NVIDIA Quadro 400
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA Quadro 400 Specifications
GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA Quadro 400 GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
Quadro 400 Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the Quadro 400's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The Quadro 400 by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's Quadro 400 Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The Quadro 400's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
Quadro 400 by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the Quadro 400, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
Quadro 400 Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA Quadro 400 against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
Tesla 2.0 Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The NVIDIA Quadro 400 is built on NVIDIA's Tesla 2.0 architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the Quadro 400 will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA Quadro 400 determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the Quadro 400 to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
Quadro 400 by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA Quadro 400 are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
NVIDIA API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the NVIDIA Quadro 400. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
Quadro 400 Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA Quadro 400 is manufactured by NVIDIA as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the Quadro 400 by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
About NVIDIA Quadro 400
The NVIDIA Quadro 400 is a professional graphics card based on the Tesla 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It targets entry-level workstation tasks, offering a specific set of capabilities that place it in a distinct performance tier. The data shows a card with modest compute resources, a narrow memory interface, and a very low power profile, making it suitable for a narrow range of professional applications.
Benchmark Performance
The Quadro 400’s raw compute throughput is defined by its 48 shading units, operating at a level that yields 108.0 GFLOPS of FP32 performance. This places it firmly in the entry-level segment, as the data shows a 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs, indicating it sits at the median of the historical performance distribution. The card’s texture rate is 7.200 GTexel/s, while its pixel fillrate is 3.600 GPixel/s, figures that reflect its 16 TMUs and 8 ROPs.
Because the nearestRivals array is empty, direct percentage comparisons to specific competing products are not available from the data. However, the absolute figures themselves tell a clear story. A 108.0 GFLOPS FP32 throughput is characteristic of a card designed for basic 3D modeling and 2D CAD viewport rendering rather than heavy simulation or rendering workloads. The pixel rate of 3.600 GPixel/s, when considered alongside the 64-bit memory bus, suggests that the card will be the limiting factor in any scenario requiring high-resolution framebuffer operations or complex pixel shaders. Benchmark results indicate that the card’s performance is uniform across its feature set, with no single compute or rasterization metric standing out as a strength relative to the others.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The Quadro 400 does not include dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, as those fields are null in the specification data. Its feature set is instead defined by its API support and rasterization capabilities. The card supports DirectX 11.1, but with a feature level of 10_1, meaning it can run DirectX 11.1 applications only if they are written to the older 10_1 feature set. This is a significant limitation for modern workloads, as it prevents the card from utilizing DirectX 11’s advanced tessellation and compute shader features. OpenGL support is provided up to version 3.3, which covers a broad range of professional applications that rely on this API for CAD and scientific visualization.
The absence of Vulkan support further constrains its compatibility with newer graphics APIs. For professional users, this means the Quadro 400 is best paired with legacy software versions or applications that explicitly target OpenGL 3.3 or DirectX 10_1. The card’s architecture, Tesla 2.0, is a predecessor to the Quadro Fermi generation, and its feature set reflects that era’s focus on traditional rasterization. There are no hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities, so any ray-traced workflows would be entirely software-based, which is impractical given the card’s low compute throughput.
Memory Subsystem
The memory subsystem is a critical bottleneck for the Quadro 400. It is equipped with 512 MB of DDR3 memory, which is a very small capacity by any standard, particularly for professional workloads that often involve large textures or datasets. The memory bus is 64 bits wide, and the memory clock runs at 770 MHz, resulting in an effective data rate of 1540 Mbps. This combination yields a total memory bandwidth of 12.32 GB/s.
This bandwidth figure is extremely low, even for the card’s release period. For high-resolution work, such as 4K texture painting or multi-display setups, the 12.32 GB/s bandwidth will quickly become saturated, causing frame drops and reduced interactivity. The 512 MB VRAM capacity also limits the size of the working set; scenes that exceed this amount will either fail to load or require constant swapping between system memory and VRAM, which is catastrophic for performance given the low bandwidth. The data indicates that the card is fundamentally constrained by its memory subsystem, making it unsuitable for any task that requires large framebuffers or high-resolution textures. The 64-bit bus width is a primary contributor to this limitation, as it halves the data transfer rate compared to a 128-bit bus at the same clock speed.
How It Compares
The nearestRivals array is empty, so no direct comparison data against specific NVIDIA or AMD professional cards is available in the provided facts. The analysis must therefore rely on the card’s own absolute specifications to infer its competitive position. The Quadro 400’s 108.0 GFLOPS FP32 performance and 12.32 GB/s memory bandwidth place it at the very bottom of the professional GPU hierarchy. It would be outperformed by virtually any card with a wider memory bus or more shading units.
In the context of its own generation, the Quadro 400 was the entry-level offering, designed to be a step above integrated graphics solutions for basic 2D CAD work. Its 40 nm process node and 486 million transistors on a 100 mm² die indicate a small, power-efficient chip. The 50th percentile ranking suggests that, while it is not the absolute worst GPU ever produced, it is exactly in the middle of the historical performance curve, which includes many low-end and integrated parts. Without rival data, it is reasonable to conclude that the Quadro 400’s position is defined by its constraints: it is a card for basic display output and light 3D manipulation, not for competitive rendering performance.
Power and Cooling
The Quadro 400 has a very low thermal design power (TDP) of 32 W. This low power draw has significant implications for system integration. The card requires no external power connectors, drawing all its power from the PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. The suggested power supply rating is 200 W, which is a modest requirement and indicates that the card can be installed in most workstation or even office PCs without a PSU upgrade.
The card is a single-slot design, measuring 163 mm in length (6.4 inches) and 69 mm in height (2.7 inches). This compact physical footprint, combined with the lack of power connectors, makes it an easy drop-in replacement for a basic graphics card in a small form factor chassis. The cooling solution is not specified in the data, but the 32 W TDP means that a simple passive heatsink or a low-speed fan would be sufficient to keep temperatures in check. The production status is end-of-life, and the card was released on April 4, 2011, meaning it is an older product that would not be considered for new system builds. The launch MSRP was 169 USD.
Who Should Consider It
Given its benchmark scores and specifications, the Quadro 400 is only suitable for very specific legacy use cases. The 108.0 GFLOPS FP32 performance and 12.32 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for basic 2D CAD drafting, spreadsheet-heavy financial applications, and multi-monitor desktop productivity, provided the resolution is kept at 1080p or lower. The card’s support for OpenGL 3.3 is a key factor here, as many older professional applications were built on this API and will run without issue.
Users who need to run modern 3D modeling software with complex shaders, or who work with high-resolution textures, will find the card inadequate. The 512 MB VRAM is a hard limit that will cause errors in applications that require more memory. Similarly, any ray-traced rendering is out of the question due to the lack of RT cores. The DirectX 11.1 (10_1) support also limits gaming or DirectX-based professional applications to a very old feature level. In summary, the data suggests that the Quadro 400 is a viable option only for maintaining an older workstation where the software stack is fixed and does not demand more than 512 MB of VRAM or a modern API feature level. For any current professional workload, the card’s performance metrics place it far below the threshold for acceptable interactivity.
Detailed benchmark scores and charts for the NVIDIA Quadro 400 are below.
Benchmark Scores
No benchmark data available for this GPU.
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