GeForce 6800 Ultra vs Quadro FX 3500

Place in the ranking	1179	1278
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	0.58	0.31
Architecture	Curie (2003−2013)	Curie (2003−2013)
GPU code name	G71	NV45
Market segment	Workstation	Desktop
Release date	22 May 2006 (18 years ago)	26 July 2004 (20 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,599	$499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

FX 3500 and 6800 Ultra have a nearly equal value for money.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Core clock speed	450 MHz	425 MHz
Number of transistors	278 million	222 million
Manufacturing process technology	90 nm	130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	81 Watt
Texture fill rate	9.000	6.800
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	20	16

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Interface	PCIe 1.0 x16	PCIe 1.0 x16
Length	173 mm	197 mm
Width	1-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 6-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	256 MB	256 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	660 MHz	550 MHz
Memory bandwidth	42.24 GB/s	35.2 GB/s

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	9.0c (9_3)	9.0c (9_3)
Shader Model	3.0	3.0
OpenGL	2.1	2.1
OpenCL	N/A	N/A
Vulkan	N/A	N/A

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

FX 3500 0.67
+86.1%

6800 Ultra 0.36

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

FX 3500 259
+87.7%

6800 Ultra 138

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.67	0.36
Recency	22 May 2006	26 July 2004
Chip lithography	90 nm	130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	81 Watt

FX 3500 has a 86.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 44.4% more advanced lithography process, and 1.3% lower power consumption.

The Quadro FX 3500 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 6800 Ultra in performance tests.

Be aware that Quadro FX 3500 is a workstation graphics card while GeForce 6800 Ultra is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.