NVIDIA Quadro K1100M

The NVIDIA Quadro K1100M is a mobile professional graphics solution built on the Kepler architecture, featuring 384 shading units and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its average benchmark score of 2678 places it in the 16th percentile of all GPUs, indicating entry-level performance suited for legacy workloads rather than modern high-end tasks. The data positions this part as a modest performer, with its nearest rivals all clustered within a narrow performance band.

How It Compares

The closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 645M, which scores 2665 on average. The Quadro K1100M leads by a marginal 0.5% delta, a difference that falls well within run-to-run variance for synthetic benchmarks. In practical terms, these two parts are functionally interchangeable, with neither offering a meaningful advantage in compute or graphics throughput.

Against the NVIDIA GeForce GT 440, the Quadro K1100M posts a 1.9% higher average score (2678 vs. 2629). This lead is small but consistent, and the K1100M’s Kepler architecture provides access to newer instruction sets and driver optimizations compared to the older Fermi-based GT 440. Still, the gap is too narrow to translate into perceptible real-world performance differences.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M trails by 2.2%, with an average score of 2621. The K1100M’s advantage here is slightly more pronounced, driven by its higher memory bandwidth (44.80 GB/s) and greater shading unit count (384 vs. the GT 720M’s more limited configuration). However, both parts are firmly in the same performance tier, and neither will satisfy demanding 3D applications.

The only rival that beats the K1100M is the Intel UHD Graphics 610, which scores 2755. That represents a 2.8% deficit for the Quadro part. This is notable because the Intel solution is an integrated graphics processor, yet it outpaces the discrete K1100M in aggregate benchmark results. The data suggests the K1100M’s age and 28 nm process node (from TSMC) have left it vulnerable to even modern iGPUs in compute-oriented workloads.

Power and Cooling

The Quadro K1100M carries a thermal design power (TDP) of 45 W, a modest figure that reflects its small die size of 118 mm² and 1,270 million transistors. This power envelope is low enough for implementation as an MXM Module, and the board uses no external power connectors, drawing all required power from the MXM-A (3.0) bus interface. No specific PSU recommendation is provided in the data, but the absence of auxiliary power connectors indicates that system power supply requirements are minimal, typical for a notebook-class component.

Cooling requirements are similarly light. The 45 W TDP means a basic thermal solution, such as a small heat pipe assembly or a low-profile fan, is sufficient to maintain operational temperatures. The pixel rate of 5.648 GPixel/s and texture rate of 22.59 GTexel/s are consistent with a part that generates limited heat under sustained load. The memory runs at 700 MHz with an effective data rate of 2.8 Gbps, contributing to the 44.80 GB/s bandwidth, all of which fits within the modest power budget.

Benchmark Performance

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Quadro K1100M scores 3060, which is its strongest result among the three available benchmarks. This indicates that the 384 shading units and 32 texture mapping units can sustain compute workloads reasonably well compared to its peer group. The Vulkan score of 2953 is slightly lower, while the Metal score of 2021 is the weakest, showing a notable drop in Apple’s Metal API on this older Kepler part.

The aggregate average of 2678 places the K1100M just 0.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 645M (2665) and 1.9% ahead of the GeForce GT 440 (2629). These are negligible margins. Against the GeForce GT 720M, the lead extends to 2.2% (2621), still a minor gap. The single loss comes against the Intel UHD Graphics 610, which beats the K1100M by 2.8% (2755 vs. 2678). The data shows that the K1100M is not faster than its integrated rival in aggregate, a telling sign of its end-of-life status and the rapid advancement of even entry-level graphics.

FP32 performance is listed at 542.2 GFLOPS, which is a modest figure for a 2013-era part. This translates directly into the benchmark deltas observed: the K1100M cannot decisively outrun any of its nearest rivals, and its 16th percentile standing confirms that it sits among the bottom tier of all GPUs in the database. The 2 GB GDDR5 frame buffer and 128-bit bus are adequate for low-resolution textures but limit performance at higher settings.

Who Should Consider It

Given the benchmark data, the Quadro K1100M is only suitable for legacy applications or very light 3D workloads. For users running older CAD software or basic productivity tasks at 720p or 1080p with low detail settings, the 2 GB memory and 44.80 GB/s bandwidth may suffice. The 5.648 GPixel/s fill rate is enough for simple 2D compositing or video playback, but modern games or GPU-accelerated rendering will quickly exceed its capabilities.

At 1080p with medium settings, the K1100M will struggle to maintain playable framerates in anything beyond esports titles from its era. The 0.5–2.2% margins over its discrete rivals offer no practical headroom, so users should not expect a meaningful advantage over a GeForce GT 645M or GT 720M. Conversely, the 2.8% deficit against the Intel UHD Graphics 610 means that modern systems with that iGPU will outperform this dedicated card in many compute-oriented tasks, making the K1100M a poor choice for new builds.

The data suggests that this card is best limited to systems requiring a specific MXM-A (3.0) form factor where no other GPU is available. For any workload that relies on modern APIs or higher resolutions, the K1100M’s 16th percentile rank is a clear warning. Users should consider it only for compatibility purposes, not for performance-driven applications.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Quadro K1100M has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, as these features were not part of the Kepler architecture. The chip, GK107, relies on its 384 shading units for all compute tasks. Consequently, any ray-traced workloads are unsupported at the hardware level, and the card will fall back to rasterization only. The FP32 throughput of 542.2 GFLOPS is insufficient for software-based ray tracing, so this GPU is not viable for modern DXR or OptiX applications.

API support is limited by the hardware generation. DirectX 12 is listed as 12 (11_0), meaning the card supports the DirectX 11 feature level only, not the full DirectX 12 feature set. This restricts compatibility with many modern titles that require DirectX 12 Ultimate features. OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.175 are supported, which allows for some modern cross-platform workloads, but the underlying hardware limits performance. The Vulkan benchmark score of 2953 confirms that the card can execute Vulkan commands, yet the aggregate results show it remains near the bottom of the performance distribution.

Display output is noted as portable device dependent, which means the connectivity options vary by laptop implementation. No specific ports are guaranteed. The production status is end-of-life, and the release date of July 22, 2013, places it in the Fermi-M’s successor line, with the Maxwell-M as its successor. The absence of launch MSRP data further underscores that this is a legacy part with no current market presence. For any modern feature set requirements, including ray tracing or advanced AI acceleration, the K1100M offers no path forward.