AMD FirePro D500 vs AMD Radeon Pro 5600M Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the Vulkan benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 46,425 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the AMD FirePro D500 scores 18,533. The Radeon Pro 5600M is 60.1% ahead, making it the clear winner in this specific test.

Q: Which GPU has a higher overall average benchmark score?

A: The FirePro D500 has an average benchmark score of 18,533, while the Radeon Pro 5600M averages 16,351. Despite the Radeon Pro 5600M winning the Vulkan test, the FirePro D500 holds a higher average across all recorded benchmarks.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 243.8 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 5600M has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 394.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do their thermal design power (TDP) ratings differ?

A: The FirePro D500 has a TDP of 274 W and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The Radeon Pro 5600M has a TDP of 50 W and needs no power connectors, making it dramatically more power-efficient.

Q: What is the form factor difference?

A: The FirePro D500 is a dual-slot card measuring 279 mm (11 inches) in length. The Radeon Pro 5600M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no listed dimensions, designed for portable devices.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The FirePro D500 sits at the 62nd percentile, while the Radeon Pro 5600M sits at the 59th percentile. This indicates the FirePro D500 outperforms a slightly larger share of the database.

The Verdict

The data points to two very different products. The AMD FirePro D500 is a workstation card from 2014 built on GCN 1.0, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is a 2020 mobile solution on RDNA 1.0. If your priority is raw Vulkan performance, the Radeon Pro 5600M wins outright with a 60.1% lead. However, if you look at the average benchmark score across all tests, the FirePro D500 edges ahead at 18,533 versus 16,351.

For users who need peak compute in a single API, the Radeon Pro 5600M is the obvious pick. Its 5.857 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 394.2 GB/s memory bandwidth far exceed the FirePro D500's 2.227 TFLOPS and 243.8 GB/s. Yet the FirePro D500's higher percentile ranking (62 vs. 59) suggests it holds its own in the broader database, likely due to its workstation-oriented drivers and consistent performance across multiple test suites.

Practical buyers should note the power envelope. The Radeon Pro 5600M sips 50 W versus 274 W for the FirePro D500, making it suitable for thin laptops. The FirePro D500 demands a 600 W PSU and a dual-slot chassis. For desktop workstations with ample cooling, the FirePro D500 remains viable; for mobile or low-power builds, the Radeon Pro 5600M is the only choice.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole direct comparison in the database is Geekbench Vulkan. Here, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 46,425 against the AMD FirePro D500's 18,533. The delta is a decisive -60.1% for the FirePro D500, meaning the Radeon Pro 5600M delivers roughly 2.5 times the Vulkan performance. This is a massive gap, driven by the newer architecture and higher memory bandwidth.

The FirePro D500 does not have any recorded wins in head-to-head tests. It trails in the only shared benchmark. However, its average benchmark score of 18,533 is higher than the Radeon Pro 5600M's 16,351. This discrepancy arises because the Radeon Pro 5600M's average includes lower scores from other APIs like OpenCL (47,783), Metal (55,030), and several Passmark tests, whereas the FirePro D500 only has the Vulkan score recorded. The FirePro D500's single data point skews its average upward.

For context, the FirePro D500's Vulkan score of 18,533 places it near rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 560X (18,626, -0.5%) and the Intel Arc A770M (18,383, +0.8%). The Radeon Pro 5600M's Vulkan score of 46,425 is not directly compared to rivals in the database, but its average of 16,351 sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (16,361, -0.1%) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16,408, -0.3%).

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D500 | AMD Radeon Pro 5600M |

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

| Process Node | 28 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | Not listed |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | Not listed |

| Memory Size | 3 GB GDDR5 | 8 GB HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 243.8 GB/s | 394.2 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) | 770 MHz (1540 Mbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 96 | 160 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 23.20 GPixel/s | 73.22 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 69.60 GTexel/s | 183.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.227 TFLOPS | 5.857 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 274 W | 50 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.3 |

The Radeon Pro 5600M is a generation ahead in nearly every compute metric. It doubles shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, and offers more than double the FP32 throughput. Memory bandwidth is 61.7% higher. The only area where the FirePro D500 leads is in dedicated display outputs, with six mini-DisplayPorts and SDI, versus the portable-dependent outputs of the Radeon Pro 5600M.

Architecture Differences

The AMD FirePro D500 uses the Tahiti chip on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. It packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The Radeon Pro 5600M uses the Navi 12 chip on RDNA 1.0, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. Transistor count and die size are not recorded in the database, but the shift to 7 nm explains its far lower TDP of 50 W versus 274 W.

The FirePro D500 belongs to the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation and succeeds FirePro Terascale, with the Radeon Instinct as its successor. The Radeon Pro 5600M belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile) generation and has no listed predecessor or successor. The FirePro D500 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the Radeon Pro 5600M supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, indicating a more modern API feature set.

The Radeon Pro 5600M also supports FP16 compute at 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), a feature absent from the FirePro D500's listed specifications. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6. The Radeon Pro 5600M's memory is HBM2 with a 2048-bit bus, a fundamentally different memory architecture from the FirePro D500's GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M wins decisively in Vulkan compute, with a 60.1% lead in the only shared benchmark. Its higher pixel rate (73.22 GPixel/s vs. 23.20 GPixel/s) and texture rate (183.0 GTexel/s vs. 69.60 GTexel/s) make it superior for graphics-heavy workloads, including rendering and real-time visualization. The 8 GB HBM2 memory with 394.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for large textures and data sets. Its low 50 W TDP means it wins in any power-constrained scenario, such as laptops or compact systems.

The AMD FirePro D500 wins in overall average benchmark score, though this is due to its limited benchmark representation. It also wins in workstation connectivity: the six mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and SDI support make it a practical choice for multi-monitor professional setups. Its GCN 1.0 architecture, while older, has proven driver maturity in professional applications. The 384-bit memory bus, though narrower than the Radeon Pro 5600M's 2048-bit bus, still delivers respectable bandwidth for its era.

For users building a desktop workstation with a 600 W PSU and needing multiple display outputs, the FirePro D500 remains functional. For anyone prioritizing compute performance, modern API support, or power efficiency, the Radeon Pro 5600M is the superior choice based on the recorded data. The benchmark results clearly favor the Radeon Pro 5600M in raw speed, while the FirePro D500's niche strengths lie in connectivity and legacy compatibility.