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NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M vs NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M vs NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M

NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M

► remove from comparison NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M

The Nvidia Quadro FX 380M is a professional entry-level graphics card for mobile workstations. It is based on the GeForce 310M and therefore the 3D performance is not very good. Due to special drivers and optimizations, the performance for professional applications should be much better (than the 310M would perform). Another advantage are the certified drivers than ensure a good performance of professional applications without errors.

The card supports DirectX 10.1 and all the features of the G 310M (as it is based on the same GT218 core). Therefore PureVideo HD to decode HD videos with the graphics card is supported. The used Video Processor 4 (VP4) is able to fully decode H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, and also MPEG-4 ASP (DivX or xVID) in hardware to minimize CPU load. MPEG-1 is not supported but can be easily handled by every modern CPU.

The gaming performance of the FX380M is similar to the GeForce 310M and therefore located in the entry level class. The professional drivers are however optimized for applications and may therefore deliver a worse performance. Modern 3D games like COD Modern Warfare 2 run only in low details and resolutions fluently. Some demanding games like NFS Shift or GTA4 wont run fluently at all. Less demanding games like SIMS 3 run in medium details and resolutions fluently. Therefore, the graphics card can not be recommended for gamers.

As the FX380M supports CUDA, DirectX Compute 10.1, and OpenCL, the shaders of the graphics processor can be used for other tasks than rendering images (e.g. faster encoding of videos).

The used GT218 core is manufactured in 40nm and based on the desktop GTX 200 architecture.

NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M

► remove from comparison NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M is a mobile workstation graphics card for high-end laptops. It is based on the Geforce 9800M GT / G92 core but features a higher clock rate and is produced in a 55nm fabrication process versus 65nm of the 9800M GT.

The Quadro FX series of cards are optimized for professional applications like CAD or DCC. OpenGL performance especially should be noticeably better compared to consumer GeForce cards.

The Quadro FX2800M is found in mobile workstations like the Dell M6500 and supports DirectX 10.0 and OpenGL 2.1. In the Dell laptops, the card is able to output up to two displays simultaneously (DisplayPort up to 2560x1600, DVI/HDMI up to 1920x1200). Dell claims a thermal power draw of 65 Watts while Nvidia rates the GPU at 75 Watt TDP.

Due to the relatively high power consumption of 65 to 75 Watts (TDP) and a 10 Watt idle mode, the Quadro FX 2800M is normally only foud in medium to large laptops with powerful cooling solutions.

NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M

► remove from comparison NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M is a upper mid-range professional graphics card for mobile workstations with about 15" displays. It is based on the same chip as the GeForce GT 335M but can be also equipped with fast GDDR5 graphics memory. The FX1800M is shipped with professional drivers and a special BIOS that improves the performance and stability in applications like CAD and DCC.

The certified drivers guarantee flawless and fast working with professional applications like Premiere, Photoshop, After Effect, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, trueSpace, Blender, Catia, IronCAD, Cinema 4D, Lightwave 3D, Softimage, Mathematica ... A list of all certified applications can be found on the Nvidia.com homepage. Compared to GeForce products, the Quadro FX cards offer a significantly better performance, especially for OpenGL based apps.

The gaming performance should be similar to the GeForce GT 335M, altough gamers should choose a GeForce graphics card because of the optimized driver support (that leads to a better performance and less problems in games). Still all modern and demanding games of 2009 should at least run in medium detail settings (see the GeForce GT 335M page for more gaming results).

The chip is manufactured in 40nm and offers 72 1-dimensional unified shaders. These can be compared to about 300-400 5-dimensional shaders in graphics cards by AMD. These processing cores can also be accessed with CUDA, OpenCL, and DirectCompute to use the calculation power for other tasks than rendering images (for example transcoding videos). 

The QuadroFX 1800M also supports PureVideo HD with the new VideoProcessor (VP4) to decode HD videos on the graphics card. This helps reducing CPU load and increasing battery runtimes.

The Quadro FX 1800M also supports the automatic switching between the integrated and dedicated graphics card using Optimus. First mobile workstations do not offer Optimus, as the development cycles of these laptops are very long.

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NVIDIA Quadro FX 380MNVIDIA Quadro FX 2800MNVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
Quadro FX Series
Quadro FX 3800M 128 @ 0.68 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3700M 128 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 2800M 96 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3600M 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1800M 72 @ 0.56 GHz128 Bit @ 1100 MHz
Quadro FX 2700M 48 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 880M 48 @ 0.55 GHz128 Bit @ 790 MHz
Quadro FX 3500M 24/8 cores @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 2500M 24/8 cores @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 1700M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1600M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1500M 20/7 cores @ 0.38 GHz256 Bit @ 500 MHz
Quadro FX 770M 32 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 570M 32 @ 0.48 GHz128 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 380M 16 @ 0.63 GHz64 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 370M 8 @ 0.58 GHz64 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 360M 16 @ 0.4 GHz64 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 350M 4/3 cores @ 0.45 GHz64 Bit @ 350 MHz
Quadro FX 3800M 128 @ 0.68 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3700M 128 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 2800M 96 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3600M 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1800M 72 @ 0.56 GHz128 Bit @ 1100 MHz
Quadro FX 2700M 48 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 880M 48 @ 0.55 GHz128 Bit @ 790 MHz
Quadro FX 3500M 24/8 cores @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 2500M 24/8 cores @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 1700M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1600M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1500M 20/7 cores @ 0.38 GHz256 Bit @ 500 MHz
Quadro FX 770M 32 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 570M 32 @ 0.48 GHz128 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 380M 16 @ 0.63 GHz64 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 370M 8 @ 0.58 GHz64 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 360M 16 @ 0.4 GHz64 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 350M 4/3 cores @ 0.45 GHz64 Bit @ 350 MHz
Quadro FX 3800M 128 @ 0.68 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3700M 128 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 2800M 96 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 1000 MHz
Quadro FX 3600M 96 @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1800M 72 @ 0.56 GHz128 Bit @ 1100 MHz
Quadro FX 2700M 48 @ 0.53 GHz256 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 880M 48 @ 0.55 GHz128 Bit @ 790 MHz
Quadro FX 3500M 24/8 cores @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 2500M 24/8 cores @ 0.5 GHz256 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 1700M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1600M 32 @ 0.63 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 1500M 20/7 cores @ 0.38 GHz256 Bit @ 500 MHz
Quadro FX 770M 32 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 570M 32 @ 0.48 GHz128 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 380M 16 @ 0.63 GHz64 Bit @ 800 MHz
Quadro FX 370M 8 @ 0.58 GHz64 Bit @ 700 MHz
Quadro FX 360M 16 @ 0.4 GHz64 Bit @ 600 MHz
Quadro FX 350M 4/3 cores @ 0.45 GHz64 Bit @ 350 MHz
Codenamen10m-glmNB10-GLM3
ArchitectureGT2xxG9xGT2xx
Pipelines16 - unified96 - unified72 - unified
Core Speed625 MHz600 MHz560 MHz
Shader Speed1530 MHz1500 MHz1125 MHz
Memory Speed800 MHz1000 MHz1100 MHz
Memory Bus Width64 Bit256 Bit128 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR3, DDR3GDDR3DDR3, GDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory512 MB1024 MB1024 MB
Shared Memorynonono
APIDirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1DirectX 10, Shader 4.0DirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1
Power Consumption25 Watt75 Watt45 Watt
Transistors260 Million754 Million
technology40 nm55 nm40 nm
FeaturesDirectX Compute Support (Windows 7), CUDA, OpenCL, OpenGL 2.1, certified driversOpenGL 2.1, CUDA, PowerMizer 8.0PowerMizer 9.0, EnergyStar (3.8W), 16x FSAA Support, CUDA, NVIEW, OpenGL 3.2
Date of Announcement07.01.2010 01.12.2009 01.02.2010
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.comwww.nvidia.comwww.nvidia.com
Notebook Sizelargemedium sized

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 5779     avg: 5783     median: 5783 (2%)     max: 5787 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
min: 3444     avg: 3452     median: 3451.5 (1%)     max: 3459 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 5000     avg: 5037     median: 5037 (3%)     max: 5074 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
min: 2774     avg: 2801     median: 2800.5 (2%)     max: 2827 Points
3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
34844 Points (36%)
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
33900 Points (18%)
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
7095 Points (8%)
min: 16310     avg: 16936     median: 16935.5 (19%)     max: 17561 Points
15249 Points (17%)
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings + NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M
3DMark 06
3690 Points (5%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M
3DMark 06
3687 Points (5%)
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
min: 11162     avg: 11359     median: 11358.5 (15%)     max: 11555 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
min: 7416     avg: 7573     median: 7572.5 (10%)     max: 7729 Points
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - 3dsmax
32.3 Points (67%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Catia
39 Points (82%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - EnSight
44 Points (93%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Maya
59.6 Points (32%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Pro/Engeneer
42.6 Points (83%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SolidWorks
59.5 Points (88%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - UGS Teamcenter
35.2 Points (91%)
SPECviewperf 10 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - UGS NX
31.3 Points (64%)
SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 snx-01
min: 13.58     avg: 14.7     median: 13.9 (8%)     max: 16.55 fps
specvp11 snx-01 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
12.4 fps (7%)
specvp11 tcvis-02 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 tcvis-02
min: 15.1     avg: 16     median: 15.3 (9%)     max: 17.4 fps
specvp11 tcvis-02 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
13 fps (7%)
specvp11 sw-02 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 sw-02
min: 6.73     avg: 14.1     median: 7.5 (6%)     max: 28 fps
specvp11 sw-02 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
28.1 fps (21%)
specvp11 proe-05 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 proe-05
min: 4.67     avg: 5.1     median: 4.7 (6%)     max: 5.89 fps
specvp11 proe-05 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
7.5 fps (9%)
specvp11 maya-03 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 maya-03
min: 6.2     avg: 7     median: 7.4 (6%)     max: 7.5 fps
specvp11 maya-03 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
16.6 fps (13%)
specvp11 lightwave-01 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
min: 7.99     avg: 16.2     median: 8.5 (9%)     max: 32 fps
specvp11 lightwave-01 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
39 fps (42%)
specvp11 ensight-04 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 ensight-04
min: 10.8     avg: 11.9     median: 11.1 (5%)     max: 13.7 fps
specvp11 ensight-04 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
12.3 fps (6%)
specvp11 catia-03 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 catia-03
min: 9.53     avg: 13.4     median: 9.7 (5%)     max: 20.92 fps
specvp11 catia-03 + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
17.5 fps (9%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
6.6 Points (84%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
5 Points (63%)
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik (Spiele)
6.8 Points (100%)
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik
6.8 Points (100%)
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit + NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 28.16     avg: 28.8     median: 28.8 (9%)     max: 29.36 fps
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit + NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
20 fps (7%)

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M → 100% n=2

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M → 273% n=2

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M → 210% n=2

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Mafia 2

Mafia 2

2010
low 800x600
Quadro FX 2800M:
63.2  fps
med. 1024x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
56.1  fps
high 1360x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
48.9  fps
ultra 1920x1080
Quadro FX 2800M:
30.8  fps
StarCraft 2

StarCraft 2

2010
low 1024x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
158  fps
med. 1360x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
60  fps
high 1360x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
52  fps
ultra 1920x1080
Quadro FX 2800M:
29.6  fps
Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

2010
med. 1366x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
58.9  fps
high 1366x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
41.5  fps
ultra 1920x1080
Quadro FX 2800M:
23.1  fps
CoD Modern Warfare 2

CoD Modern Warfare 2

2009
low 800x600
Quadro FX 2800M:
158.1  fps
med. 1024x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
78.9  fps
high 1366x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
66.7  fps
ultra 1920x1080
Quadro FX 2800M:
41.2  fps
Colin McRae: DIRT 2

Colin McRae: DIRT 2

2009
low 800x600
Quadro FX 2800M:
96.3  fps
med. 1024x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
89.5  fps
high 1360x768
Quadro FX 2800M:
62.6  fps
ultra 1920x1080
Quadro FX 2800M:
30.7  fps
NVIDIA Quadro FX 380MNVIDIA Quadro FX 2800MNVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
lowmed.highultraQHD4Klowmed.highultraQHD4Klowmed.highultraQHD4K
Mafia 263.256.148.930.8
StarCraft 2158605229.6
Battlefield: Bad Company 258.941.5323.07
CoD Modern Warfare 2158.178.966.741.2
Colin McRae: DIRT 296.389.562.630.7
NVIDIA Quadro FX 380MNVIDIA Quadro FX 2800MNVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
lowmed.highultraQHD4Klowmed.highultraQHD4Klowmed.highultraQHD4K
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

















< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

2
2
2
3

3
2
2
3







< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

















For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

v1.33
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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)