Radeon R9 280 vs Quadro M5500

Place in the ranking	265	364
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	5.26
Power efficiency	9.54	5.02
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	GM204	Tahiti
Market segment	Mobile workstation	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	8 April 2016 (8 years ago)	4 March 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$279

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.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2048	1792
Core clock speed	1140 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1165 MHz	933 MHz
Number of transistors	5,200 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	200 Watt
Texture fill rate	149.1	104.5
Floating-point processing power	4.772 TFLOPS	3.344 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	32
TMUs	128	112

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 size	large	no data
Bus support	no data	PCIe 3.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	no data	275 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
SLI options	+	-

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	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	3 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	1753 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	211 GB/s	240 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 Connectors	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	-	+
Display Port	1.2	no data
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	-	+
FreeSync	-	+
HD3D	-	+
LiquidVR	-	+
TressFX	-	+
TrueAudio	-	+
UVD	-	+
DDMA audio	no data	+
3D Vision Pro	+	no data
Mosaic	+	no data
VR Ready	+	no data
nView Display Management	+	no data
Optimus	+	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12	DirectX® 12
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	+
CUDA	+	-

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.

Quadro M5500 20.52
+42.5%

R9 280 14.40

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.

Quadro M5500 7915
+42.5%

R9 280 5554

Gaming performance

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

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

30−35
+57.1%

21−24

−57.1%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Battlefield 5	65−70 +48.9%	45−50 −48.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +60%	30−33 −60%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Forza Horizon 4	120−130 +48.2%	85−90 −48.2%
Hitman 3	40−45 +48.1%	27−30 −48.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	95−100 +50.8%	65−70 −50.8%
Metro Exodus	70−75 +57.8%	45−50 −57.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	65−70 +51.1%	45−50 −51.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion	90−95 +43.1%	65−70 −43.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Battlefield 5	65−70 +48.9%	45−50 −48.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +60%	30−33 −60%
Far Cry New Dawn	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Forza Horizon 4	120−130 +48.2%	85−90 −48.2%
Hitman 3	40−45 +48.1%	27−30 −48.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	95−100 +50.8%	65−70 −50.8%
Metro Exodus	70−75 +57.8%	45−50 −57.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	65−70 +51.1%	45−50 −51.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	90−95 +43.1%	65−70 −43.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +60%	30−33 −60%
Forza Horizon 4	120−130 +48.2%	85−90 −48.2%
Hitman 3	40−45 +48.1%	27−30 −48.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	95−100 +50.8%	65−70 −50.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	65−70 +51.1%	45−50 −51.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	90−95 +43.1%	65−70 −43.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

55−60
+57.1%

35−40

−57.1%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +44.4%	27−30 −44.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +50%	8−9 −50%
Far Cry 5	24−27 +50%	16−18 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	110−120 +43.8%	80−85 −43.8%
Hitman 3	24−27 +50%	16−18 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
Metro Exodus	35−40 +58.3%	24−27 −58.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +50%	16−18 −50%
Watch Dogs: Legion	120−130 +50%	80−85 −50%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−35
+61.9%

21−24

−61.9%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	16−18 +60%	10−11 −60%
Hitman 3	16−18 +60%	10−11 −60%
Horizon Zero Dawn	100−110 +51.4%	70−75 −51.4%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +50%	14−16 −50%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 +50%	8−9 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +55.6%	18−20 −55.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

18−20
+50%

12−14

−50%

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	20.52	14.40
Recency	8 April 2016	4 March 2014
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	3 GB
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	200 Watt

Quadro M5500 has a 42.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 33.3% lower power consumption.

The Quadro M5500 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 280 in performance tests.

Be aware that Quadro M5500 is a mobile workstation card while Radeon R9 280 is a desktop one.

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