AMD FirePro D500 vs AMD Radeon HD 7790 Comparison

AMD FirePro D500 and AMD Radeon HD 7790 are two end-of-life graphics cards from different AMD lineages, built on the same 28 nm TSMC process but targeting distinct workloads. The FirePro D500 is a workstation-oriented card with a large memory pool and high compute throughput, while the HD 7790 is a mainstream consumer card with a much lower power draw and smaller footprint. Benchmark data shows the D500 holds a 4.9% lead in average score (18533 vs 17666), placing it at the 62nd percentile versus the HD 7790’s 61st percentile, but the real story lies in how each card’s specifications dictate where it excels.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher raw benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro D500 scores 18533 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 4.9% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7790’s Geekbench Metal score of 17666. The D500 also sits at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, one point above the HD 7790’s 61st percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 243.8 GB/s bandwidth. The HD 7790 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 96.00 GB/s. That is a 2.5x advantage in memory bandwidth for the D500.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The FirePro D500 is rated at 274 W TDP with a suggested 600 W PSU, while the HD 7790 is rated at 85 W TDP with a suggested 250 W PSU. The HD 7790 draws about 69% less power and requires a significantly smaller power supply.

Q: Which card supports more display outputs?

A: The FirePro D500 features 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs, whereas the HD 7790 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The D500 is clearly built for multi-display professional setups.

Q: Are there differences in API support?

A: Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170, but they differ in DirectX: the FirePro D500 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The HD 7790 has a more modern DirectX feature level.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The FirePro D500 is 279 mm (11 inches) long, while the HD 7790 is 183 mm (7.2 inches) long. Both are dual-slot cards, but the HD 7790 is substantially shorter, making it easier to fit in compact cases.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: pick the AMD FirePro D500 if your priority is memory-heavy, multi-display professional work or raw compute density. It offers 3x the memory capacity, 2.5x the bandwidth, and 24% more shading units than the HD 7790, along with a 4.9% higher benchmark score. Its six mini-DisplayPort outputs and SDI support make it a natural fit for workstation environments.

Pick the AMD Radeon HD 7790 if you need a low-power, compact card for a standard desktop build. It consumes 189 W less power, requires a 350 W smaller PSU, and is 96 mm shorter. Its DirectX 12 (12_0) support is also more current than the D500’s 12 (11_1). For a mainstream gaming or general-purpose rig where space and power efficiency matter more than raw memory throughput, the HD 7790 is the practical choice.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark entries in the data, so the comparison relies on each card’s standalone scores and nearest rivals. The FirePro D500’s Geekbench Vulkan score of 18533 puts it 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 560X (18626) and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Arc A770M (18383). The HD 7790’s Geekbench Metal score of 17666 is 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (17639) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551).

The 4.9% gap between the two cards (18533 vs 17666) is modest, but the nearest rival comparisons show both cards are competitive within their respective performance classes. The D500 sits within 1% of three different GPUs, while the HD 7790 does the same, indicating that neither card is a clear outlier in its tier. The practical difference is that the D500’s score comes with far more memory bandwidth and capacity, which matters for workloads that spill beyond 1 GB.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D500 | AMD Radeon HD 7790 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | Tahiti | Bonaire |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | GCN 2.0 |

| Generation | FirePro Data Center (Dx00) | Southern Islands (HD 7700) |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 2,080 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 160 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 13.0M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 243.8 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 896 |

| TMUs | 96 | 56 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 23.20 GPixel/s | 16.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 69.60 GTexel/s | 56.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.227 TFLOPS | 1.792 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 274 W | 85 W |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 250 W |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Length | 279 mm (11 inches) | 183 mm (7.2 inches) |

| Release Date | 2014-01-17 | 2013-03-21 |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 149 USD |

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different GCN generations. The FirePro D500 uses GCN 1.0 on the Tahiti chip, while the HD 7790 uses GCN 2.0 on the Bonaire chip. The D500’s Tahiti die is far larger at 352 mm² and packs 4,313 million transistors, but the HD 7790’s Bonaire die achieves a slightly higher transistor density at 13.0M / mm² versus 12.3M / mm².

The D500 has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, which translates to 2.227 TFLOPS FP32 compute. The HD 7790 has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, delivering 1.792 TFLOPS FP32. The D500’s compute advantage is 24% in shading units and 24% in FP32 throughput, though the HD 7790’s memory clock runs faster at 1500 MHz versus 1270 MHz.

Both use GDDR5 memory, but the D500’s 384-bit bus dwarfs the HD 7790’s 128-bit bus. The D500 also features SDI output, which is absent on the HD 7790. The HD 7790 has a more advanced DirectX feature level (12_0 vs 11_1), suggesting better support for newer consumer graphics APIs despite its smaller silicon.

Generation timing matters here: the HD 7790 launched in March 2013 with a 149 USD MSRP, while the D500 arrived in January 2014 with no listed MSRP. The D500’s successor is Radeon Instinct, whereas the HD 7790’s successor is Sea Islands. The D500’s predecessor is FirePro Terascale, and the HD 7790’s is Northern Islands.

Where Each One Wins

The FirePro D500 wins in every compute and memory metric that matters for professional workloads. It has 3x the memory capacity, 2.5x the bandwidth, and 24% more shading units. Its pixel rate (23.20 GPixel/s) is 45% higher than the HD 7790’s 16.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate (69.60 GTexel/s) beats the HD 7790’s 56.00 GTexel/s by 24%. For tasks like large texture sets, multi-monitor output, or compute-heavy rendering, the D500 is the clear pick.

The AMD Radeon HD 7790 wins where power and physical footprint are the constraints. It draws 189 W less power (85 W vs 274 W), requires a 350 W smaller suggested PSU, and is 96 mm shorter. Its DirectX 12 (12_0) support is a generation ahead of the D500’s 12 (11_1), which could matter for newer games or applications that leverage that feature level. The HD 7790 also has a higher memory clock (1500 MHz vs 1270 MHz), though this does not compensate for its much narrower bus.

For a small form factor build or a secondary card that needs minimal power draw, the HD 7790’s 85 W TDP and 183 mm length are decisive advantages. For a workstation with room for a 279 mm card and a 600 W PSU, the D500’s superior memory subsystem and compute throughput make it the better investment, despite its higher power consumption. The benchmark scores reflect this: the D500’s 18533 vs the HD 7790’s 17666 is a real but modest lead, and the specification sheet explains why the gap is not larger—the HD 7790’s newer architecture and faster memory clock keep it competitive in raw throughput per watt.