NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs NVIDIA Quadro M5000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in every shared test. The database includes two head-to-head comparisons, and the RTX 4070 wins both by a wide margin.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 scores 154,858 points, while the Quadro M5000 manages only 29,481 points. That is a delta of 425.3% in favor of the RTX 4070. To put that in perspective, the RTX 4070 delivers more than five times the raw compute throughput in this test. The gap is so large that it redefines the comparison: this is not a close generational fight, it is a completely different performance class.

Geekbench Vulkan tells the same story. The RTX 4070 posts 174,152 points versus 32,931 points for the Quadro M5000, a delta of 428.8%. Again, the RTX 4070 is roughly five times faster. Vulkan is a modern low-level API, and the RTX 4070's architecture is built to exploit it fully, while the Maxwell-based Quadro predates many of the optimizations that make Vulkan sing on contemporary hardware.

Looking at the broader database averages, the RTX 4070 sits at 37,648 average benchmark score, which places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs tracked. The Quadro M5000 averages 31,206, good for the 76th percentile. The raw delta between their average scores is about 20.6% in favor of the RTX 4070, though that figure smooths over the much larger gaps seen in the individual compute tests. The nearest rivals for the RTX 4070 include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (delta 0.1%), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (delta 0.4%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (delta -1.3%). For the Quadro M5000, the closest competitors are the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (delta 0%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (delta 0.4%), and NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (delta -1%). These rival relationships confirm that the RTX 4070 competes in a modern high-end tier, while the Quadro M5000 sits among older and lower-performing workstation parts.

The RTX 4070 also has a much larger benchmark portfolio in the database. It records scores across 10 tests, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (3,854), Passmark DirectX 10 (139), DirectX 11 (244), DirectX 12 (103), DirectX 9 (320), G2D (1,164), G3D (26,927), and GPU Compute (14,720). The Quadro M5000 only has two recorded tests, both of which are the Geekbench entries listed above. That asymmetry matters: the RTX 4070 demonstrates consistent strength across legacy DirectX paths and modern compute workloads, while the Quadro M5000's database footprint is too thin to assess its behavior in those same scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous, and it explains almost every benchmark outcome.

The RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The Quadro M5000 uses the GM204 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, for a transistor density of just 13.1 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4070 has nearly 7 times the transistor count and almost 9.3 times the transistor density, all in a smaller physical package.

Clock speeds follow the same pattern. The RTX 4070 runs at a base clock of 1920 MHz with a boost of 2475 MHz. The Quadro M5000 sits at 861 MHz base and 1038 MHz boost. That is a 123% higher base clock and a 138% higher boost clock for the RTX 4070. Memory clocks are also far apart: the RTX 4070's memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, while the Quadro M5000's memory runs at 1653 MHz with 6.6 Gbps effective.

The RTX 4070 ships with 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro M5000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 256-bit bus, but only reaches 211.6 GB/s. The narrower bus is more than compensated by the much faster GDDR6X memory, giving the RTX 4070 roughly 2.4 times the memory bandwidth.

Compute resources diverge sharply. The RTX 4070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. The Quadro M5000 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no RT cores and no tensor cores. The pixel rate for the RTX 4070 is 158.4 GPixel/s versus 66.43 GPixel/s for the Quadro. Texture rate is 455.4 GTexel/s versus 132.9 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 29.15 TFLOPS for the RTX 4070 versus 4.252 TFLOPS for the Quadro, a 6.9 times advantage. The RTX 4070 also supports FP16 at 29.15 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the Quadro M5000 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Feature support is another differentiator. The RTX 4070 has DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Quadro M5000 has DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12_2 feature level unlocks hardware ray tracing, mesh shaders, and variable rate shading, none of which are available on the Maxwell part.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RTX 4070 has a 200 W TDP with a single 16-pin power connector and a suggested 550 W PSU. The Quadro M5000 has a 150 W TDP with a single 6-pin connector and a suggested 450 W PSU. The RTX 4070 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Quadro M5000 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are modern on the RTX 4070: one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a. The Quadro M5000 offers one DVI and four DisplayPort 1.2.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 wins every recorded benchmark category. There is no test in the database where the Quadro M5000 comes out ahead.

For compute-heavy workloads, the RTX 4070 is the clear choice. The Geekbench OpenCL result of 154,858 versus 29,481 shows a 425.3% advantage, which matters for GPU-accelerated rendering, physics simulation, and machine learning inference. The tensor cores give it a hardware path for AI workloads that the Quadro M5000 simply lacks. The 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute also makes it suitable for scientific computing and video processing, where raw floating-point throughput is the bottleneck.

For gaming and DirectX workloads, the RTX 4070 dominates. It has recorded Passmark scores across DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, with its strongest legacy result in DirectX 9 (320) and its weakest in DirectX 12 (103). The Quadro M5000 has no recorded DirectX benchmark scores in the database, so no direct comparison is possible, but the architectural evidence is clear: the RTX 4070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the Quadro M5000 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Hardware ray tracing, enabled by the 46 RT cores, is exclusive to the RTX 4070.

The Quadro M5000 does have one practical advantage: power draw. At 150 W TDP with a 450 W suggested PSU, it requires less power than the RTX 4070's 200 W TDP and 550 W PSU. In a workstation with limited power delivery or a dense multi-GPU configuration, that lower draw could be relevant. However, that benefit comes with a massive performance penalty, and the database shows no benchmark where the Quadro's efficiency translates into a win.

The Quadro M5000 also has a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 192-bit), but the GDDR5 memory at 211.6 GB/s is far slower than the RTX 4070's GDDR6X at 504.2 GB/s. The wider bus does not translate into a bandwidth advantage.

The Verdict

The data supports one conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the superior GPU in every measurable way.

For anyone choosing between these two cards, the RTX 4070 offers roughly 5 times the compute performance in both OpenCL and Vulkan, a 6.9 times advantage in FP32 throughput, 2.4 times the memory bandwidth, and support for modern features like hardware ray tracing and tensor cores. It also has 4 GB more VRAM (12 GB versus 8 GB), a newer PCIe interface (4.0 versus 3.0), and a smaller die with far higher transistor density. Its launch MSRP was 599 USD, and it is end-of-life, but it remains a capable modern GPU.

The Quadro M5000 is an older workstation card from 2015, built on Maxwell 2.0. Its only advantages are a lower TDP (150 W versus 200 W), a lower suggested PSU (450 W versus 550 W), and a single 6-pin power connector instead of a 16-pin. For a builder with a very old power supply or strict power limits, those differences might matter. But the performance gap is so large that the RTX 4070 is the only rational choice for any workload that values throughput, modern API support, or compute capability.

The Quadro M5000's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, which places it in a strange spot: it is comparable to a virtualized workstation GPU and a much newer consumer card. The RTX 4070, by contrast, sits among the Tesla P4 and Radeon RX Vega 56, both of which are also older parts, but the RTX 4070 edges them out in average score. The 81st percentile ranking for the RTX 4070 versus the 76th percentile for the Quadro M5000 reinforces the hierarchy.

Pick the RTX 4070 if you need performance, modern features, or compute capability. Pick the Quadro M5000 only if you have an explicit constraint on power draw or an existing system that cannot accommodate a 200 W card with a 16-pin connector.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 scores 154,858 points, which is 425.3% higher than the Quadro M5000's 29,481 points.

Q: Does the Quadro M5000 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The Quadro M5000 has no RT cores, while the RTX 4070 has 46 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card have?

A: The RTX 4070 has 504.2 GB/s from 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus. The Quadro M5000 has 211.6 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the FP32 compute difference?

A: The RTX 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS, while the Quadro M5000 delivers 4.252 TFLOPS, a 6.9 times advantage for the RTX 4070.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4070 has 5,888 shading units, compared to 2,048 for the Quadro M5000.

Q: What power connector does each card use?

A: The RTX 4070 uses a single 16-pin connector with a 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU. The Quadro M5000 uses a single 6-pin connector with a 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | NVIDIA Quadro M5000 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 35,800 million | 5,200 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 398 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.8M / mm² | 13.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1920 MHz | 861 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2475 MHz | 1038 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 504.2 GB/s | 211.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 5888 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 184 | 128 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 46 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 184 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 158.4 GPixel/s | 66.43 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 455.4 GTexel/s | 132.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 29.15 TFLOPS | 4.252 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1) | Not recorded |

| TDP | 200 W | 150 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x DVI, 4x DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.4 |

| Length | 240 mm (9.4 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Height | 110 mm (4.3 inches) | 111 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Width | 40 mm (1.6 inches) | Not recorded |

| Release Date | 2023-04-11 | 2015-06-28 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Predecessor | GeForce 30 | Quadro Kepler |

| Successor | GeForce 50 | Quadro Pascal |

| Launch MSRP | 599 USD | Not recorded |