nVidia Quadro M2000 | Can It Game?

Summary

In this video, the narrator explores the performance of the Nvidia Quadro M2000, a budget-friendly, single-slot workstation GPU with 4GB of VRAM. Despite its age, it offers decent gaming performance for classic titles and modern games at lower settings. The M2000 struggles with demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 but performs well in less intensive games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and GTA 5. While its value may be undercut by newer GPUs, it remains a solid choice for users seeking a cheap upgrade for older office PCs, provided it's purchased at the right price.

Takeaways

• 😀 The minimum requirements for gaming PCs in 2022 are DX12 feature compatibility and at least a 4GB frame buffer, which makes some older graphics cards, like Nvidia's 700 series and AMD's HD 7000, obsolete for modern gaming.
• 😀 The Quadro M2000, a 2015 Nvidia workstation card with 4GB of VRAM, is a budget-friendly option for gaming, especially in compact office PCs like Dell Optiplexes, although its gaming performance is mixed and depends on the price.
• 😀 In 2022, the Quadro M2000's 4GB of VRAM allows it to outperform older cards like the GTX 950, but newer budget options like the RX 6400 have disrupted the market, making the M2000 less appealing at higher prices.
• 😀 Testing the M2000 with a Ryzen 5 5600G and 16GB RAM revealed mixed results: games like 'God of War' and 'Final Fantasy 7 Remake' could run with some tweaks, but performance still fell short of console-level experiences in most cases.
• 😀 The M2000 can achieve around 30fps in 'Elden Ring' at 1600x900 resolution, though its performance drops at 1080p, barely reaching 27fps on average.
• 😀 Despite its age, the M2000 struggles with demanding games like 'Guardians of the Galaxy', where Nvidia driver issues caused a drop in performance, forcing users to revert to older drivers to get playable frame rates.
• 😀 Games like 'Forza Horizon 5' and 'Halo Infinite' are playable on the M2000, but only with reduced settings and using dynamic resolution scaling to maintain acceptable frame rates.
• 😀 The Quadro M2000 struggles with graphically intense games like 'Cyberpunk 2077' but can achieve 30fps using FSR 1.0 for upscaling, though image quality takes a noticeable hit.
• 😀 Multiplayer games like 'Rainbow Six Siege' and 'Fortnite' are playable, but the M2000 needs to be set to lower resolutions or use dynamic scaling to maintain smooth performance.
• 😀 For games like 'Apex Legends', 'Call of Duty Vanguard', and 'Warzone', the M2000 can push decent frame rates at low settings, but the card is unsuitable for competitive play due to low minimum frame rates, especially without resolution scaling.
• 😀 The Quadro M2000, while outdated by 2022 standards, is still a viable budget option for gaming when priced under 75 pounds, but newer, more powerful cards like the GTX 1650 or RX 6400 are better options if available.

Q & A

What are the minimum requirements for graphics cards in 2022?

In 2022, the de facto minimum requirements for graphics cards include DX12 feature compatibility and a 4GB frame buffer.

Why did older graphics cards like the Nvidia 700 series and AMD's HD 7000 no longer make the cut for gaming in 2022?

Older graphics cards like the Nvidia 700 series and AMD HD 7000 series no longer meet the 2022 gaming standards due to their lack of DX12 feature support and insufficient VRAM (less than 4GB).

What makes the Nvidia Quadro M2000 an appealing budget option for gaming in 2022?

The Nvidia Quadro M2000 becomes appealing for budget gaming due to its 4GB VRAM, slim single-slot design, and low TDP, which makes it a good fit for older office PCs like Dell Optiplexes. However, it should be priced below 75 pounds to be considered a good deal.

How does the Quadro M2000 perform in games like 'God of War' and 'Final Fantasy 7 Remake'?

The Quadro M2000 struggles with 'God of War', running it at just over 20 FPS on PS4 equivalent settings but can hit 30 FPS with lower settings and FSR quality upscaling. In 'Final Fantasy 7 Remake', it performs better, averaging over 40 FPS at 1080p with high textures and low shadows.

What was the performance of the Quadro M2000 in 'Elden Ring'?

In 'Elden Ring', the Quadro M2000 managed 30 FPS at medium settings at a resolution of 1600x900, but struggled to maintain a stable 30 FPS at 1080p, dropping to about 27 FPS.

What issue did the Nvidia Maxwell series face when playing 'Guardians of the Galaxy'?

The Nvidia Maxwell series, including the Quadro M2000, experienced performance issues in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' due to a driver update. A rollback to version 471.11 was required to achieve decent performance, with the card averaging 31 FPS in the benchmark but suffering from lows of 18 FPS.

How did the Quadro M2000 perform in 'Forza Horizon 5'?

In 'Forza Horizon 5', the Quadro M2000 performed decently, averaging 33 FPS at 1080p medium settings, which was impressive for a 2016 workstation card. Enabling FSR quality provided similar performance.

What was the Quadro M2000's performance like in 'Halo Infinite'?

In 'Halo Infinite', the Quadro M2000 could only achieve 22 FPS at 1080p low settings without dynamic resolution scaling. However, using dynamic resolution scaling boosted the average FPS to 34, with minimums around 28 FPS.

How well did the Quadro M2000 handle 'Cyberpunk 2077'?

The Quadro M2000 struggled to hit 30 FPS in 'Cyberpunk 2077'. At 1080p low settings, it barely scraped above 20 FPS. Using FSR 1 in balanced mode brought the FPS to 30 on average, while FSR 2 at the same setting only managed 25 FPS.

How did the Quadro M2000 perform in multiplayer games like 'Rainbow Six Siege' and 'Apex Legends'?

In 'Rainbow Six Siege', the Quadro M2000 struggled to maintain 30 FPS at 1080p high settings, averaging around 30 FPS but performing better at lower quality settings. In 'Apex Legends', the M2000 averaged 53 FPS at 1080p low settings, with 1% lows dipping to 35 FPS. Performance could improve by lowering the resolution or using dynamic scaling.