Quadro NVS 280 SD vs Quadro FX 540
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 1461 | 1592 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Power efficiency | 0.58 | no data |
| Architecture | Curie (2003−2013) | Celsius (1999−2005) |
| GPU code name | NV43 | NV18 C1 |
| Market segment | Workstation | Workstation |
| Release date | 9 August 2004 (21 years ago) | 31 May 2005 (20 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $299 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 250 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 146 million | 29 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 110 nm | 150 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 10 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 2.400 | 1.000 |
| ROPs | 4 | 2 |
| 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 8x |
| Length | 198 mm | 168 mm |
| 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 | 64 MB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 250 MHz | 200 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 8 GB/s | 3.2 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video | 1x DMS-59 |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 9.0c (9_3) | 8.0 |
| Shader Model | 3.0 | no data |
| OpenGL | 2.0 (full) 2.1 (partial) | 1.3 |
| OpenCL | N/A | N/A |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
Synthetic benchmarks
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
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.
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
| Recency | 9 August 2004 | 31 May 2005 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Chip lithography | 110 nm | 150 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 10 Watt |
FX 540 has a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 36.4% more advanced lithography process.
NVS 280 SD, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 months, and 150% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Quadro FX 540 and Quadro NVS 280 SD. We've got no test results to judge.
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