NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data reflects this chasm. The Quadro 4000, a Fermi-era workstation card from 2010, posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 4979, placing it in the 29th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3080 12 GB, an Ampere-generation consumer flagship from 2022, delivers a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791, landing in the 28th percentile. While their percentile rankings are nearly identical, the benchmarks are entirely different workloads, making a direct comparison of raw scores impossible. Instead, the data reveals a story of specialization versus modernity, where each card wins in its own narrowly defined arena.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro 4000’s sole benchmark result is a Geekbench OpenCL score of 4979. This is a compute-oriented test, and the card’s performance there is its only measurable strength. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is effectively neck-and-neck with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, which scores 4970 (a 0.2% difference), and the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, which scores 4998 (a -0.4% difference). The Quadro’s score is also 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M360 (4931). In the context of this single test, the Quadro 4000 wins by a razor-thin margin against a modern entry-level card and a decade-younger integrated GPU. This suggests that in pure OpenCL compute throughput, the old Fermi architecture can still hold its own against low-end modern parts, but it is not a dominant force.

The RTX 3080 12 GB wins in the field of modern DirectX 12 gaming and rendering workloads, as evidenced by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791. This is a stress test designed for contemporary GPUs, and the card’s performance there is its only measurable strength. Its nearest rivals in this test are all significantly older or lower-tier parts: the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4788, a 0.1% difference), the AMD Radeon R5 M335 (4752, a 0.8% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844, a -1.1% difference). The RTX 3080 12 GB sits almost exactly between the GeForce 940MX and the Radeon R5 M255, indicating that in this specific DX12 workload, its performance is comparable to a low-end mobile GPU from a previous generation. It wins by being the only card in its comparison group that is built for and tested on a modern API, but the data shows its lead is marginal at best.

The key split is workload type. The Quadro 4000 wins in a legacy compute API (OpenCL), while the RTX 3080 12 GB wins in a modern graphics API (DX12). Neither card has any head-to-head benchmark results against the other, and neither has a win count in the data. The Quadro’s victory is its ability to still produce a competitive OpenCL score, while the RTX 3080’s victory is its capacity to run a DX12 test at all, albeit with results that place it near the bottom of the percentile rankings.

The Verdict

Pick the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 if your priority is a legacy OpenCL compute workload. The data shows its 4979 Geekbench score is effectively tied with the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (4970) and slightly ahead of the Radeon R7 M360 (4931). It is a 40 nm Fermi card with 256 shading units and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, and its single 6-pin power connector and 142 W TDP make it a low-power option for systems that need a workstation card with DVI and DisplayPort outputs. It is end-of-life, but its benchmark result indicates it can still deliver a specific compute performance level.

Pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB if your priority is a modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workload. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4791 is its only data point, and it is within 1.3% of its nearest rivals, which are all low-end or older GPUs. The card is built on an 8 nm process with 8960 shading units, 70 RT cores, and 280 tensor cores, and it has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus. It requires a 350 W TDP and a 750 W suggested PSU, making it a power-hungry option. Its launch MSRP is 799 USD.

The verdict is not about which is "better" in an absolute sense, but which is appropriate for the task. The Quadro 4000 is a specialist for an older compute API, while the RTX 3080 12 GB is a specialist for a newer graphics API. If you are running software that relies on OpenCL, the Quadro’s data is more relevant. If you are running DX12 games or applications, the RTX 3080’s data is more relevant. The two cards never compete directly, and the data offers no crossover evidence. Thus, the choice is dictated entirely by the software environment, not by a universal performance hierarchy.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB in the data. The Quadro 4000 has a single Geekbench OpenCL score of 4979, while the RTX 3080 12 GB has a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791. These are different tests measuring different capabilities, so a side-by-side comparison is not possible.

The closest thing to a comparison comes from their respective nearest rivals. The Quadro 4000’s score of 4979 is 0.2% higher than the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB’s 4970, and 1% higher than the Radeon R7 M360’s 4931. It is 0.4% lower than the Radeon R7 Graphics’ 4998. The RTX 3080 12 GB’s score of 4791 is 0.1% higher than the Radeon R5 M255’s 4788, and 0.8% higher than the Radeon R5 M335’s 4752. It is 1.1% lower than the GeForce 940MX’s 4844.

These deltas are all under 1.3%, indicating that both cards are clustered tightly with their direct competitors. The Quadro 4000’s biggest win is 1% over the Radeon R7 M360, while the RTX 3080 12 GB’s biggest win is 0.8% over the Radeon R5 M335. The biggest loss for the Quadro is 0.8% to the Radeon R7 Graphics, and for the RTX 3080 it is 1.1% to the GeForce 940MX. In both cases, the performance envelopes are so close that any single run could change the ranking. The data shows neither card has a significant advantage over its own peer group, let alone over the other card in this page.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 4979, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791. These are different tests, so the scores are not directly comparable.

Q: How does the Quadro 4000 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Quadro 4000’s 4979 score is 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB’s 4970, and 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M360’s 4931. It is 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics’ 4998.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 12 GB compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB’s 4791 score is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M255’s 4788, and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M335’s 4752. It is 1.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX’s 4844.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The Quadro 4000 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 89.86 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The Quadro 4000 has a 142 W TDP and uses a single 6-pin power connector, with a 300 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3080 12 GB has a 350 W TDP and uses a single 12-pin power connector, with a 750 W suggested PSU.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: No. The Quadro 4000 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and has no Vulkan support listed. The RTX 3080 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 uses the GF100 chip based on the Fermi architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It contains 3,100 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 5.9M per mm². The RTX 3080 12 GB uses the GA102 chip based on the Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The RTX 3080 has nearly ten times the transistors in a slightly larger die, thanks to the much denser process node.

Memory and compute resources differ dramatically. The Quadro 4000 has 256 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 89.86 GB/s. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus delivering 912.4 GB/s. The RTX 3080 also adds 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores, which the Quadro lacks entirely. The pixel rate of the Quadro is 7.600 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 15.20 GTexel/s, while the RTX 3080 achieves 164.2 GPixel/s and 478.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 486.4 GFLOPS for the Quadro versus 30.64 TFLOPS for the RTX 3080, with the latter also offering FP16 at 30.64 TFLOPS (1:1).

The cards also differ in clock speeds and physical design. The Quadro has no listed base or boost clock, but its memory runs at 702 MHz (2.8 Gbps effective). The RTX 3080 has a base clock of 1260 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with memory at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The Quadro is a single-slot card at 241 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 20 mm wide. The RTX 3080 is a dual-slot card at 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The Quadro uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface and outputs 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort. The RTX 3080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and outputs 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Quadro was released in 2010 with a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD, while the RTX 3080 was released in 2022 with a launch MSRP of 799 USD. Both are end-of-life products, with the Quadro succeeding the Quadro FX Tesla and preceding Quadro Kepler, and the RTX 3080 succeeding GeForce 20 and preceding GeForce 40.