NVIDIA Quadro M5000

The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 is a professional graphics card built on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, with a transistor density of 13.1M per mm². The card runs at a base clock of 861 MHz and a boost clock of 1038 MHz, while its memory operates at 1653 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective). It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, delivering a pixel rate of 66.43 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 132.9 GTexel/s. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, the M5000 achieves a bandwidth of 211.6 GB/s. Its average benchmark score is 31142, placing it in the 75th percentile of all GPUs. The card is end-of-life, with its predecessor being Quadro Kepler and its successor Quadro Pascal.

Power and Cooling

The Quadro M5000 has a TDP of 150 W. NVIDIA recommends a 450 W power supply for systems using this card. Power is delivered through a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. The card occupies a dual-slot form factor, with a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches) and a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches). The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16. These specifications indicate a modest power requirement for a professional GPU. The 150 W TDP is managed by a dual-slot cooler, which is sufficient for the thermal load. The 450 W PSU recommendation provides headroom for the rest of the system, including the CPU and peripherals. The single 6-pin connector simplifies installation, as it does not require multiple high-wattage cables. The card's end-of-life status means it is no longer produced, but its power characteristics remain relevant for legacy workstations. The 28 nm process node and 5,200 million transistor count are consistent with the 150 W TDP. The base and boost clocks of 861 MHz and 1038 MHz, respectively, are set within this power envelope. The pixel rate of 66.43 GPixel/s and texture rate of 132.9 GTexel/s are achieved while staying within the 150 W limit. For users upgrading from older Quadro Kepler cards, the M5000 offers a similar power footprint.

Who Should Consider It

Given the Quadro M5000's benchmark scores—Geekbench OpenCL 29365, Geekbench Vulkan 32919, and an average of 31142—the card sits in the 75th percentile of all GPUs. This means it outperforms three-quarters of the GPUs in the database. The memory subsystem, with 8 GB of GDDR5 and 211.6 GB/s bandwidth, suggests it can handle large textures and high-resolution framebuffers. For workloads that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, the M5000 provides solid performance. The Vulkan score of 32919 is higher than the OpenCL score of 29365, indicating that the architecture is particularly efficient under the Vulkan API. Users targeting high-resolution rendering or multi-monitor setups may benefit from the 8 GB VRAM, though the card's performance relative to its nearest rivals is closely clustered. The data shows that the M5000 is best suited for professional applications that require certified drivers and stable rendering, rather than gaming, given its Quadro lineage. The 75th percentile ranking means it is not a top-tier card but is above average. The card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, covering a wide range of modern APIs. For users with power constraints, the 150 W TDP and 450 W PSU requirement are manageable. The 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs provide compute capability for tasks such as simulation and rendering. The FP32 performance of 4.252 TFLOPS is a key metric for professional workloads. The card's 8 GB memory capacity is particularly valuable for large datasets and complex scenes.

How It Compares

vs AMD Radeon RX 6700 — The M5000's average score of 31142 is 0.1% higher than the RX 6700's 31112. This is a near tie, with the M5000 holding a marginal lead. The two cards are effectively indistinguishable in synthetic benchmarks.

vs NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q — The M5000 scores 31142, which is 0.2% lower than the GRID M60-1Q's 31220. The GRID card is slightly ahead, but the difference is minimal. Both cards are professional-oriented, though the GRID targets virtualization.

vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 — The M5000 is 0.8% behind the RTX 8000, which scores 31401. The RTX 8000 is the fastest of the four rivals, but the M5000 remains within one percentage point, despite the RTX 8000 being a newer generation.

vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti — The M5000 leads the RTX 3070 Ti by 1.0%, as the RTX 3070 Ti scores 30849. This is the largest delta among the rivals, yet still only a single percentage point. The M5000's professional focus does not hinder its synthetic performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the TDP of the NVIDIA Quadro M5000?

A: The TDP is 150 W.

Q: What power supply is recommended?

A: A 450 W power supply is suggested.

Q: What power connector does the card require?

A: It uses a single 6-pin power connector.

Q: How much VRAM does the M5000 have?

A: It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: What is the memory bus width?

A: The memory bus is 256-bit.

Q: What is the average benchmark score?

A: The average benchmark score is 31142.

Q: What is the card's percentile ranking?

A: It is in the 75th percentile of all GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

The Quadro M5000 achieves a Geekbench OpenCL score of 29365 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 32919. The average of these two scores is 31142. The Vulkan score is higher than the OpenCL score, though the exact percentage difference is not provided. The card's average score places it at the 75th percentile, meaning it outperforms 75% of all GPUs in the database. When compared to its nearest rivals, the M5000's average score is 0.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6700, 0.2% below the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q, 0.8% below the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000, and 1.0% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. These deltas indicate that the M5000's performance is tightly grouped with these cards, with no rival exceeding a 1% difference. The data suggests that the M5000's Maxwell 2.0 architecture, despite being older, delivers competitive synthetic benchmark results. The pixel rate of 66.43 GPixel/s and texture rate of 132.9 GTexel/s are derived from the 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The FP32 performance is 4.252 TFLOPS. These raw compute figures contribute to the observed benchmark scores. The card's boost clock of 1038 MHz and base clock of 861 MHz are consistent with its TDP of 150 W. The 28 nm process node and 5,200 million transistor count also influence the performance characteristics. In summary, the M5000 performs within 1% of its four closest rivals, making it a well-balanced card in its segment. The 75th percentile ranking underscores its position above the majority of GPUs, while the narrow deltas against its nearest competitors highlight the competitive nature of this performance tier.

Memory Subsystem

The M5000 is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. The memory clock is 1653 MHz, which translates to 6.6 Gbps effective data rate. The memory bus is 256 bits wide, yielding a bandwidth of 211.6 GB/s. This configuration is well-suited for handling large textures and high-resolution rendering, as the 8 GB capacity allows for substantial framebuffers. The 256-bit bus provides a balanced throughput, though the bandwidth is modest compared to newer memory types. For professional workloads such as 3D modeling, simulation, and video editing, the 8 GB VRAM is a key asset. At high resolutions, the memory subsystem's capacity is often more limiting than bandwidth; the M5000's 8 GB is ample for many tasks. The effective 6.6 Gbps memory speed is a characteristic of the GDDR5 generation. The card's memory type and bus width are consistent with its position in the Quadro lineup. The data shows that the M5000's memory bandwidth is sufficient for its compute capabilities, as evidenced by its benchmark scores. In comparison to rivals, the M5000's memory specifications are not listed in the nearestRivals data, so no direct comparison is possible. However, the 8 GB capacity is a defining feature of this card. The 256-bit bus width, combined with the 211.6 GB/s bandwidth, ensures that the memory subsystem does not bottleneck the GPU's 4.252 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs work in tandem with the memory to deliver the pixel and texture rates observed. The card's 8 GB VRAM is particularly valuable for applications that require large datasets or high-resolution textures.