NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 vs NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data presents an unusual comparison because the two GPUs were recorded under different benchmark suites. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 was tested with Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 4,979 points. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 was tested with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, scoring 4,334.5 points. These are not directly comparable metrics, so the head-to-head results are derived from how each card positions against its own nearest rivals in the database.

The Quadro 4000 sits at the 29th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, scores 4,998, which is 0.4% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB is nearly identical, scoring 4,970, a margin of just 0.2% behind the Quadro. The Quadro edges out the AMD Radeon R7 M360 by 1.0% (4,931 vs 4,979). The AMD Radeon R5 M430 trails by 0.8% with a score of 5,018. This places the Quadro 4000 in a tight cluster, effectively at parity with modern integrated and entry-level discrete graphics solutions.

The RTX 4070 GDDR6 holds the 25th percentile, slightly lower than the Quadro's 29th. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W2100, scores 4,295, which is 0.9% behind. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 leads the RTX 4070 by 0.6% with 4,360 points. The NVIDIA GeForce 930M scores 4,388, which is 1.2% ahead of the RTX 4070. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M trails by 1.2% with 4,282 points. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is therefore clustered with legacy integrated and mobile GPUs in this particular DX12 workload, a surprising result given its architecture.

The key takeaway from the recorded data is that each GPU wins against specific rivals but loses to others within its own benchmark context. The Quadro 4000 shows a 1.0% advantage over the R7 M360 and a 0.2% edge over the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 shows a 0.9% advantage over the FirePro W2100 and a 1.2% edge over the GTX 460M. Neither card dominates its peer group, and both are within a narrow band of scoring around the 4,300 to 5,000 range.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 has an average benchmark score of 4,979, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 has an average score of 4,335. However, these scores come from different test suites, so they should not be treated as a direct head-to-head comparison.

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

A: The Quadro 4000's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, which scores 4,970, a delta of 0.2% behind the Quadro. The Quadro also leads the AMD Radeon R7 M360 by 1.0%.

Q: What is the RTX 4070 GDDR6's nearest rival in the database?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6's nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W2100, which scores 4,295, placing it 0.9% behind the RTX 4070. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 is 0.6% ahead of the RTX 4070.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The Quadro 4000 ranks at the 29th percentile, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 ranks at the 25th percentile. This indicates the Quadro sits slightly higher in the overall distribution of recorded GPU scores.

Q: Are the benchmark results directly comparable between the two cards?

A: No, they are not directly comparable. The Quadro 4000 was recorded using Geekbench OpenCL, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 was recorded using 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Each card's performance is best understood relative to its own nearest rivals within the same test.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 GDDR6 beat any of its rivals in the recorded data?

A: Yes, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 leads the AMD FirePro W2100 by 0.9% (4,335 vs 4,295) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M by 1.2% (4,335 vs 4,282).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from different eras. The Quadro 4000 uses the GF100 chip based on the Fermi architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses the AD104 chip based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. This represents a significant generational leap in manufacturing technology.

The transistor counts illustrate the scale of change. The Quadro 4000 contains 3,100 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.9 million transistors per mm². The RTX 4070 GDDR6 packs 35,800 million transistors on a smaller 294 mm² die, achieving a density of 121.8 million transistors per mm². The newer card fits over ten times more transistors into roughly half the silicon area.

The shading resources differ drastically. The Quadro 4000 has 256 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 4070 also introduces dedicated hardware that the Quadro lacks entirely: 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. These features enable real-time ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads, capabilities absent from the Fermi architecture.

The memory subsystems are also architecturally distinct. The Quadro 4000 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256 bit bus, delivering 89.86 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192 bit bus, delivering 480.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The newer card has six times the capacity and over five times the bandwidth despite the narrower bus, thanks to faster memory technology.

Specification Differences

The process node differs: the Quadro 4000 is on 40 nm, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is on 5 nm. The transistor density is 5.9 million per mm² for the Quadro versus 121.8 million per mm² for the RTX 4070. The die size is 529 mm² versus 294 mm², with the Quadro being the larger physical die despite containing far fewer transistors.

Clock speeds are only recorded for the RTX 4070 GDDR6, which has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The Quadro 4000 lists no base or boost clock in the database. Memory clock is 702 MHz (2.8 Gbps effective) for the Quadro, while the RTX 4070 runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity is 2 GB for the Quadro versus 12 GB for the RTX 4070. Memory type is GDDR5 versus GDDR6. Bus width is 256 bit versus 192 bit. Bandwidth is 89.86 GB/s versus 480.0 GB/s. The shading unit count jumps from 256 to 5,888, TMUs from 32 to 184, and ROPs from 32 to 64.

The pixel rate is 7.600 GPixel/s for the Quadro versus 158.4 GPixel/s for the RTX 4070. Texture rate is 15.20 GTexel/s versus 455.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 486.4 GFLOPS versus 29.15 TFLOPS. The RTX 4070 also lists FP16 performance at 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Quadro lists no FP16 figure.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The Quadro 4000 has a TDP of 142 W, is single-slot, uses a 1x 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W power supply. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a TDP of 200 W, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 16-pin connector, and suggests a 550 W power supply. The Quadro measures 241 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 20 mm in width. The RTX 4070 measures 240 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

The bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16 for the Quadro versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 4070. Display outputs are 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort for the Quadro, versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 4070. DirectX support is 12 (11_0) for the Quadro versus 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the RTX 4070. OpenGL is 4.6 for both. Vulkan is not listed for the Quadro but is 1.4 for the RTX 4070.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro 4000 wins in the Geekbench OpenCL test among its peer group. It leads the AMD Radeon R7 M360 by 1.0% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB by 0.2%. It also holds a higher overall percentile rank (29th) compared to the RTX 4070's 25th percentile. In terms of physical footprint, the Quadro is a single-slot card, which may fit in chassis configurations where a dual-slot card would not. It also has a lower TDP at 142 W compared to 200 W, and requires only a single 6-pin connector and a 300 W power supply, making it less demanding on system power delivery.

The RTX 4070 GDDR6 wins in raw compute and memory specifications. Its FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS dwarfs the Quadro's 486.4 GFLOPS. Its texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s are far ahead of the Quadro's 15.20 GTexel/s and 7.600 GPixel/s. The RTX 4070 also has 12 GB of memory versus 2 GB, and 480.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus 89.86 GB/s. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the Quadro is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and no listed Vulkan support. The RTX 4070 includes ray tracing and tensor cores, enabling workloads not possible on the Quadro.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 4070 beats the AMD FirePro W2100 by 0.9% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M by 1.2%. It also has a higher boost clock (2475 MHz) and a modern PCIe 4.0 interface, quadrupling the bus bandwidth of the Quadro's PCIe 2.0.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on use case. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 is the better choice for legacy OpenCL workloads where the recorded score of 4,979 places it above its nearest rivals. It is also suitable for systems with strict power and space constraints, given its 142 W TDP, single-slot design, and 300 W power supply recommendation. The Quadro's 2 GB of GDDR5 memory and 89.86 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for older professional applications that predate the RTX 4070's release.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the better choice for modern, feature-rich workloads. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, 480.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 compute make it suited for current 3D rendering, AI inference with tensor cores, and ray-traced graphics with 46 RT cores. The DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support ensure compatibility with the latest APIs. The 1920 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost clocks provide substantial headroom for demanding applications.

Users should select the Quadro 4000 if their software stack is built around OpenCL and they require a low-profile, low-power professional card. Users should select the RTX 4070 GDDR6 if they need maximum compute throughput, modern API support, and the ability to handle high-resolution textures and large datasets. The RTX 4070's 200 W TDP and 550 W power supply requirement indicate a more substantial system, but the performance specifications justify the additional power draw. The recorded benchmark scores, while from different tests, place each card within striking distance of its respective peers, but the architectural advantages of the RTX 4070 are overwhelming in every measurable compute category.