NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 vs NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly along generational lines. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 wins every recorded head-to-head test, and the margin is not close. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 against the Quadro M6000 24 GB's 40,098, a 537% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4090 posts 271,631 versus 46,425, a 485.1% lead. That is not a contest; that is a different performance class.

The Quadro M6000 24 GB has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its strengths are architectural and historical, not competitive against a card released six years later. It belongs to the Maxwell 2.0 generation, and its only recorded results are those two Geekbench tests. The RTX 4090, by contrast, has ten recorded benchmark entries spanning DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, 3DMark Steel Nomad, Passmark G2D, G3D, and GPU compute.

For specific workloads, the RTX 4090 dominates compute-heavy APIs. Its OpenCL score is more than six times higher than the Quadro's, and its Vulkan score is more than five times higher. The RTX 4090 also holds a Passmark G3D score of 38,194 and a GPU compute score of 26,613, while the Quadro has no comparable entries in those tests. The Quadro's only relevance is as a legacy reference point, not as a current competitor.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are separated by more than a decade of GPU design philosophy. The RTX 4090 uses the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 125.3 million per square millimeter. The Quadro M6000 24 GB uses the GM200 chip on TSMC's 28 nm process, with 8,000 million transistors on a 601 mm² die, a density of 13.3 million per square millimeter.

The RTX 4090 is built on Ada Lovelace architecture, which includes dedicated hardware the Quadro simply lacks. The RTX 4090 has 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The Quadro M6000 24 GB has neither, as Maxwell 2.0 predates both technologies. The RTX 4090 also features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The Quadro has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

Memory architecture differs as well. Both cards have 24 GB and a 384-bit bus, but the RTX 4090 uses GDDR6X at 21 Gbps effective, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro uses GDDR5 at 6.6 Gbps effective, capping at 317.4 GB/s. The RTX 4090's memory clock is listed at 1,313 MHz, while the Quadro's is 1,653 MHz, but effective throughput tells the real story.

The RTX 4090 supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Quadro is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 4090 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Quadro only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 4090 adds ray tracing and tensor acceleration capabilities that the Quadro cannot match at the hardware level.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only shared benchmark results are two Geekbench tests, and both show overwhelming RTX 4090 superiority. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 against the Quadro's 40,098, a 537% delta. That means the RTX 4090 delivers roughly 6.4 times the OpenCL performance of the Quadro M6000 24 GB.

Geekbench Vulkan tells a similar story. The RTX 4090 scores 271,631, while the Quadro manages 46,425, a 485.1% delta. The RTX 4090 is about 5.9 times faster in Vulkan compute. These are not marginal generational gains; they represent a fundamental leap in compute throughput.

The RTX 4090's additional benchmark results provide context for its overall position. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 9,223. Its Passmark G3D score is 38,194, and its Passmark GPU compute score is 26,613. The Quadro has no recorded scores in these tests, so the database cannot compute a direct comparison. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 60,347, while the Quadro's is 43,262, a 39.5% gap in the database's aggregate metric.

The RTX 4090 also holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs: 88th percentile versus the Quadro's 83rd. That gap is smaller than the raw benchmark deltas suggest, but it reflects the database's full GPU population, not just these two cards. The RTX 4090's nearest rivals in the database are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (average score 60,326, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, delta 0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, delta -2.5%), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657, delta 2.9%). The Quadro's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, delta 0%), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (43,223, delta 0.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667, delta -0.9%).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every measurable specification. Process node: 5 nm versus 28 nm. Transistor count: 76,300 million versus 8,000 million. Die size: 609 mm² versus 601 mm². Transistor density: 125.3M per mm² versus 13.3M per mm².

Clock speeds: the RTX 4090 has a base clock of 2,235 MHz and a boost clock of 2,520 MHz. The Quadro runs at 988 MHz base and 1,114 MHz boost. Memory: GDDR6X versus GDDR5, with effective speeds of 21 Gbps versus 6.6 Gbps. Bandwidth: 1.01 TB/s versus 317.4 GB/s.

Compute resources: the RTX 4090 has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The Quadro has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 4090 adds 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores; the Quadro has none. FP32 throughput: 82.58 TFLOPS versus 6.844 TFLOPS. FP16: the RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS (1:1); the Quadro has no recorded FP16 capability.

Power and physical dimensions: the RTX 4090 has a 450 W TDP and requires a triple-slot cooler with a 1x 16-pin connector and an 850 W suggested PSU. The Quadro has a 250 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, a 1x 8-pin connector, and a 600 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The Quadro is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall, with no recorded width.

Display outputs: the RTX 4090 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Quadro offers 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 4090 uses PCIe 4.0 x16; the Quadro uses PCIe 3.0 x16. DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1). OpenGL and Vulkan support match at 4.6 and 1.4, respectively. The RTX 4090's launch MSRP was 1,599 USD; the Quadro's was 4,999 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The RTX 4090 scores 255,416 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Quadro M6000 24 GB scores 40,098. That is a 537% advantage for the RTX 4090.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 24 GB, but the memory type and bandwidth differ. The RTX 4090 uses GDDR6X with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, while the Quadro uses GDDR5 with 317.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Quadro M6000 support ray tracing?

A: No. The Quadro M6000 24 GB has no ray tracing cores. The RTX 4090 has 128 RT cores.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RTX 4090 packs 125.3 million transistors per square millimeter on a 5 nm process. The Quadro M6000 24 GB has 13.3 million per square millimeter on a 28 nm process.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347, while the Quadro M6000 24 GB averages 43,262. The RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, the Quadro in the 83rd.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4090 has 16,384 shading units. The Quadro M6000 24 GB has 3,072.

The Verdict

The data leaves no ambiguity. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the clear choice for any workload that appears in the recorded benchmarks. Its OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 537% and 485.1% higher, respectively, than the Quadro M6000 24 GB. Its FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS dwarfs the Quadro's 6.844 TFLOPS. Its memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is more than three times the Quadro's 317.4 GB/s.

The Quadro M6000 24 GB is a legacy product from 2016, built on Maxwell 2.0 with no ray tracing, no tensor cores, and no FP16 support. Its only advantage is historical: it was a professional card with a 4,999 USD launch MSRP, and it still holds 24 GB of memory. But in the database's recorded metrics, it cannot compete with the RTX 4090 on any test.

For modern compute, gaming, or professional workloads that use DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan, or OpenCL, the RTX 4090 is the only rational pick. Its 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs versus the Quadro's 83rd confirms the gap. The Quadro M6000 24 GB remains relevant only as a point of comparison for older Maxwell-era software or legacy driver requirements. If the workload fits either card, the RTX 4090 wins every recorded benchmark by a factor of five or more.