AMD FirePro D500 vs AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT vs AMD FirePro D500

The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT and AMD FirePro D500 represent two very different eras of AMD professional graphics. The data shows a generational chasm between them, with the Radeon Pro 5700 XT delivering a staggering 205.4% higher score in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench Vulkan (56,593 vs 18,533). This is not a close contest — it is a complete overhaul of performance expectations, driven by a six-year gap in architecture, memory technology, and process node. The FirePro D500, a 2014-era workstation card built on GCN 1.0, appears almost obsolete when placed next to the RDNA 1.0-based Radeon Pro 5700 XT from 2020.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is starkly one-sided. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT scores 56,593, while the FirePro D500 manages only 18,533. That is a delta of 205.4% — meaning the newer card is roughly three times faster in this compute-oriented API workload. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT’s Vulkan result is not just a win; it is a dominant performance tier leap that suggests the FirePro D500 cannot handle modern Vulkan-based workloads with any semblance of competitiveness.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT posts an average benchmark score of 18,685, which sits just 0.8% above the FirePro D500’s average of 18,533. This near-tie in average score is misleading, however, because the FirePro D500 has only one recorded benchmark (Geekbench Vulkan) while the Radeon Pro 5700 XT has ten. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT’s average is pulled down by older DirectX tests (e.g., Passmark DirectX 9 at 153, DirectX 10 at 76), which are not representative of its modern compute strengths. In the one test where they directly compete, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT wins by a landslide.

The Radeon Pro 5700 XT’s Geekbench Metal score of 51,272 and OpenCL score of 59,467 further illustrate its compute prowess, though no comparable FirePro D500 numbers exist in the data. The FirePro D500’s lone Vulkan score of 18,533 is actually its only data point, making any aggregate comparison inherently skewed. When the data is stripped to the single shared test, the verdict is unambiguous: the Radeon Pro 5700 XT outperforms the FirePro D500 by over 200%.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is the root of their performance disparity. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The FirePro D500 uses the Tahiti chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference alone — 7 nm versus 28 nm — explains much of the efficiency and clock speed gap. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT packs 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The FirePro D500 has 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, for a density of just 12.3M per mm². That is over three times higher density in the newer part, enabling far more compute units in a smaller footprint.

Core configuration differences are equally pronounced. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 render output units (ROPs). The FirePro D500 has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the Radeon Pro 5700 XT offers 67% more shaders, 67% more TMUs, and double the ROPs. Pixel rate tells the story: 95.94 GPixel/s for the Radeon Pro 5700 XT versus 23.20 GPixel/s for the FirePro D500. Texture rate is 239.8 GTexel/s versus 69.60 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute output is 7.675 TFLOPS versus 2.227 TFLOPS — a 3.4x advantage for the newer card. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT also supports FP16 at 15.35 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the FirePro D500 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro D500 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 243.8 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the newer card’s faster memory clock (1500 MHz, 12 Gbps effective versus 1270 MHz, 5.1 Gbps effective) and newer memory type more than compensate. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the FirePro D500 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Power requirements diverge sharply: the Radeon Pro 5700 XT has a 130 W TDP and requires no power connectors (it is an IGP, integrated into a Mac motherboard), while the FirePro D500 has a 274 W TDP, is a dual-slot card, and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The FirePro D500 has six mini-DisplayPort outputs plus SDI, while the Radeon Pro 5700 XT has no display outputs at all — a key differentiator for professional use cases.

The Verdict

The data is crystal clear: the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT is the superior GPU in every measured dimension. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 205.4%, offers more than triple the FP32 compute throughput (7.675 TFLOPS versus 2.227 TFLOPS), and has 5.3x more memory capacity (16 GB versus 3 GB). The Radeon Pro 5700 XT also benefits from a newer architecture (RDNA 1.0 versus GCN 1.0), a 7 nm process versus 28 nm, and PCIe 4.0 support. Its 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs is one point higher than the FirePro D500’s 62nd percentile, though both are mid-pack performers.

However, the FirePro D500 is not without its own merits within the available data. It has a 0.8% higher average score than the Radeon Pro 5700 XT when comparing their respective nearest rivals — but this is an artifact of sparse data. The FirePro D500’s only benchmark, Geekbench Vulkan at 18,533, is its entire benchmark profile. In contrast, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT’s average of 18,685 is computed across ten tests, including older DirectX workloads where it scores low (e.g., 59 in DirectX 12, 76 in DirectX 10). The FirePro D500’s 384-bit memory bus and six display outputs are advantages for multi-monitor setups, but they do not offset the massive compute deficit.

For anyone choosing between these two for modern workloads, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT is the only rational pick. The FirePro D500’s advantage lies solely in legacy display connectivity and a wider memory bus, which the newer card’s higher bandwidth (384.0 GB/s versus 243.8 GB/s) already overcomes. The verdict is not close: the Radeon Pro 5700 XT wins decisively.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT in Vulkan compared to the AMD FirePro D500?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT scores 56,593 versus the FirePro D500’s 18,533, a 205.4% advantage.

Q: Which GPU has more memory, and by how much?

A: The Radeon Pro 5700 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6, while the FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 — a 5.3x capacity difference.

Q: What is the FP32 compute performance of each card?

A: The Radeon Pro 5700 XT delivers 7.675 TFLOPS, while the FirePro D500 delivers 2.227 TFLOPS, making the newer card 3.4x faster.

Q: Does the FirePro D500 have any benchmark where it beats the Radeon Pro 5700 XT?

A: No. In the only shared benchmark (Geekbench Vulkan), the Radeon Pro 5700 XT wins by 205.4%. The FirePro D500 has no other recorded benchmarks to compare.

Q: What are the process node and transistor density differences?

A: The Radeon Pro 5700 XT uses a 7 nm process with 41.0M transistors per mm² (10,300 million total on 251 mm²). The FirePro D500 uses a 28 nm process with 12.3M per mm² (4,313 million on 352 mm²).

Q: Which GPU has display outputs?

A: The FirePro D500 has 6x mini-DisplayPort and 1x SDI outputs, while the Radeon Pro 5700 XT has no display outputs (it is an IGP).

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro 5700 XT wins in every performance metric measured. It is the clear choice for compute-heavy workloads: Vulkan-based rendering, OpenCL compute (59,467 score), Metal graphics (51,272 score), and FP32/FP16 floating-point operations. Its 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB capacity make it suitable for large datasets and high-resolution textures. The 7 nm process and 130 W TDP mean it runs cooler and more efficiently than the FirePro D500, which requires a 600 W PSU and dual-slot cooling. The Radeon Pro 5700 XT also supports newer API versions: DirectX 12 (12_1) versus 12 (11_1), and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.170.

The FirePro D500’s only wins are niche and hardware-specific. It has a 384-bit memory bus (wider than the 256-bit bus of the Radeon Pro 5700 XT), though this does not translate to higher bandwidth. It has 6x mini-DisplayPort outputs plus SDI, making it a viable option for multi-display professional setups where the Radeon Pro 5700 XT cannot be used at all (it has zero outputs). The FirePro D500 is also a dual-slot card with a 279 mm length, which might fit in certain workstation chassis that lack support for integrated GPUs. But these are connectivity advantages, not performance ones. In any benchmark listed, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT dominates.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT | AMD FirePro D500 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 10,300 million | 4,313 million |

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 352 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 41.0M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 3 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 384.0 GB/s | 243.8 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 160 | 96 |

| ROPs | 64 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 95.94 GPixel/s | 23.20 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 239.8 GTexel/s | 69.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 7.675 TFLOPS | 2.227 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 15.35 TFLOPS (2:1) | Not listed |

| TDP | 130 W | 274 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | Not listed |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 600 W |

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

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort, 1x SDI |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2020-08-03 | 2014-01-17 |

| Generation | Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Series) | FirePro Data Center (Dx00) |