GeForce GTX 280M vs Quadro 500M

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTX 280M vs Quadro 500M FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GTX 280M vs Quadro 500M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTX 280M

2008

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Quadro 500M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2008 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌136% higher power demand at 236W vs 100W.

Quadro 500M

2010

Why buy it

✅6.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 100W instead of 236W, a 136W reduction.
✅More future proof: Fermi (2010−2014) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Quadro 500M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 6.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 280M instead at 576 vs 571, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 280M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Quadro 500M makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Quadro 500M is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 280M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 280M vs Quadro 500M Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce GTX 280M

The GeForce GTX 280M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 16 2008. It features the Tesla 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 602 MHz. It has 240 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 236W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 576 points. Launch price was $649.

Quadro 500M

The Quadro 500M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 27 2010. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 405 MHz. It has 320 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 571 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 280M scores 576 and the Quadro 500M reaches 571 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 280M is built on Tesla 2.0 while the Quadro 500M uses Fermi, both on 65 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 240 (GeForce GTX 280M) vs 320 (Quadro 500M). Raw compute: 0.6221 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 280M) vs 0.5184 TFLOPS (Quadro 500M).

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M	Quadro 500M
G3D Mark Score	576	571
Architecture	Tesla 2.0	Fermi
Process Node	65 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	240	320+33%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6221 TFLOPS+20%	0.5184 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	80+100%	40
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 280M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Quadro 500M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M	Quadro 500M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	Standard

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 280M and 64-bit on the Quadro 500M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GTX 280M) vs 512 KB (Quadro 500M) — the Quadro 500M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 280M	Quadro 500M
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 280M draws 236W versus the Quadro 500M's 100W — a 81% difference. The Quadro 500M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 280M) vs 350W (Quadro 500M). Power connectors: None vs PCIe-powered.