Quadro FX 4000 SDI vs GeForce FX 5900

Primary details

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

Place in the rankingnot ratednot rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureRankine (2003−2005)Curie (2003−2013)
GPU code nameNV35NV41
Market segmentDesktopWorkstation
Release date12 May 2003 (21 year ago)19 April 2004 (20 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$399 $4,999

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 speed400 MHz425 MHz
Number of transistors135 million190 million
Manufacturing process technology130 nm130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data150 Watt
Texture fill rate3.2005.100
ROPs48
TMUs812

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).

InterfaceAGP 8xPCIe 1.0 x16
Length218 mm214 mm
Width1-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x Molex1x 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 typeDDRGDDR3
Maximum RAM amount128 MB256 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed425 MHz500 MHz
Memory bandwidth27.2 GB/s32 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 Connectors1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video1x DVI, 4x SDI

API compatibility

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

DirectX9.0a9.0c (9_3)
Shader Modelno data3.0
OpenGL1.5 (2.1)2.0 (full) 2.1 (partial)
OpenCLN/AN/A
VulkanN/AN/A

Pros & cons summary


Recency 12 May 2003 19 April 2004
Maximum RAM amount 128 MB 256 MB

FX 4000 SDI has an age advantage of 11 months, and a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount.

We couldn't decide between GeForce FX 5900 and Quadro FX 4000 SDI. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce FX 5900 is a desktop card while Quadro FX 4000 SDI is a workstation 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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NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900
GeForce FX 5900
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI
Quadro FX 4000 SDI

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