NVIDIA QuadroFX 3700 512 MB

The QuadroFX 3700, as mentioned on the prior page, runs on a fairly slim and compact form factor design. If the card design looks familiar, don’t be surprised. NVIDIA is using the same basic cooling system for the QuadroFX 3700 as seen on the GeForce 8800 GT lineup. Considering both the QuadroFX 3700 and the GeForce 8800 GT are based on the same G92 graphics processor under the hood, this is not too surprising. In comparison to NVIDIA’s monster QuadroFX 5600 card, the QuadroFX 3700 looks downright petite.

NVIDIA's QuadroFX 3700 and GeForce 8800 GT cards, side by side.

QuadroFX 3700, from the left ...

... and from the right.

Underneath its two-toned silver and black cooling get-up, we have NVIDIA’s G92-875/G92-GL graphics processor which runs at 500 MHz. The GPU has 112 shader processors, which means it’s less powerful per clock compared to the QuadroFX 5600 lineup, which features 128 shader processors at 600 MHz. However, comparing the price tags of these two boards, this is not that substantial of a difference.

The G92-GL also features a smaller 256-bit memory architecture opposed to the 384-bit architecture of the FX5600. The QuadroFX 3700 has 512 MB of GDDR-3 memory running at 1.6 GHz, the same speed of the QuadroFX 5600. However, the QuadroFX 3700 features one third the capacity at 512MB (as opposed to 1.5 GB on the FX5600). Available memory bandwidth for the QFX 3700 is a tad above 50 GB/s, which is impressive for a workstation-class card at this price point.

With these raw specifications on paper, the QuadroFX 3700 has a little less raw rendering horsepower compared to the GeForce 8800 GT lineup. However, while the 8800 GT looks stronger on the specification sheets, the QuadroFX 3700 has a few unique features, including stereoscopic output support, support for Quadro performance drivers, and  ripping-fast OpenGL rendering support compared to the GeForce 8800 family.

The PCB design is pretty standard NVIDIA-fare, featuring a PCI Express 2.0 connector (a first for the QuadroFX lineup), a 6-pin PCI Express power connector, and a single SLI connector for 2-way SLI support. The board features two dual-link DVI ports and a 3-pin Stereo output.

2 x Dual-Link DVI and SLI connector

From the backside