NVIDIA Quadro FX 600 PCI

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 600 PCI is a legacy workstation graphics card built around the NV34 chip, belonging to the Rankine architecture and the Quadro FX Rankine generation (x000 series). TSMC fabricated the chip on a 150 nm process, integrating 45 million transistors across a 124 mm² die for a transistor density of 362.9K per square millimeter. Released on 2004-03-16, the card is now end-of-life, succeeding the Quadro4 Celcius line and preceding the Quadro FX Curie generation. The single-slot card measures 165 mm (6.5 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height, with display outputs of 2x DVI and 1x S-Video.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark record for the Quadro FX 600 PCI is sparse but unambiguous. The avgBenchmarkScore is 0, and percentileVsAllGpus is 50. A score of zero, combined with an empty benchmarks array, means the database holds no sampled performance results for this card. The 50th percentile then reads as a neutral placement at the exact middle of the database's GPU ranking rather than a measured victory or defeat over any named competitor. This is a curious data situation: an unmeasured card that nonetheless sits at the median of the entire distribution.

The rendering rates provide the only concrete performance indicators. With 4 texture mapping units and 4 raster operation units, the card reaches a texture rate of 1.080 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 1.080 GPixel/s. The fact that these two figures are identical is structurally interesting: the TMU and ROP stages appear balanced, with neither obviously throttling the other in raw fill-rate terms. The memory clock is 240 MHz, operating at a 480 Mbps effective data rate. No core clock is listed, so shading throughput cannot be computed from the data; the pixel and texture rates are the sole authoritative speed metrics available.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The feature set of the Quadro FX 600 PCI is defined by omissions as much as by inclusions. RT cores and tensor cores are both null in the data, so there is no dedicated hardware for ray tracing or tensor-style compute. Vulkan support is also absent, leaving the card's API surface as DirectX 9.0a and OpenGL. The OpenGL entry lists version 1.5 as fully supported and version 2.0 as partially supported. That partial designation is a compatibility concern for software that assumes complete OpenGL 2.0 functionality.

The shadingUnits field is null, so the number of shading units is unspecified in the record. On the display side, the card offers 2x DVI and 1x S-Video, enabling dual digital outputs plus one analog output. For a 2004-era workstation, this output set was practical for multi-monitor layouts. The absence of RT and tensor cores, together with the partial OpenGL 2.0 implementation, clearly marks this as a fixed-function-generation product with no modern ray tracing or AI acceleration capabilities.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals array is empty. This is a significant finding: the database lists no direct competitor cards for the Quadro FX 600 PCI, and therefore no deltaPct values exist to quote. Without named rivals, the only comparative metric is percentileVsAllGpus, which is 50 — the median. Being at percentile 50 means the card ranks at the middle of all GPUs in the database, though the zero benchmark score suggests this rank is not grounded in measured samples.

Because no rivals are listed, a rival-by-rival breakdown is impossible from the FACT PACK. The predecessor Quadro4 Celcius and successor Quadro FX Curie bracket the card in the product line, but no benchmark scores are provided for either. The empty nearestRivals field leaves the Quadro FX 600 PCI without a direct quantitative peer group. What remains are its structural specifications — 4 TMUs, 4 ROPs, 128 MB DDR, 128-bit bus, 7.680 GB/s bandwidth, and a 200 W suggested PSU — as the objective basis for any comparison a reader wishes to perform.

Who Should Consider It

The Quadro FX 600 PCI is for systems that need a true PCI graphics card from the 2004 generation. The 128 MB memory capacity sets a firm ceiling: applications with large framebuffers or high-resolution textures will quickly exhaust the pool, since 128 MB is the entire local store. The 7.680 GB/s bandwidth means texture uploads and framebuffer copies are limited to roughly that transfer rate. The 1.080 GPixel/s and 1.080 GTexel/s rates cap fill-rate-bound workloads at those levels.

For software written to DirectX 9.0a, the API coverage is exact. For OpenGL, the full 1.5 implementation is usable, but the partial 2.0 support needs verification against each application's requirements. Because there are no nearest rivals and no benchmark scores, the data cannot justify a recommendation for specific resolution or quality settings. Instead, the card suits legacy compatibility duties, dual-DVI desktop work, or S-Video output tasks. Users expecting ray tracing, tensor compute, or Vulkan should look elsewhere, as those features are absent from the record.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem pairs 128 MB of DDR memory with a 128-bit bus. The memory clock is 240 MHz, and the effective data rate is 480 Mbps; those figures produce the stated 7.680 GB/s of bandwidth. The coherence among these numbers is reassuring: the 128-bit bus, the 480 Mbps effective rate, and the 7.680 GB/s bandwidth all align as a single internally consistent memory equation.

The practical consequence of 7.680 GB/s is constrained by the small 128 MB pool. Bandwidth determines how fast data can travel to and from the framebuffer, while capacity determines how much data can reside there at once. Higher display resolutions demand larger framebuffers, which consume a meaningful share of the 128 MB. The DDR type, the 240 MHz clock, and the 128-bit width together point to a memory design that was moderate for its release year. No memory-related expansion options are listed, so the 128 MB figure is final.

Power and Cooling

The power characteristics of the Quadro FX 600 PCI are only partially documented. No TDP value is listed, so the card's own dissipation cannot be stated. The one power figure in the record is the suggested PSU rating of 200 W, which is a system-level number rather than a card-level measurement. No power connectors are specified in the data, and the card is described as single-slot.

The physical dimensions for installation are 165 mm (6.5 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height. These numbers matter for chassis clearance and slot spacing. The single-slot design, the absence of listed power connectors, and the modest 200 W suggested PSU collectively indicate a low-power part, though without a TDP number the exact thermal output remains unspecified. Builders should treat the 200 W figure as the power supply requirement for a system using this card.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the Quadro FX 600 PCI?

A: The average benchmark score is 0, and its percentile among all GPUs is 50.

Q: Does it support ray tracing?

A: No. RT cores and tensor cores are both null in the data, so there is no dedicated ray tracing or tensor compute hardware.

Q: Which APIs are supported?

A: The card supports DirectX 9.0a, OpenGL 1.5 (full), and OpenGL 2.0 (partial). Vulkan is absent from the record.

Q: How much memory does it have, and what is the bandwidth?

A: It has 128 MB of DDR memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 7.680 GB/s. The memory clock is 240 MHz with a 480 Mbps effective data rate.

Q: What power supply is suggested?

A: The suggested PSU is 200 W. No TDP is listed, and no power connectors are specified.

Q: What display outputs are included?

A: The card includes 2x DVI outputs and 1x S-Video output.