, but the K5000's higher effective clock gives it a memory bandwidth of 172.8 GB/s, compared to the GTX 880M's 160.0 GB/s. The GTX 880M compensates with double the capacity at 8 GB versus the K5000's 4 GB.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs reveal several distinct differences across various categories. The most obvious is the form factor and intended use: the Quadro K5000 is a dual-slot card with a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches) and a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches), requiring a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested 300 W power supply. The GTX 880M, in contrast, is an MXM Module with no listed dimensions, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU, as it is designed for portable devices.

The memory capacity is a clear differentiator: the K5000 has 4 GB, while the GTX 880M has 8 GB. The memory bandwidth also differs, with the K5000 offering 172.8 GB/s and the GTX 880M offering 160.0 GB/s. The bus interface is different as well; the K5000 uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the GTX 880M uses MXM-B (3.0). Display outputs are another area of divergence: the K5000 provides 2x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2, whereas the GTX 880M's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent."

Clock speeds show the GTX 880M with a significant advantage in both base and boost clocks (954 MHz and 993 MHz) compared to the K5000 (706 MHz for both). This leads to higher pixel and texture rates for the GTX 880M, as well as higher FP32 compute. The power draw is identical at 122 W for both, despite the clock differences. The release dates are also different, with the K5000 launching in August 2012 and the GTX 880M in March 2014, and they have different predecessors and successors in their respective product lines.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro K5000 is the clear winner in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads. Its 103.1% advantage in the OpenCL benchmark is the defining performance characteristic in this comparison. This suggests that for professional applications that leverage OpenCL for general-purpose GPU computing, the K5000 is the superior choice. The data also shows it has a higher average benchmark score and a higher percentile ranking, indicating more consistent overall performance across the recorded tests. Its higher memory bandwidth of 172.8 GB/s further supports its strength in data-intensive tasks.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M is the winner in the Geekbench Metal test, with a 39.5% lead. This indicates that for graphics workloads utilizing the Metal API, the GTX 880M is significantly faster. Its higher clock speeds, which drive superior pixel and texture rates, contribute to this advantage. The GTX 880M also offers double the memory capacity at 8 GB, which can be beneficial for applications requiring large frame buffers or data sets. Its mobile form factor makes it the obvious choice for portable systems, where the K5000's dual-slot desktop design is not an option.

The use-case split is therefore clear. The Quadro K5000 is designed for workstation tasks that prioritize compute performance and API support like OpenCL, while the GeForce GTX 880M is a high-end mobile GPU optimized for graphics rendering in the Metal API. Each card wins where its architectural strengths are most relevant. The K5000's compute dominance and the GTX 880M's graphics throughput mean that the selection between them should be driven by the specific workload and platform requirements, not by a single overall performance metric. The data does not declare a universal victor; it identifies two specialized tools with different areas of excellence.