AMD FirePro D500 vs AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench Vulkan, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 68,310, while the AMD FirePro D500 manages 18,533. That gives the RX 5700 XT a 72.9% advantage, a massive gap that reflects the generational leap between the two cards.

The FirePro D500’s score places it at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in that test include the AMD Radeon RX 560X at 18,626 (0.5% faster), the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT at 18,685 (0.8% faster), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18,383 (0.9% slower). The RX 5700 XT sits at the 59th percentile, with its closest competitors being the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M at 16,351 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell at 16,408 (0.3% faster), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 at 16,415 (0.3% faster). The RX 5700 XT’s average score across all recorded benchmarks is 16,361, which is lower than its Vulkan score because the dataset includes several older DirectX and compute tests where it scores lower.

The delta between the two cards in Vulkan is not a close contest. The RX 5700 XT delivers nearly 3.7 times the raw score of the FirePro D500. Even accounting for the fact that the FirePro D500 is a workstation-oriented part from an earlier era, the performance gap is enormous. The database shows one win for the RX 5700 XT and zero for the FirePro D500 in their head-to-head comparison.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5700 XT wins the only shared benchmark outright, so it claims dominance in Vulkan compute and graphics workloads. Its 68,310 score indicates strong performance in modern cross-platform APIs, which is expected from a Radeon RX 5000 series card. The FirePro D500’s 18,533 score is competitive with entry-level consumer cards from its own generation, but it is not in the same league as the RX 5700 XT.

For the FirePro D500, the recorded data shows it only has the one Vulkan result. Its strengths would have to be inferred from its architecture and specifications, not from a broad benchmark suite. It has no recorded wins in any other test. The RX 5700 XT, by contrast, has a wide range of scores: 74,647 in Geekbench Metal, 9,524 in Geekbench OpenCL, 16,277 in Passmark G3D, 7,650 in Passmark GPU Compute, and 922 in Passmark G2D. These numbers indicate the RX 5700 XT is a well-rounded performer across different APIs and workloads, from DirectX 9 (226) to DirectX 12 (64) and OpenCL.

The FirePro D500’s niche is likely professional visualization, given its FirePro Data Center lineage and 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 plus 1x SDI outputs. But the benchmark data does not support a use case where it beats the RX 5700 XT. The RX 5700 XT wins on every measurable axis in this comparison.

Architecture Differences

The FirePro D500 uses the Tahiti chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The RX 5700 XT uses the Navi 10 chip, built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 7 nm process. It contains 10,300 million transistors in a 251 mm² die, achieving a density of 41.0 million per mm². That is more than triple the density, and the smaller die with more transistors explains the RX 5700 XT’s massive performance advantage.

The FirePro D500 is from the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation, while the RX 5700 XT belongs to the Navi (RX 5000) generation. The FirePro D500’s predecessor was FirePro Terascale, and its successor is Radeon Instinct. The RX 5700 XT’s predecessor is Vega, and its successor is Navi II. These lineage differences highlight the evolution from compute-focused professional cards to consumer gaming-oriented RDNA parts.

The API support also reflects the architectural gap. The FirePro D500 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer Vulkan version and higher DirectX feature level on the RX 5700 XT are significant for modern games and compute workloads.

Specification Differences

The RX 5700 XT has a substantially more modern specification sheet across the board. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, boost clock is 1905 MHz, and game clock is 1755 MHz. The FirePro D500 has no recorded base or boost clocks, only a memory clock of 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective). The RX 5700 XT’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), which is nearly triple the effective speed.

Memory capacity differs significantly: 3 GB of GDDR5 on the FirePro D500 versus 8 GB of GDDR6 on the RX 5700 XT. Bus widths are 384-bit and 256-bit respectively. The FirePro D500’s 243.8 GB/s bandwidth is respectable for its era, but the RX 5700 XT’s 448.0 GB/s is far higher, despite the narrower bus.

Compute resources show the same pattern. The FirePro D500 has 1,536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 5700 XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Pixel rates are 23.20 GPixel/s versus 121.9 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 69.60 GTexel/s versus 304.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.227 TFLOPS versus 9.754 TFLOPS. The RX 5700 XT also supports FP16 at 19.51 TFLOPS (2:1), while the FirePro D500 has no FP16 data.

Power draw is counterintuitive: the FirePro D500 has a higher TDP at 274 W, while the RX 5700 XT is rated at 225 W, despite delivering far more performance. The suggested PSU is 600 W for the FirePro D500 and 550 W for the RX 5700 XT. The RX 5700 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the FirePro D500 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the FirePro D500 has 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, while the RX 5700 XT has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Physical dimensions are similar in length (279 mm vs. 272 mm), but the RX 5700 XT has recorded height (111 mm) and width (36 mm) values, while the FirePro D500 lacks those.

The FirePro D500 was released on January 17, 2014, and the RX 5700 XT on July 6, 2019. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has better Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 68,310 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the AMD FirePro D500 scores 18,533, giving the RX 5700 XT a 72.9% lead.

Q: How does the FirePro D500 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The FirePro D500’s average score of 18,533 is within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon RX 560X (18,626), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18,685), and Intel Arc A770M (18,383). It is slightly slower than the RX 560X and Pro 5700 XT, and slightly faster than the Arc A770M.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 243.8 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher power draw?

A: The FirePro D500 has a higher TDP at 274 W, while the RX 5700 XT is rated at 225 W. The suggested PSU is 600 W for the FirePro D500 and 550 W for the RX 5700 XT.

Q: Does the RX 5700 XT support FP16 compute?

A: Yes, the RX 5700 XT has FP16 performance of 19.51 TFLOPS (2:1). The FirePro D500 has no recorded FP16 data.

Q: What are the release dates for these cards?

A: The FirePro D500 was released on January 17, 2014, and the RX 5700 XT was released on July 6, 2019.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the superior performer in every recorded benchmark, with a 72.9% lead in the only direct comparison. Its newer 7 nm RDNA architecture, higher clock speeds, larger memory pool, and greater compute throughput make it the obvious choice for any workload that leverages Vulkan, DirectX 12, or OpenCL.

The AMD FirePro D500 is a legacy workstation card from 2014. Its 28 nm GCN 1.0 architecture and 3 GB of GDDR5 are outdated, and its 2.227 TFLOPS FP32 performance is less than a quarter of the RX 5700 XT’s 9.754 TFLOPS. Its only potential advantage is the 6x mini-DisplayPort output configuration, which may suit specific multi-display professional setups, but that does not compensate for the massive performance deficit.

For gamers or compute users, the RX 5700 XT is the clear pick. For anyone still running a FirePro D500, the RX 5700 XT offers a dramatic upgrade in every measurable metric while consuming less power. The RX 5700 XT also supports newer APIs, including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1), making it compatible with modern software. The FirePro D500 should be considered end-of-life hardware with no competitive standing against the RX 5700 XT in the database’s recorded tests.