NVIDIA Quadro P400

The NVIDIA Quadro P400 is an entry-level workstation graphics card built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung. It carries 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². Released on 2017-02-06, it is now end-of-life, with the Quadro Volta as its successor and the Quadro Maxwell as its predecessor. With an average benchmark score of 5366 and a percentile rank of 30 among all GPUs, the P400 sits in the lower tier of the performance spectrum, closely matched by several mobile and entry-level discrete graphics solutions.

Benchmark Performance

The Quadro P400’s average benchmark score of 5366 places it at the 30th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly a third of the hardware in the database. In Geekbench compute tests, it scores 5612 in OpenCL and 5119 in Vulkan, a modest gap that suggests the Vulkan driver path is slightly less optimized or that the workload scaling differs. The FP32 throughput is 641.0 GFLOPS, while FP16 performance is 10.02 GFLOPS (at a 1:64 ratio), indicating that the card is not designed for half-precision compute tasks.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the P400’s performance is statistically indistinguishable. Against the AMD Radeon R7 M445, the P400 is 0.1% faster; against the R7 M440, it is 0.2% slower; against the R7 M365X, it is 0.8% slower; and against the NVIDIA GeForce 930A, it is 0.9% faster. These deltas are all within one percentage point, meaning that in practical terms, the P400 trades blows with these low-end mobile and desktop GPUs. The benchmark results indicate that the P400 is not a performance outlier; it is firmly anchored in the entry-level segment, where differences of a few percent are often within run-to-run variance.

The pixel rate of 20.03 GPixel/s and texture rate of 20.03 GTexel/s are identical, which is typical for a balanced configuration of 16 ROPs and 16 TMUs. These figures, combined with the 256 shading units, produce a compute capacity that is adequate for basic 2D and light 3D workloads, but far from competitive with even mid-range desktop cards from the same era.

Who Should Consider It

Given its benchmark standing, the Quadro P400 is best suited for environments where low power consumption and a compact single-slot form factor matter more than raw performance. The card’s 641.0 GFLOPS of FP32 compute and 32.06 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for entry-level CAD, 2D drafting, and basic photo editing, but they will struggle with complex 3D scenes, high-resolution textures, or real-time rendering. At 1080p resolution with modest settings, the P400 can handle less demanding applications, but the data suggests that pushing to higher resolutions or enabling heavy effects would quickly exceed its capabilities.

The lack of dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores further limits its appeal for modern workloads that rely on hardware acceleration for these features. For users who need a display adapter for multiple monitors—the card offers three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs—and who value silence and low heat, the P400 is a viable choice. However, anyone expecting gaming-level performance or professional-grade 3D rendering should look elsewhere, as the 30th percentile ranking clearly indicates the card’s position.

Power and Cooling

The Quadro P400 has a TDP of just 30 W, making it one of the most power-efficient GPUs in its class. The suggested PSU rating is 200 W, which is remarkably low and allows the card to be installed in compact office desktops or small-form-factor systems. It requires no external power connectors; all power is drawn from the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. The card is single-slot in design, measuring 150 mm in length and 69 mm in height. These dimensions make it easy to fit into tight chassis, and the absence of a power connector simplifies installation. The low TDP also means that cooling is straightforward; a passive or low-profile active cooler would suffice, though the specific cooler is not detailed in the data.

How It Compares

vs. AMD Radeon R7 M445: The P400 is 0.1% faster than the R7 M445, a negligible margin that places the two cards on equal footing. Both are entry-level parts, and the difference is within measurement noise. The P400’s Pascal architecture and 2 GB GDDR5 memory do not confer any meaningful advantage over the AMD mobile part.

vs. AMD Radeon R7 M440: The P400 is 0.2% slower than the R7 M440. Again, this is a sub-percentage-point delta, so the performance is effectively identical. The R7 M440 is a mobile GPU, while the P400 is a desktop workstation card, but their compute capabilities align closely.

vs. AMD Radeon R7 M365X: The P400 lags the R7 M365X by 0.8%. This is the largest delta among the four rivals, yet it remains under one percent. The R7 M365X, though older, still manages to slightly edge out the P400 in average benchmark score, indicating that the P400 does not offer any generational advantage in this performance tier.

vs. NVIDIA GeForce 930A: The P400 is 0.9% faster than the GeForce 930A. This is the only rival where the P400 leads by a noticeable (though still tiny) margin. The 930A is a low-end NVIDIA part, and the P400’s slightly higher score suggests that the Quadro’s driver optimizations or clock behavior give it a marginal edge. Still, the difference is far from decisive.

Memory Subsystem

The Quadro P400 is equipped with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 32.06 GB/s. This is a modest figure by modern standards. The memory clock runs at 1002 MHz, with an effective data rate of 4 Gbps. For a card aimed at entry-level professional work, 2 GB is sufficient for basic 2D and light 3D tasks, but it becomes a limiting factor when handling high-resolution textures or multiple large datasets. The 64-bit bus width is a clear bottleneck; many competing cards use 128-bit or wider buses to double or quadruple bandwidth. At 1080p with moderate texture quality, the bandwidth may be adequate, but at 1440p or 4K, the memory subsystem would struggle to keep up with the shading units’ demands. The pixel rate of 20.03 GPixel/s and texture rate of 20.03 GTexel/s are also constrained by the memory bandwidth, as both operations require frequent memory access.

FAQ

Q: What is the TDP of the Quadro P400?

A: The TDP is 30 W.

Q: Does the Quadro P400 require external power connectors?

A: No, it has no power connectors and draws all power from the PCIe slot.

Q: What is the memory configuration?

A: It has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 32.06 GB/s.

Q: Which API versions does the card support?

A: It supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the suggested PSU wattage?

A: The suggested PSU is 200 W.

Q: When was the card released?

A: The release date is 2017-02-06.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Quadro P400 does not include any dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as indicated by the null values in the specifications. This means it lacks hardware acceleration for real-time ray tracing and AI-based features like DLSS. The card is based on the Pascal architecture, which predates NVIDIA’s RTX line, so it relies entirely on traditional rasterization for rendering. The API support includes DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which allows it to run modern applications that use these APIs, but without the specialized hardware units found in newer cards. For users who require ray tracing or tensor core functionality, this card is not suitable. However, for conventional graphics workloads that do not depend on these features, the P400 can still function as a basic display adapter and entry-level compute device. Its three mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs support high-resolution monitors, but the card’s overall performance will limit the experience to less demanding tasks.