Apple M1 8-Core GPU vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q vs Apple M1 Pro 14-Core GPU

The Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 with Max-Q Design is a professional high-end graphics card for powerful laptops and mobile workstations. The Max-Q variants are lower clocked versions that are running more efficient and can be used in smaller chassis than the regular versions. It is based on the same TU104 chip as the consumer GeForce RTX 2080 (mobile) but offers fewer shaders (2,560) and is therefore positioned between the GeForce RTX 2080 (2,944) and 2070 (2,304). Currently we know of three different Max-Q variants with a power consumption (TGP) of 90, 85 and 80 Watt and different clock speeds.

The Quadro GPUs offer certified drivers, which are optimized for stability and performance in professional applications (CAD, DCC, medical, prospection, and visualizing applications). The performance in these areas is therefore much better compared to corresponding consumer GPUs.

Features

NVIDIA manufacturers the TU104 chip on a 12 nm FinFET process and includes features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and Real-Time Ray Tracing (RTRT), which should combine to create more realistic lighting effects than older GPUs based on the company's Pascal architecture (if the games support it). The Quadro RTX 5000 is also DisplayPort 1.4 ready, while there is also support for HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) and H.265 video en/decoding (PlayReady 3.0).

Performance

For professional applications, the Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q should be only slightly above the mobile Quadro RTX 3000 (depending on the version). Compared to consumer cards, the mobile RTX 2070 will offer a similar performance (or slightly lower).

The still relatively high power consumption of the RTX4000 Max-Q makes the card most suited for big laptops although we should see thinner designs with the Max-Q variants.