AMD FirePro D300 vs AMD Radeon Pro 5600M Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is the clear winner in every direct benchmark comparison, but the two cards serve entirely different purposes. The FirePro D300 is a legacy workstation part from the GCN 1.0 era, while the Radeon Pro 5600M is a modern mobile RDNA 1.0 product. If you need raw compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the Radeon Pro 5600M is over twice as fast in both recorded tests. The FirePro D300 holds a higher overall percentile ranking at 64 versus 59 for the Radeon Pro 5600M, but that ranking is based on a much smaller benchmark sample set. The Radeon Pro 5600M offers 8 GB of HBM2 memory with a 2048-bit bus, versus 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus for the FirePro D300. For modern software that can leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 5600M is the only sensible choice. The FirePro D300 is a historical part from 2014, end-of-life, with no modern feature support beyond DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Architecture Differences

The FirePro D300 uses the Pitcairn chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The transistor count is 2,800 million on a 212 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². The Radeon Pro 5600M uses the Navi 12 chip on RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. The database does not list transistor count or die size for the Radeon Pro 5600M, but the process node difference is substantial: 28 nm versus 7 nm. The Radeon Pro 5600M belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile) generation, while the FirePro D300 is from the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation. The FirePro D300 has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The Radeon Pro 5600M doubles those counts: 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Memory architecture differs completely: the FirePro D300 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the Radeon Pro 5600M uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus. That bus width difference is a major factor in bandwidth, with the Radeon Pro 5600M achieving 394.2 GB/s versus 162.6 GB/s for the FirePro D300. The Radeon Pro 5600M supports newer API levels: DirectX 12 (12_1) versus DirectX 12 (11_1), and Vulkan 1.3 versus 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Radeon Pro 5600M also has a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the FirePro D300 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data shows the Radeon Pro 5600M wins both head-to-head benchmarks, so there is no benchmark category where the FirePro D300 comes out ahead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 47,783 versus 19,515 for the FirePro D300, a delta of -59.2 percent (meaning the FirePro is 59.2 percent lower). In Geekbench Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 46,425 versus 19,759 for the FirePro D300, a delta of -57.4 percent. The FirePro D300's only advantage is its higher percentile rank at 64, but that is based on a limited set of benchmarks. The FirePro D300 also has a higher average benchmark score of 19,637, but that figure comes from only two tests. The Radeon Pro 5600M has a lower average benchmark score of 16,351, pulled down by several Passmark tests that score much lower (for example, Passmark DirectX 9 at 118 and Passmark G2D at 679). Those low scores reflect legacy DirectX workloads, not modern compute. For any OpenCL or Vulkan workload, the Radeon Pro 5600M is the clear winner. The FirePro D300 wins only in terms of having a shorter physical length requirement in some systems, but the Radeon Pro 5600M is an IGP with no power connectors, making it far easier to integrate in a laptop chassis.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon Pro 5600M has 394.2 GB/s bandwidth, more than double the FirePro D300's 162.6 GB/s. This is due to the 2048-bit HBM2 bus versus the 256-bit GDDR5 bus.

Q: What is the performance difference in OpenCL?

A: The Radeon Pro 5600M scores 47,783 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the FirePro D300 scores 19,515. The FirePro D300 is 59.2 percent lower in this test.

Q: Does the FirePro D300 support Vulkan 1.3?

A: No, the FirePro D300 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The Radeon Pro 5600M supports Vulkan 1.3.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The FirePro D300 has a listed transistor density of 13.2M per mm², based on 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die. The Radeon Pro 5600M has no transistor count or die size listed in the database.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life products. The FirePro D300 was released in January 2014, and the Radeon Pro 5600M was released in June 2020.

Q: What is the power connector requirement for each?

A: The FirePro D300 has no power connector listed, but it has a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Radeon Pro 5600M has no power connectors and is an IGP, meaning it draws power from the motherboard.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 47,783, while the FirePro D300 scores 19,515. That is a 144 percent improvement in raw score, and the delta percentage shows the FirePro D300 is 59.2 percent lower. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 46,425, while the FirePro D300 scores 19,759, a 57.4 percent lower result for the older card. These are the only two head-to-head tests available, and the Radeon Pro 5600M wins both. The scale of the win is consistent: roughly 2.4x in OpenCL and 2.35x in Vulkan. For perspective, the FirePro D300's nearest rival in the database is the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 with an average score of 19,602, a delta of 0.2 percent, meaning the FirePro is essentially tied with that card. The Radeon Pro 5600M's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT with an average score of 16,361, a delta of -0.1 percent, meaning the Radeon Pro 5600M is effectively tied with that desktop card. Interestingly, the Radeon Pro 5600M's average benchmark score of 16,351 is lower than its OpenCL and Vulkan scores because it also includes several Passmark tests that score far lower, such as Passmark DirectX 12 at 39 and Passmark DirectX 11 at 59. Those legacy DX tests do not reflect the card's compute strengths. The FirePro D300 has no such low scores because it only has two benchmark entries.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in almost every specification category. The FirePro D300 uses a 28 nm process, the Radeon Pro 5600M uses 7 nm. The FirePro D300 has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die; the Radeon Pro 5600M has no transistor or die size data listed. Clock speeds differ: the FirePro D300 has no base or boost clock listed, but its memory runs at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective). The Radeon Pro 5600M has a base clock of 822 MHz and a boost clock of 1144 MHz, with memory at 770 MHz (1540 Mbps effective). Memory configuration is vastly different: 2 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus for the FirePro, versus 8 GB HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus for the Radeon Pro. Bandwidth is 162.6 GB/s versus 394.2 GB/s. Shading units are 1,280 versus 2,560; TMUs are 80 versus 160; ROPs are 32 versus 64. Pixel rate is 27.20 GPixel/s versus 73.22 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 68.00 GTexel/s versus 183.0 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.176 TFLOPS versus 5.857 TFLOPS. The Radeon Pro 5600M also lists FP16 performance at 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1), while the FirePro D300 has no FP16 listing. Power draw differs significantly: the FirePro D300 has a TDP of 150 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the Radeon Pro 5600M has a TDP of 50 W and no suggested PSU listed. The FirePro D300 is a single-slot card with 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and a length of 242 mm (9.5 inches). The Radeon Pro 5600M is an IGP with portable device dependent display outputs and no dimensions listed. The FirePro D300 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, the Radeon Pro 5600M uses PCIe 4.0 x16. API support differs: DirectX 12 (11_1) versus DirectX 12 (12_1), Vulkan 1.2.170 versus 1.3, and both share OpenGL 4.6. Release dates are January 2014 for the FirePro D300 and June 2020 for the Radeon Pro 5600M. Both are end-of-life, and neither has a launch MSRP listed in the database.