Quadro M520 vs FirePro W5170M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared FirePro W5170M and Quadro M520, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

W5170M
2014
2 GB GDDR5
5.68
+17.1%

W5170M outperforms M520 by a moderate 17% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking593630
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiencyno data13.86
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameTropoGM108
Market segmentMobile workstationMobile workstation
Release date25 August 2014 (10 years ago)11 January 2017 (7 years ago)

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.

Pipelines / CUDA cores640384
Core clock speed900 MHz1041 MHz
Boost clock speed925 MHz1019 MHz
Number of transistors1,500 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data25 Watt
Texture fill rate37.0016.66
Floating-point processing power1.184 TFLOPS0.7995 TFLOPS
ROPs168
TMUs4016

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).

Laptop sizelargemedium sized
InterfaceMXM-A (3.0)MXM-A (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsNoneNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed1125 MHz1253 MHz
Memory bandwidth72 GB/s40 GB/s
Shared memory--

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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs
Eyefinity+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

AppAcceleration+-
Optimus-+
3D Stereono data+
nView Display Managementno data+
Optimusno data+

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.5
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.2.1311.1.126
CUDA-5.0

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.

W5170M 5.68
+17.1%
Quadro M520 4.85

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.

W5170M 2191
+17%
Quadro M520 1872

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

W5170M 4197
+57.9%
Quadro M520 2658

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

W5170M 2909
+24.2%
Quadro M520 2342

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

W5170M 19095
+42.6%
Quadro M520 13394

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

W5170M 8841
+45.9%
Quadro M520 6059

Gaming performance

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

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD29
+52.6%
19
−52.6%
4K14−16
+7.7%
13
−7.7%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Battlefield 5 14−16
+25%
12−14
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
Far Cry New Dawn 16−18
+14.3%
14−16
−14.3%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+16.1%
30−35
−16.1%
Hitman 3 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+6.5%
45−50
−6.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Battlefield 5 14−16
+25%
12−14
−25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
Far Cry New Dawn 16−18
+14.3%
14−16
−14.3%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+16.1%
30−35
−16.1%
Hitman 3 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
−116%
41
+116%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+6.5%
45−50
−6.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+16.1%
30−35
−16.1%
Hitman 3 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+9.4%
30−35
−9.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+5.6%
18−20
−5.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+6.5%
45−50
−6.5%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+15.4%
12−14
−15.4%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2 0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Hitman 3 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Metro Exodus 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1−2 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
+16.1%
30−35
−16.1%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Hitman 3 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+100%
6−7
−100%
Metro Exodus 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%

This is how W5170M and Quadro M520 compete in popular games:

  • W5170M is 53% faster in 1080p
  • W5170M is 8% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Metro Exodus, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the W5170M is 100% faster.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the Quadro M520 is 116% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • W5170M is ahead in 63 tests (93%)
  • Quadro M520 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • there's a draw in 4 tests (6%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.68 4.85
Recency 25 August 2014 11 January 2017

W5170M has a 17.1% higher aggregate performance score.

Quadro M520, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years.

The FirePro W5170M is our recommended choice as it beats the Quadro M520 in performance tests.


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

Vote for your favorite

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AMD FirePro W5170M
FirePro W5170M
NVIDIA Quadro M520
Quadro M520

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.4 76 votes

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3.6 29 votes

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Questions & comments

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