Quick Answer
The Dell Precision 7730 and Precision 7740 both come with a GPU that has exactly 16GB of memory — but one is a Quadro P5200 (Pascal architecture, 2018) and the other a Quadro RTX 5000 (Turing architecture, 2019). If someone tells you “same 16GB means equal,” that’s simply not true — same capacity, genuinely different performance and features. This article breaks down what actually differs, with real numbers.
Same 16GB… But Not the Same Memory
Here’s the point most people miss: memory capacity (VRAM) is one thing, and memory type/speed is a completely different thing.
| Spec | Quadro P5200 (Pascal) | Quadro RTX 5000 (Turing) |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Date | February 2018 | May 2019 |
| CUDA Cores | 2,560 | 3,072 |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR5 | 16GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus Width | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | ~231 GB/s | ~448 GB/s |
| TDP | 100W | 110W |
| RT/Tensor Cores | None | 48 RT + 384 Tensor |
See the difference? Exactly the same 16GB, but the RTX 5000 uses newer GDDR6 memory that delivers roughly double the bandwidth (448 vs 231 GB/s) — so even at the same memory “size,” data moves through the card far faster. Add about 20% more cores, plus RT/Tensor cores that simply don’t exist on the older generation at all.
What This Actually Means in Practice
- If your work depends on file size (huge 3D models, complex scenes): 16GB on either card lets you open the same size of files — capacity isn’t the differentiator here.
- If your work depends on data-processing speed (real-time rendering, simulation, live editing of large scenes): the RTX 5000 will feel genuinely smoother due to its higher bandwidth and core count.
- If you need real Ray Tracing (realistic lighting in Lumion or V-Ray RT): the P5200 simply can’t do it — there are no RT cores in the chip at all, regardless of memory size.
A Real Example From Our Inventory
| Device | CPU | GPU | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Precision 7730 | i7-8850H (8th-gen) | Quadro P5200 | 16GB GDDR5 |
| Dell Precision 7740 | i7-9850H (9th-gen) | Quadro RTX 5000 | 16GB GDDR6 |
Final Verdict
If you see two offers with the same memory capacity (16GB) at different prices, don’t assume they perform equally. Always check the memory type (GDDR5 vs GDDR6), core count, and whether RT/Tensor cores exist — as we explained in our laptop GPU architecture history article, the architecture generation determines features the older generation simply doesn’t have, no matter how equal the memory size looks.
FAQs
So does memory size (VRAM) not matter? It matters, but it isn’t the whole story — memory type/speed and core count matter just as much, sometimes more.
Is GDDR6 genuinely faster than GDDR5 at the same size? Yes, GDDR6 has a fundamentally higher per-chip transfer rate — that’s the main reason behind the 448 vs 231 GB/s gap here despite equal capacity.
Can the P5200 do Ray Tracing with a driver update? No — RT cores are part of the chip’s hardware design, not something a driver can enable. If they’re not physically there, there’s no way to turn them on.
Want to see the rest of our Precision lineup? Browse our imported laptops collection, or contact the Laptop Masr team to help you pick the right machine for your workload.
