Recent from talks
Quadro
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Quadro
Quadro was Nvidia's brand for graphics cards intended for use in workstations running professional computer-aided design (CAD), computer-generated imagery (CGI), digital content creation (DCC) applications, scientific calculations and machine learning from 2000 to 2020.
Quadro-branded graphics cards differed from the mainstream GeForce lines in that the Quadro cards included the use of ECC memory, larger GPU cache, and enhanced floating point precision. These are desirable properties when the cards are used for calculations which require greater reliability and precision compared to graphics rendering for video games.
The Nvidia Quadro product line directly competed with AMD's Radeon Pro (formerly FirePro/FireGL) line of professional workstation graphics cards.
Nvidia has since moved away from the Quadro branding for new products, starting with the Turing architecture-based RTX 4000 released on November 13, 2018, and then phasing it out entirely with launch of the Ampere architecture-based RTX A6000 on October 5, 2020. To indicate the upgrade to the Nvidia Ampere architecture for their graphics cards technology, Nvidia RTX is the product line being produced and developed moving forward for use in professional workstations. This branding lasted until the beginning of the Blackwell architecture era in 2025, when the workstation graphics card line was rebranded to RTX PRO in order to distinguish it further from the gaming-oriented GeForce RTX line.
The Quadro line of GPU cards emerged in an effort towards market segmentation by Nvidia.[citation needed] In introducing Quadro, Nvidia was able to charge a premium for essentially the same graphics hardware in professional markets, and direct resources to properly serve the needs of those markets.[dubious – discuss] To differentiate their offerings, Nvidia used driver software and firmware to selectively enable features vital to segments of the workstation market, such as high-performance anti-aliased lines and two-sided lighting, in the Quadro product.[citation needed] These features were of little value to the gamers that Nvidia's products already sold to, but their lack prevented high-end customers from using the less expensive products. The Quadro line also received improved support through a certified driver program.[citation needed]
There are parallels between the market segmentation used to sell the Quadro line of products to workstation (DCC) markets and the Tesla line of products to engineering and HPC markets.
In a settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit between SGI and Nvidia, SGI acquired rights to speed-binned Nvidia graphics chips which they shipped under the VPro product label. These designs were completely separate from the SGI Odyssey based VPro products initially sold on their IRIX workstations which used a completely different bus. SGI's Nvidia-based VPro line included the VPro V3 (Geforce 256), VPro VR3 (Quadro), VPro V7 (Quadro2 MXR), and VPro VR7 (Quadro2 Pro).
Actual extra cards only for Quadro 4000 cards and higher:
Hub AI
Quadro AI simulator
(@Quadro_simulator)
Quadro
Quadro was Nvidia's brand for graphics cards intended for use in workstations running professional computer-aided design (CAD), computer-generated imagery (CGI), digital content creation (DCC) applications, scientific calculations and machine learning from 2000 to 2020.
Quadro-branded graphics cards differed from the mainstream GeForce lines in that the Quadro cards included the use of ECC memory, larger GPU cache, and enhanced floating point precision. These are desirable properties when the cards are used for calculations which require greater reliability and precision compared to graphics rendering for video games.
The Nvidia Quadro product line directly competed with AMD's Radeon Pro (formerly FirePro/FireGL) line of professional workstation graphics cards.
Nvidia has since moved away from the Quadro branding for new products, starting with the Turing architecture-based RTX 4000 released on November 13, 2018, and then phasing it out entirely with launch of the Ampere architecture-based RTX A6000 on October 5, 2020. To indicate the upgrade to the Nvidia Ampere architecture for their graphics cards technology, Nvidia RTX is the product line being produced and developed moving forward for use in professional workstations. This branding lasted until the beginning of the Blackwell architecture era in 2025, when the workstation graphics card line was rebranded to RTX PRO in order to distinguish it further from the gaming-oriented GeForce RTX line.
The Quadro line of GPU cards emerged in an effort towards market segmentation by Nvidia.[citation needed] In introducing Quadro, Nvidia was able to charge a premium for essentially the same graphics hardware in professional markets, and direct resources to properly serve the needs of those markets.[dubious – discuss] To differentiate their offerings, Nvidia used driver software and firmware to selectively enable features vital to segments of the workstation market, such as high-performance anti-aliased lines and two-sided lighting, in the Quadro product.[citation needed] These features were of little value to the gamers that Nvidia's products already sold to, but their lack prevented high-end customers from using the less expensive products. The Quadro line also received improved support through a certified driver program.[citation needed]
There are parallels between the market segmentation used to sell the Quadro line of products to workstation (DCC) markets and the Tesla line of products to engineering and HPC markets.
In a settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit between SGI and Nvidia, SGI acquired rights to speed-binned Nvidia graphics chips which they shipped under the VPro product label. These designs were completely separate from the SGI Odyssey based VPro products initially sold on their IRIX workstations which used a completely different bus. SGI's Nvidia-based VPro line included the VPro V3 (Geforce 256), VPro VR3 (Quadro), VPro V7 (Quadro2 MXR), and VPro VR7 (Quadro2 Pro).
Actual extra cards only for Quadro 4000 cards and higher:
Recent media