GeForce 256 DDR vs Quadro FX 540
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Curie (2003−2013) | Celsius (1999−2005) |
| GPU code name | NV43 | NV10 A3 |
| Market segment | Workstation | Desktop |
| Release date | 9 August 2004 (20 years ago) | 23 December 1999 (24 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $299 | no data |
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 | 300 MHz | 120 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 146 million | 17 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 110 nm | 220 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 2.400 | 0.48 |
| ROPs | 4 | 4 |
| TMUs | 8 | 4 |
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 | AGP 4x |
| Length | 198 mm | no data |
| Width | 1-slot | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | None |
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 | DDR | DDR |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 250 MHz | 150 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 8 GB/s | 4.8 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 | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video | 1x VGA |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 9.0c (9_3) | 7.0 |
| Shader Model | 3.0 | no data |
| OpenGL | 2.0 (full) 2.1 (partial) | 1.2 |
| OpenCL | N/A | N/A |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 9 August 2004 | 23 December 1999 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Chip lithography | 110 nm | 220 nm |
FX 540 has an age advantage of 4 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.
We couldn't decide between Quadro FX 540 and GeForce 256 DDR. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Quadro FX 540 is a workstation graphics card while GeForce 256 DDR is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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