Quadro 500M vs Quadro M520

When choosing between Quadro 500M and Quadro M520, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Quadro 500M and Quadro M520.

Quadro M520 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Quadro M520 is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Quadro M520 here:

Main Specs

  Quadro 500M Quadro M520
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 25 Watt
Interface MXM-A (3.0)
Memory type DDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • Quadro 500M has 40% more power consumption, than Quadro M520.
  • Quadro M520 has 1 GB more memory, than Quadro 500M.
  • Quadro 500M is used in Desktops, and Quadro M520 - in Mobile workstations.
  • Quadro 500M is build with Fermi architecture, and Quadro M520 - with Maxwell.
  • Core clock speed of Quadro M520 is 56 MHz higher, than Quadro 500M.
  • Quadro 500M is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Quadro M520 - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 0−1 9−10
ultra / 1080p 5−6
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 1−2 21−24
medium / 1080p 0−1 12−14
The average gaming FPS of Quadro M520 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 2100% more, than Quadro 500M.

Full Specs

  Quadro 500M Quadro M520
Architecture Fermi Maxwell
Code name GF108
Type Workstation Mobile workstation
Release date 22 February 2011 13 January 2017
Pipelines 96 384
Core clock speed 700 MHz 756 MHz
Boost Clock 1019 MHz
Transistor count 585 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 11.20
Floating-point performance 268.8 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 64 Bit
Memory clock speed 1800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 28.8 GB/s 40 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_0) 12
Shader Model 5.1 5.0
OpenGL 4.6 4.5
OpenCL 1.1
Vulkan N/A
CUDA 2.1
Laptop size medium sized
Optimus +
nView Display Management +
3D Stereo +
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