Quadro NVS 280 PCI vs Quadro FX 5500

Place in the ranking	1196	1489
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	0.45	0.11
Architecture	Curie (2003−2013)	Rankine (2003−2005)
GPU code name	G71	NV34 B1
Market segment	Workstation	Workstation
Release date	20 April 2006 (18 years ago)	28 October 2003 (21 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$2,999	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

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	650 MHz	275 MHz
Number of transistors	278 million	45 million
Manufacturing process technology	90 nm	150 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	96 Watt	13 Watt
Texture fill rate	15.60	1.100
ROPs	16	2
TMUs	24	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	PCI
Length	229 mm	168 mm
Width	2-slot	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	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	GDDR3	DDR
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	64 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	505 MHz	250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	32.32 GB/s	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

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

1x DMS-59

API compatibility

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

DirectX	9.0c (9_3)	9.0a
Shader Model	3.0	no data
OpenGL	2.1	1.5 (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 5500 0.63
+3050%

NVS 280 PCI 0.02

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 5500 242
+2925%

NVS 280 PCI 8

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	0.63	0.02
Recency	20 April 2006	28 October 2003
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	64 MB
Chip lithography	90 nm	150 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	96 Watt	13 Watt

FX 5500 has a 3050% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 66.7% more advanced lithography process.

NVS 280 PCI, on the other hand, has 638.5% lower power consumption.

The Quadro FX 5500 is our recommended choice as it beats the Quadro NVS 280 PCI in performance tests.

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