NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 vs NVIDIA Quadro K4000 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 and NVIDIA Quadro K4000 represent two vastly different eras of GPU design. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, is a modern enthusiast-class card, while the Quadro K4000 is a legacy professional workstation part from the Kepler generation. The data shows a complete generational shift in performance, features, and efficiency. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the clear choice for any modern workload, while the Quadro K4000 is only relevant in the context of legacy software validation or historical reference.

The Verdict

Based strictly on benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 is in a different performance class entirely. Its average benchmark score of 6270 places it in the 36th percentile of all GPUs, while the Quadro K4000’s average score of 5982 places it in the 34th percentile. This raw score difference is significant given the age gap between the two products. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's score is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (deltaPct 0%) and AMD FirePro W600 (deltaPct 0.8%), showing it remains competitive even against newer or differently-positioned hardware. The Quadro K4000's performance is similarly clustered with its own rivals, such as the NVIDIA Quadro K4000M (deltaPct -0.1%) and AMD FirePro W4100 (deltaPct -0.1%), indicating its performance level is now entry-level.

The verdict is straightforward for any user. Anyone needing to run modern 3D applications, games, or compute workloads should choose the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. The Quadro K4000, with its lack of modern feature support and significantly lower compute throughput, is only suitable for running very old, specialized professional software that requires a Kepler-based Quadro card. Its single-slot design and lower power draw are its only advantages, but these do not compensate for the massive performance deficit. For all practical purposes, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the only viable option presented here.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by over a decade of architectural evolution and a fundamental shift in manufacturing technology. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the AD102 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process node, packing 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 125.3M / mm². In contrast, the Quadro K4000 uses the GK106 chip on a 28 nm process node, with just 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, giving it a density of 11.5M / mm².

This manufacturing difference leads to a colossal gap in raw compute resources. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER features 8,448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 96 render output units (ROPs). It also includes 66 dedicated ray tracing cores and 264 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features like DLSS. The Quadro K4000 has no such dedicated hardware; it offers only 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER also supports newer API standards, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Quadro K4000 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER uses 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro K4000 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of only 134.8 GB/s. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective), whereas the K4000's is 1404 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective). This architectural gulf explains why the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a pixel rate of 250.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s, dwarfing the K4000's 12.96 GPixel/s and 51.84 GTexel/s.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results show a decisive victory for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, though the comparison is complicated by the fact that the two cards have no overlapping benchmark tests. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's sole benchmark is a single test: 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12, where it scores 6269.5. The Quadro K4000 has no results for that test. Instead, its benchmarks are from the Geekbench suite: geekbench_metal (4166), geekbench_opencl (6816), and geekbench_vulkan (6964).

Despite the lack of a direct head-to-head test, the average benchmark scores provide a comparable metric. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's average score of 6270 is 4.8% higher than the Quadro K4000's average of 5982. This is a meaningful margin, especially considering that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's score comes from a single, demanding DX12 test, while the K4000's average is drawn from three separate tests. The data suggests that in any modern DirectX 12 workload, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER would outperform the K4000 by a wide margin. The K4000's best result, its Vulkan score of 6964, indicates it has some capability in that API, but its legacy hardware limits its absolute performance.

The nearest rival data further contextualizes these scores. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is positioned directly against the RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (deltaPct 0%) and slightly ahead of the AMD FirePro W600 (deltaPct 0.8%). It also trails the AMD Radeon R7 M350 by only 0.9%. This shows the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is a well-balanced performer in its class. The Quadro K4000, on the other hand, is clustered with much older and weaker hardware, such as the Quadro K4000M (deltaPct -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon HD 8750M (deltaPct 0.2%). Its performance is even comparable to the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server (deltaPct -0.2%), which is a surprising data point, but it reinforces that the K4000's performance level is now considered entry-level.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets highlight the generation gap between these two cards. The most obvious difference is in compute power. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Quadro K4000 delivers 1,244.2 GFLOPS (or roughly 1.24 TFLOPS). This is a staggering 35x difference in raw floating-point throughput. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER also has a 1:1 FP16 ratio at 44.10 TFLOPS, while the K4000 has no listed FP16 capability.

Power and physical specifications also differ drastically. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has a TDP of 285 W and requires a 600 W power supply, using a 1x 16-pin connector. It is a triple-slot card, measuring 310 mm in length. The Quadro K4000 is far more modest, with an 80 W TDP and a 250 W suggested PSU, using a 1x 6-pin connector. It is a single-slot card, measuring 241 mm in length. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the K4000 uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the K4000 provides 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2.

The memory capacity and bandwidth are also key differentiators. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X, which is more than five times the capacity of the K4000's 3 GB of GDDR5. The bandwidth advantage is even more pronounced, with the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER offering 672.3 GB/s compared to the K4000's 134.8 GB/s. Finally, the release dates tell the story: the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER was released in June 2024, while the Quadro K4000 was released in February 2013. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's predecessor is the GeForce 30 series, and its successor is the GeForce 50 series. The K4000's predecessor is Quadro Fermi, and its successor is Quadro Maxwell.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 has significantly higher compute performance, delivering 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput compared to the Quadro K4000's 1,244.2 GFLOPS.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER comes with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, while the Quadro K4000 features 3 GB of GDDR5 memory. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER also has a wider 256-bit bus, offering 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth versus the K4000's 192-bit bus and 134.8 GB/s.

Q: Does the Quadro K4000 support ray tracing?

A: No. The Quadro K4000 has no dedicated ray tracing cores, while the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER includes 66 RT cores. The K4000 also lacks tensor cores, which are present on the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has an average benchmark score of 6270, placing it in the 36th percentile of all GPUs. The Quadro K4000 has an average score of 5982, placing it in the 34th percentile.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has a TDP of 285 W and requires a 600 W power supply. The Quadro K4000 has a much lower TDP of 80 W and only requires a 250 W power supply.

Q: Which card is more suitable for modern gaming?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the only suitable option for modern gaming. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and has dedicated RT and tensor cores. The Quadro K4000 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and lacks the hardware features required for contemporary games.