NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits these two workstation cards into completely different performance tiers, and the use-case split is stark. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell wins the only shared benchmark decisively, but the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 has a much broader benchmark footprint in the database. The Quadro RTX 4000 has ten recorded benchmark results spanning DirectX 9 through DirectX 12, OpenCL, Vulkan, and compute workloads. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has only one recorded benchmark result, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This means the database can only directly compare the two on that single test, where the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell wins with a score of 16408 against 1873, a delta of negative 88.6 percent from the Quadro's perspective. In practical terms, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the choice for modern DX12-heavy workloads, while the Quadro RTX 4000 remains relevant for legacy API support and a wider range of synthetic tests. The Quadro RTX 4000's PassMark scores show strength in older APIs: 205 in DirectX 9, 128 in DirectX 11, and 108 in DirectX 10. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has no recorded scores in those tests, so for any workload relying on those APIs, the Quadro is the only one with data supporting its performance. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell also posts a 61st percentile rank versus all GPUs, slightly ahead of the Quadro's 59th percentile, though both sit near the middle of the database distribution. The average benchmark score for the Quadro RTX 4000 is 17789 across its ten tests, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell averages 16408 from its single test, an artifact of the sparse benchmark coverage rather than a reflection of raw capability.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two is generational. The Quadro RTX 4000 uses the TU104 chip on the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell uses the GB202 chip on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. The transistor counts tell the scale difference: 13,600 million for the Quadro versus 92,200 million for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. The die size grows from 545 mm² to 750 mm², and the transistor density jumps from 25.0M per mm² to 122.9M per mm². The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has far more execution resources: 24,064 shading units versus 2,304, 752 texture mapping units versus 144, and 192 ROPs versus 64. Ray tracing cores increase from 36 to 188, and tensor cores grow from 288 to 752. The Quadro RTX 4000 belongs to the Quadro Turing generation, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is part of the Blackwell PRO W generation. The Quadro's predecessor is Quadro Volta and its successor is Workstation Ampere; the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's predecessor is Workstation Ada, and it has no successor listed. The Quadro is end-of-life, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is active in production. The process node difference alone, 12 nm versus 5 nm, explains much of the efficiency and density advantage, though the power envelope also scales accordingly. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Quadro is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the Quadro has 3x DisplayPort 1.4a plus one USB Type-C, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 4x DisplayPort 2.1b. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical at the feature level.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head measurement in the database is the 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 test. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 16408, while the Quadro RTX 4000 scores 1873. The delta from the Quadro's perspective is negative 88.6 percent, meaning the Quadro delivers only about 11.4 percent of the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's performance in this workload. This is not a close contest. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's score is roughly 8.8 times higher than the Quadro's. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 with an average score of 16415 and a delta of 0 percent, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT at 16361 with a delta of 0.3 percent, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M at 16351 with a delta of 0.4 percent. Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 scores 16504, which is 0.6 percent higher than the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, making it a slightly faster neighbor in the database. The Quadro RTX 4000's nearest rivals are much lower in absolute terms: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 averages 17666 with a delta of 0.7 percent, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 averages 17639 with a delta of 0.9 percent, the AMD Radeon 780M averages 17588 with a delta of 1.1 percent, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 averages 17551 with a delta of 1.4 percent. The Quadro's average benchmark score of 17789 puts it in the same neighborhood as those mid-range and integrated parts, which shows that its overall standing in the database is modest. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's average of 16408, despite being lower than the Quadro's average, is based on a single far more demanding test. The percentile ranks confirm the split: the Quadro sits at the 61st percentile, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell at the 59th, but those percentiles are computed against different benchmark sets and do not reflect the head-to-head dominance.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. Memory size is 8 GB for the Quadro versus 96 GB for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. Memory type changes from GDDR6 to GDDR7. Bus width doubles from 256 bit to 512 bit. Bandwidth goes from 416.0 GB/s to 1.79 TB/s, a more than fourfold increase. Clock speeds differ significantly: the Quadro has a base clock of 1005 MHz and a boost of 1545 MHz, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell runs at 1590 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost. Memory clock is 1625 MHz with 13 Gbps effective on the Quadro, versus 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective on the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. The FP32 compute throughput is 7.119 TFLOPS for the Quadro versus 126.0 TFLOPS for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. FP16 performance is 14.24 TFLOPS on the Quadro with a 2:1 ratio, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell delivers 126.0 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, indicating a different design philosophy for mixed-precision work. Pixel rate is 98.88 GPixel/s versus 502.5 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 222.5 GTexel/s versus 1,968.0 GTexel/s. Power draw scales with performance: the Quadro is rated at 160 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested 450 W power supply, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is rated at 600 W with a single 16-pin connector and a suggested 1000 W power supply. Physical dimensions also differ: the Quadro is 241 mm long and 111 mm tall, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The Quadro is single-slot, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is dual-slot. The release dates are far apart: the Quadro launched on 2018-11-12, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell on 2025-03-17. The launch MSRP for the Quadro is 899 USD, and for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell it is 8,565 USD. The bus interface moves from PCIe 3.0 to PCIe 5.0. The Quadro has no listed width dimension, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell specifies 40 mm. The transistor density difference, 25.0M per mm² versus 122.9M per mm², reflects the process node advancement. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell also has a higher boost clock relative to base, suggesting more aggressive power and thermal headroom.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the one benchmark they share?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 16408 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 1873, a delta of negative 88.6 percent from the Quadro's perspective.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus with 416.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 96 GB of GDDR7 on a 512 bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the architecture and process nodes?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 uses the Turing architecture on a 12 nm process with the TU104 chip. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell uses Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm process with the GB202 chip.

Q: Are there any benchmark tests where the Quadro RTX 4000 wins?

A: The database records 0 wins for the Quadro RTX 4000 and 1 win for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell in their shared head-to-head test. The Quadro has additional benchmark scores in older APIs, but no direct comparison exists for those tests.

Q: What is the transistor count difference?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die.

Q: How do their power requirements differ?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 is rated at 160 W with a 1x 8-pin connector and a suggested 450 W power supply. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is rated at 600 W with a 1x 16-pin connector and a suggested 1000 W power supply.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. For any user running modern DX12 workloads, specifically the 3DMark Steel Nomad test, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the only defensible choice. Its score of 16408 versus 1873 is an order-of-magnitude advantage. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell also offers 96 GB of GDDR7 memory, 126.0 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and PCIe 5.0 connectivity, all of which are far beyond the Quadro's capabilities. The Quadro RTX 4000, with 8 GB of GDDR6, 7.119 TFLOPS, and PCIe 3.0, is a legacy part that cannot compete on raw performance. However, the Quadro RTX 4000 has recorded scores across ten benchmark tests, including PassMark DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, and compute workloads, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has only a single recorded benchmark. For users who need to validate performance in older APIs or who rely on the broader benchmark coverage, the Quadro at least has data to support its behavior. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's nearest rivals in the database, such as the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2, show that it sits in a high-performance tier, while the Quadro's rivals, including the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, place it in a much lower tier. The production status confirms the situation: the Quadro is end-of-life, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is active. The verdict is straightforward. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the superior workstation card by every measurable specification and the only one with a competitive head-to-head result. The Quadro RTX 4000 is a discontinued product whose only remaining relevance is its broader legacy API benchmark footprint. Choose the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell for current and future workloads; choose the Quadro RTX 4000 only if the specific older API tests in the database are the ones you need, and even then, the data cannot confirm it wins anything it shares.