NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D vs NVIDIA Quadro GP100 Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D are separated by nearly a decade of architecture evolution, and the benchmark data reflects a complete generational shift. The RTX 5090 D is the clear performance victor, delivering a 3.6x higher OpenCL score, but the Quadro GP100 remains a relevant data point for its specific workstation legacy. The verdict is straightforward: the RTX 5090 D is the superior choice for any modern workload, while the GP100 is an end-of-life product whose only claim to relevance is its historical context.

The Verdict

The data decisively favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D. In the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 D scores 310,674 against the Quadro GP100’s 87,445, a delta of -71.9% for the older card. This is not a close contest; it is a generational wipeout. The RTX 5090 D is the only logical pick for anyone building a new system or upgrading from the Pascal era. The Quadro GP100, with its 93rd percentile ranking, is competitive against its own contemporaries like the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (0.4% ahead) and NVIDIA RTX A4500 (4.6% behind), but it cannot compete with the Blackwell architecture. The RTX 5090 D, despite its lower 92nd percentile ranking, offers 170 RT cores, 680 Tensor cores, and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory—features the GP100 lacks entirely. The Quadro GP100 is a historical artifact for compatibility with legacy PCIe 3.0 systems; the RTX 5090 D is the future-proof investment.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent opposite ends of NVIDIA’s design philosophy. The Quadro GP100 uses the Pascal architecture on a 16 nm TSMC process, packing 15,300 million transistors into a 610 mm² die with a transistor density of 25.1M per mm². The RTX 5090 D uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, fitting 92,200 million transistors into a 750 mm² die with a density of 122.9M per mm²—a 4.9x increase in density. The GP100 is built on a 4096-bit HBM2 memory bus with 16 GB of memory and 732.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5090 D uses a 512-bit GDDR7 interface with 32 GB of memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, more than doubling the throughput. The GP100 has no RT cores and no Tensor cores, relying on 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 5090 D has 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 Tensor cores. The FP32 compute figures tell the story: the GP100 delivers 10.34 TFLOPS, while the RTX 5090 D delivers 104.8 TFLOPS—a 10x increase. The GP100’s FP16 performance is 20.69 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the RTX 5090 D achieves 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), meaning the newer card does not sacrifice precision for speed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a landslide. The RTX 5090 D scores 310,674, while the Quadro GP100 scores 87,445. The delta is -71.9% for the GP100, meaning the RTX 5090 D is approximately 3.55x faster. This single data point is corroborated by the broader specification gap. The RTX 5090 D also has additional benchmark results that the GP100 lacks entirely, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326, a Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915, and a Passmark G3D score of 44,065. The GP100 has no DirectX 12 Ultimate support, while the RTX 5090 D lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) as its API. The RTX 5090 D’s Passmark GPU Compute score of 28,396 further emphasizes its compute dominance. The GP100’s sole benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, places it in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, but that percentile is based on a single score from 2016. The RTX 5090 D’s 92nd percentile is derived from ten benchmarks, making its average score of 77,712 lower than the GP100’s 87,445 due to the inclusion of older DirectX 9 and 10 tests (scores of 434 and 231, respectively) that drag down the average.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 1.79 TB/s bandwidth with GDDR7 memory, while the Quadro GP100 has 732.2 GB/s with HBM2. The RTX 5090 D provides more than double the bandwidth.

Q: Does the Quadro GP100 support ray tracing?

A: No. The GP100 has no RT cores listed in its specifications. The RTX 5090 D includes 170 RT cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RTX 5090 D has a transistor density of 122.9M per mm² on a 5 nm process, versus the GP100’s 25.1M per mm² on a 16 nm process. That is a 4.9x improvement in density.

Q: How do their FP32 compute performances compare?

A: The RTX 5090 D delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32, while the Quadro GP100 delivers 10.34 TFLOPS. The newer card is 10x faster in single-precision compute.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RTX 5090 D has a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s, whereas the Quadro GP100 achieves 138.5 GPixel/s. The RTX 5090 D is over 3x faster in this metric.

Q: What is the power connector requirement?

A: The Quadro GP100 uses a single 8-pin connector and suggests a 550 W PSU. The RTX 5090 D uses a single 16-pin connector and suggests a 950 W PSU.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 D wins in every measurable category from the data. It dominates in compute with 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16, compared to the GP100’s 10.34 TFLOPS FP32 and 20.69 TFLOPS FP16. It wins in memory size (32 GB vs 16 GB), memory type (GDDR7 vs HBM2), and bandwidth (1.79 TB/s vs 732.2 GB/s). It has dedicated RT cores (170) and Tensor cores (680), which the GP100 lacks entirely. The RTX 5090 D supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the GP100 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The newer card also supports newer APIs, including DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and a higher OpenGL version (4.6 for both, but Vulkan is 1.4 vs 1.3). The RTX 5090 D’s texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 323.2 GTexel/s, and its pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s versus 138.5 GPixel/s. The Quadro GP100’s only "win" is its lower power draw at 235 W versus 575 W, and its smaller physical footprint (267 mm length vs 304 mm). The GP100 also has a DVI output alongside four DisplayPort 1.4a connectors, while the RTX 5090 D offers one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. For any modern workload—ray tracing, AI inference, high-resolution gaming, or compute—the RTX 5090 D is the definitive choice. The GP100 is only relevant for legacy applications requiring its specific HBM2 architecture or Pascal-era driver support.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro GP100 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D |

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

| Architecture | Pascal | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 15,300 million | 92,200 million |

| Die Size | 610 mm² | 750 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 122.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1304 MHz | 2017 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1443 MHz | 2407 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective) | 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 32 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 512 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 732.2 GB/s | 1.79 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 21760 |

| TMUs | 224 | 680 |

| ROPs | 96 | 176 |

| RT Cores | None | 170 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 680 |

| Pixel Rate | 138.5 GPixel/s | 423.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 323.2 GTexel/s | 1,636.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 10.34 TFLOPS | 104.8 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 20.69 TFLOPS (2:1) | 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 235 W | 575 W |

| Power Connector | 1x 8-pin | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 950 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

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

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 304 mm (12 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 137 mm (5.4 inches) |

| Width | N/A | 48 mm (1.9 inches) |

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

| Release Date | 2016-09-30 | 2025-01-29 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Maxwell | GeForce 40 |

| Successor | Quadro Volta | GeForce 60 |

| Launch MSRP | N/A | 2,299 USD |