NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti vs NVIDIA Quadro M5000 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti are both end-of-life GPUs from different eras, and the benchmark data shows a decisive performance gulf between them. The RTX 2080 Ti, built on the newer Turing architecture, dominates the two shared benchmark tests, scoring roughly four times higher than the Maxwell-based Quadro. The M5000, however, retains relevance in its specific professional niche, with the data indicating it is a different class of product entirely.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the available benchmark results, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the clear performance winner. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 2080 Ti scores 128,171, a massive 77% higher than the Quadro M5000's 29,481. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the RTX 2080 Ti scores 132,930, which is 75.2% higher than the M5000's 32,931. For any workload captured by these synthetic compute benchmarks, the RTX 2080 Ti is in a different league.

The choice between these two cards depends entirely on the user's context. For general compute, rendering, or DirectX workloads, the RTX 2080 Ti is the superior product in every measurable way from this data. Its higher scores in both OpenCL and Vulkan indicate substantially more raw processing power. The RTX 2080 Ti also has a higher average benchmark score of 29,783, though this is lower than the M5000's 31,206, a discrepancy likely due to the inclusion of different test suites in each card's average. The M5000's average is buoyed by its two high scores, while the RTX 2080 Ti's average includes many more tests, some of which are lower.

The Quadro M5000, conversely, is not a card for raw speed. Its data suggests it is an older, lower-power professional solution. Its 150W TDP is significantly lower than the RTX 2080 Ti's 250W, and it requires only a single 6-pin power connector versus the RTX 2080 Ti's two 8-pin connectors. A user building a system with a 450W power supply would be constrained to the M5000, while the RTX 2080 Ti's 600W recommended PSU is a substantial requirement. The M5000 also lacks the RTX 2080 Ti's dedicated hardware for real-time ray tracing and AI acceleration, making it a poor choice for those specific modern workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by a full architectural generation. The Quadro M5000 is based on the GM204 chip using the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 13.1 million per mm². The RTX 2080 Ti uses the TU102 chip with the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process. It packs 18,600 million transistors onto a 754 mm² die, achieving a density of 24.7 million per mm².

These architectural differences are stark. The RTX 2080 Ti has more than double the shading units (4,352 vs 2,048), more than double the texture mapping units (272 vs 128), and more ROPs (88 vs 64). Crucially, the Turing architecture introduces features absent from Maxwell: the RTX 2080 Ti has 68 dedicated RT cores for ray tracing and 544 tensor cores for AI processing. The M5000 has none of these.

Memory configurations also differ significantly. The M5000 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 211.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2080 Ti uses 11 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 352-bit bus, achieving 616.0 GB/s. Clock speeds are higher on the RTX 2080 Ti, with a base of 1350 MHz and boost of 1545 MHz, compared to the M5000's 861 MHz base and 1038 MHz boost. The result is a massive difference in compute throughput: the RTX 2080 Ti delivers 13.45 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 26.90 TFLOPS of FP16, while the M5000 manages just 4.252 TFLOPS of FP32 and has no listed FP16 capability. The RTX 2080 Ti also has a higher pixel rate (136.0 GPixel/s vs 66.43) and texture rate (420.2 GTexel/s vs 132.9).

The M5000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 2080 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs differ as well, with the M5000 offering 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the RTX 2080 Ti provides 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is limited to two shared tests, and the RTX 2080 Ti wins both decisively. The most significant victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 2080 Ti scores 128,171 against the M5000's 29,481. This is a delta of -77%, meaning the M5000's score is 77% lower. This test is a strong indicator of general-purpose compute performance, and the gap reflects the vast differences in shading units, clock speeds, and memory bandwidth.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 2080 Ti again wins with a score of 132,930, compared to the M5000's 32,931. The delta here is -75.2%, a slightly smaller but still overwhelming margin. This test leverages the GPU's graphics and compute capabilities through the Vulkan API, and the RTX 2080 Ti's newer architecture and higher specifications translate into a clear advantage.

The RTX 2080 Ti also has a suite of other benchmarks that the M5000 does not share. Its Passmark G3D score is 21,548, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 10,056. It scores 927 in Passmark G2D and has various DirectX scores: 153 for DirectX 10, 190 for DirectX 11, 84 for DirectX 12, and 235 for DirectX 9. It also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,537. These results are not compared against the M5000, but they provide additional context for the RTX 2080 Ti's overall capability across different workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 has a higher average benchmark score of 31,206, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti's 29,783. This is notable because the RTX 2080 Ti wins both individual head-to-head tests by a wide margin, but its average is pulled down by a larger set of benchmark results.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2080 Ti in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti is significantly faster, scoring 128,171 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the M5000's 29,481. This represents a 77% lower score for the M5000, meaning the RTX 2080 Ti is roughly 4.3 times faster in this test.

Q: Does the Quadro M5000 support real-time ray tracing?

A: No. The Quadro M5000 is based on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture and has no RT cores. The RTX 2080 Ti, based on Turing, has 68 RT cores specifically dedicated to ray tracing workloads.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Quadro M5000 has a TDP of 150 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 450 W. The RTX 2080 Ti has a TDP of 250 W, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has substantially more memory bandwidth at 616.0 GB/s, thanks to its 11 GB of GDDR6 on a 352-bit bus. The M5000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing only 211.6 GB/s.

Q: How do their transistor densities compare?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has a much higher transistor density of 24.7 million per mm² on its 12 nm process. The M5000, on a 28 nm process, has a density of 13.1 million per mm².

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti wins in every head-to-head benchmark category provided. It is the superior choice for any workload that leverages raw compute performance, including OpenCL and Vulkan compute tasks. Its architecture also makes it the only option for users needing hardware-accelerated ray tracing or AI features, thanks to its 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores. Its higher memory bandwidth and larger memory pool (11 GB vs 8 GB) are also advantages for large data sets and high-resolution textures. The RTX 2080 Ti's higher pixel rate and texture rate further cement its lead in graphics-intensive applications.

The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 does not win any benchmark tests, but it has distinct operational advantages. Its lower TDP of 150 W and single 6-pin power connector make it far easier to integrate into systems with smaller power supplies (450 W suggested vs 600 W). It also has a slightly higher average benchmark score than the RTX 2080 Ti, a metric that may reflect better consistency across a specific set of workloads. For a user with a pre-existing power supply that cannot accommodate the RTX 2080 Ti's requirements, the M5000 is a viable, lower-power alternative. Its display output configuration with 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.2 also differs from the RTX 2080 Ti's HDMI and DisplayPort 1.4a setup, which may be relevant for specific multi-display or legacy connectivity needs. The M5000's higher percentile rank (76th vs 75th) is a marginal statistical distinction, but the benchmark results make clear that the RTX 2080 Ti is the performance king.