AMD FirePro D500 vs AMD Radeon R9 M390X Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

Q: The AMD Radeon R9 M390X records an average benchmark score of 20662, while the AMD FirePro D500 records 18533. That places the R9 M390X about 11.5% higher on average.

Q: How do the two compare in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The AMD FirePro D500 scores 18533 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 16951. The FirePro D500 wins by 8.5%.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The Radeon R9 M390X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 243.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The Radeon R9 M390X has a transistor density of 13.7M per mm², compared to 12.3M per mm² on the FirePro D500. The R9 M390X also has more total transistors at 5,000 million versus 4,313 million.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each card?

A: The Radeon R9 M390X has 2048 shading units, while the FirePro D500 has 1536 shading units. The R9 M390X also has 128 texture mapping units versus 96 on the D500, while both have 32 ROPs.

Q: What is the thermal design power difference?

A: The Radeon R9 M390X is rated at 75 W, while the FirePro D500 is rated at 274 W. The FirePro D500 also requires a 600 W suggested PSU, whereas the R9 M390X uses an MXM module with no power connectors listed.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by workload and platform. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X holds the higher average benchmark score at 20662, which is roughly 11.5% above the FirePro D500's 18533. Its Geekbench Metal score of 24373 indicates strong performance in Metal-based applications, and it also lands at the 66th percentile among all GPUs in the database. The FirePro D500 sits at the 62nd percentile.

For users running Vulkan workloads, the FirePro D500 is the better pick. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 18533 beats the R9 M390X's 16951 by 8.5%. The D500 also offers substantially higher memory bandwidth at 243.8 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s, thanks to its 384-bit bus and 3 GB of GDDR5. That combination favors bandwidth-sensitive tasks.

The R9 M390X counters with a newer architecture. GCN 3.0 versus GCN 2.961 TFLOPS. It also supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and 2.961 TFLOPS. The D500 lists no FP16 capability. The R9 M390X fits a 75 W mobile form factor, making it the only one of the two that appears suited to portable devices. The FirePro D500 is a dual-slot 274 W data center card at 279 mm long with 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs.

Choose the R9 M390X when the workload leans on Metal, FP32, or higher raw throughput per watt. Choose the FirePro D500 when Vulkan performance and memory bandwidth matter more, especially in a data center context.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one shared benchmark appears in the database: Geekbench Vulkan. The AMD FirePro D500 scores 18533, and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 16951. That is a delta of 8.5% in favor of the FirePro D500. The score difference is 1582 points.

The R9 M390X has no direct head-to-head win recorded in the database. Its wins come from the broader benchmark suite: the Geekbench Metal score of 24373 is only recorded for the R9 M390X, and that result contributes to its higher average of 20662. The FirePro D500 has no Metal score recorded.

Looking at nearest rivals for context, the R9 M390X's average of 20662 sits between the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20713 and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582. The R9 M390X trails the RX 5600 XT by 0.2% and leads the A750 by 0.4%. The FirePro D500's average of 18533 sits between the AMD Radeon RX 560X at 18626 and the Intel Arc A770M at 18383. The D500 trails the RX 560X by 0.5% and leads the A770M by 0.8%.

The Vulkan result is the only point where the two can be compared directly. The difference is real but not enormous. The FirePro D500's advantage in that single test does not overturn the R9 M390X's overall average lead.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification field.

Memory: The R9 M390X has 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro D500 has 3 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 243.8 GB/s bandwidth. The D500 has 52% more bandwidth but 25% less capacity.

Compute units: The R9 M390X has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro D500 has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Both share the same ROP count.

Clock and throughput: The R9 M390X memory runs at 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective. The D500 memory runs at 1270 MHz with 5.1 Gbps effective. The R9 M390X achieves 23.14 GPixel/s and 92.54 GTexel/s. The D500 achieves 23.20 GPixel/s and 69.60 GTexel/s. The R9 M390X has the higher texture rate by a significant margin, while the D500 has a negligible pixel rate edge.

Power and physical: The R9 M390X is rated at 75 W and uses an MXM module with no power connectors. The D500 is rated at 274 W, is dual-slot, 279 mm long, and lists a 600 W suggested PSU.

Outputs: The R9 M390X has portable device dependent outputs. The D500 has 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI.

API support: The R9 M390X supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The D500 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Release dates: The R9 M390X was released on 2015-05-04. The D500 was released on 2014-01-17. Both are end-of-life.

Architecture Differences

The R9 M390X uses the Amethyst chip on GCN 3.0 architecture. The FirePro D500 uses the Tahiti chip on GCN 1.0 architecture. That is a two-generation gap in the GCN line, which explains several capability differences.

Both are built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The R9 M390X has a slightly larger die at 366 mm² versus 352 mm², and it packs more transistors: 5,000 million versus 4,313 million. Transistor density is 13.7M per mm² on the R9 M390X versus 12.3M per mm² on the D500. The newer process node, in this case the same node, does not account for the density difference, so the R9 M390X's architecture appears more efficient in layout.

The R9 M390X supports FP16 at 2.961 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio to FP32. The D500 lists no FP16 capability at all. That is a notable architectural feature: GCN 3.0 brought FP16 support that GCN 1.0 lacked.

FP32 throughput differs as well. The R9 M390X delivers 2.961 TFLOPS, while the D500 delivers 2.227 TFLOPS. The R9 M390X is roughly 33% ahead in raw FP32 compute. The texture rate follows the same pattern, with the R9 M390X at 92.54 GTexel/s versus 69.60 GTexel/s on the D500, a 33% lead that matches the shading unit and TMU counts.

The D500's 384-bit memory bus and 243.8 GB/s bandwidth are architectural holdovers from GCN 1.0's wider bus design. The R9 M390X moved to a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s, trading bandwidth for lower power and a smaller memory footprint. The D500's higher bandwidth does not compensate for its lower compute throughput in the average score.

The generation names in the database reflect the different product lines. The R9 M390X belongs to the Gem System (R9 M300) generation, while the D500 belongs to the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation. Predecessor and successor lines also differ: the R9 M390X follows the Solar System and leads to Polaris Mobile, while the D500 follows FirePro Terascale and leads to Radeon Instinct.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M390X wins in compute-oriented and Metal-based workloads. Its Geekbench Metal score of 24373 is the highest single benchmark result recorded for either card. Its FP32 throughput of 2.961 TFLOPS exceeds the D500's 2.227 TFLOPS by about 33%. It also has FP16 support at 2.961 TFLOPS, which the D500 lacks entirely. The higher texture rate of 92.54 GTexel/s versus 69.60 GTexel/s gives it an edge in texture-heavy rendering. The 4 GB memory capacity is also larger, which helps with larger textures or datasets that fit within the bus bandwidth limit.

The AMD FirePro D500 wins in Vulkan and bandwidth-sensitive scenarios. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 18533 beats the R9 M390X by 8.5%. The 243.8 GB/s bandwidth, driven by a 384-bit bus, is 52% higher than the R9 M390X's 160.0 GB/s. That makes it better suited for workloads that stream large amounts of data through memory. The D500 also has a slight pixel rate edge at 23.20 GPixel/s versus 23.14 GPixel/s, though the difference is small. Its 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs give it a fixed multi-display configuration, whereas the R9 M390X's outputs depend on the portable device.

In the broader database context, the R9 M390X's average score of 20662 places it at the 66th percentile, above the D500's 62nd percentile. The R9 M390X also sits closer to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, trailing by only 0.2%, while the D500 sits near the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT, trailing by 0.8%. Both cards are end-of-life, but the R9 M390X has the more favorable profile for modern API support with DirectX 12 (12_0) versus 11_1 on the D500.

The verdict from the data is straightforward. If the workload is Metal-based, compute-heavy, or power-constrained, the R9 M390X is the stronger choice. If the workload is Vulkan-based or memory-bandwidth-bound, the FirePro D500 has the advantage. No single card dominates across all recorded metrics, but the R9 M390X has the higher overall average and the more complete feature set.