AMD FirePro D500 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

The AMD FirePro D500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear generational gap, with the RTX 3070 dominating in raw compute and modern API support, while the FirePro D500 retains relevance only in legacy workstation contexts. This comparison hinges on the single shared benchmark, but the specification sheets reveal a much broader chasm in capability.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable data point is the Geekbench Vulkan test, and it favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 decisively. The RTX 3070 scores 21,022 points, while the AMD FirePro D500 manages 18,533 points. This translates to an 11.8% deficit for the older AMD card, meaning the RTX 3070 is roughly 12% faster in this specific API workload. For context, the FirePro D500’s nearest rivals in the database—the AMD Radeon RX 560X (18,626) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18,685)—are within 1% of its score, confirming that the D500 sits firmly in a mid-range 2014-era performance bracket. The RTX 3070, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083) and NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17,468) in its own rival list, though it outperforms both by 0.7% and 1.5% respectively. The benchmark delta is not a close race; it is a one-sided affair where the newer architecture’s Vulkan driver maturity and hardware features simply outclass the older GCN 1.0 design.

When examining the broader benchmark suite for the RTX 3070, the disparity becomes even more apparent. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 112,821 dwarfs the FirePro D500’s Vulkan result, though these are different tests and not directly comparable. More tellingly, the RTX 3070’s PassMark G3D score of 22,214 and GPU Compute score of 11,195 indicate a card that excels in both rasterization and compute-heavy tasks. The FirePro D500 has no equivalent scores in the data, leaving its only measurable performance at that single Vulkan point. The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 17,208 across all tests is actually lower than its Vulkan score, suggesting that some of its other workloads (like PassMark DirectX 10 at 150 or DirectX 12 at 85) drag down the average. However, these low DirectX scores are likely artifacts of the specific test suite rather than real-world reflections, given the card’s modern DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 wins in every measurable category. It outpaces the FirePro D500 in Vulkan performance, and its specification sheet indicates superiority in memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 243.8 GB/s), texture rate (317.4 GTexel/s vs 69.60 GTexel/s), and pixel rate (165.6 GPixel/s vs 23.20 GPixel/s). The RTX 3070 also has a massive advantage in FP32 compute, delivering 20.31 TFLOPS compared to the FirePro D500’s 2.227 TFLOPS—a difference of roughly nine-fold. This makes the RTX 3070 the clear choice for any modern workload, from gaming to machine learning inference, where raw floating-point throughput matters.

The AMD FirePro D500’s only potential “win” is in its legacy feature set. It has six mini-DisplayPort outputs plus an SDI connector, which is a specialist configuration for multi-display workstation setups that the RTX 3070 cannot match (it offers one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a). For a professional environment relying on older SDI infrastructure, the D500’s output flexibility is a unique advantage. Additionally, the FirePro D500’s 384-bit memory bus, while slower in total bandwidth than the RTX 3070’s 256-bit bus, may offer better latency characteristics for certain legacy applications. However, no benchmark data exists in the pack to substantiate any performance win for the D500 outside of Vulkan, so this remains speculative. The data simply shows zero wins for the D500 in head-to-head testing.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD FirePro D500 faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in any test?

A: No. The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 3070 wins with a score of 21,022 versus 18,533 for the D500, an 11.8% margin.

Q: How does the FirePro D500 compare to its own generation peers?

A: The D500’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 560X (18,626, -0.5% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18,685, -0.8% delta), indicating it performs within 1% of those cards. It also edges out the Intel Arc A770M (18,383) by 0.8%.

Q: What is the RTX 3070’s standing among its direct competitors?

A: The RTX 3070’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083, +0.7% delta) and NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17,468, -1.5% delta), placing it slightly above average in its performance tier.

Q: Does the FirePro D500 support modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: No. The D500 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. This limits the D500’s compatibility with newer titles.

Q: Which card has more memory, and does it matter for the benchmark results?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5. Memory capacity is not directly reflected in the Vulkan benchmark, but the RTX 3070’s higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) likely contributes to its superior score.

Q: Are there any workstation-specific features that favor the D500?

A: The D500 offers six mini-DisplayPort outputs and an SDI connector, which is a unique multi-display configuration. The RTX 3070 provides one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a, which is standard for consumer cards.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on nearly every hardware specification. The RTX 3070 uses a GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the D500 uses a Tahiti chip on a 28 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts differ dramatically: the RTX 3070 packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, versus 4,313 million on a 352 mm² die for the D500. This results in a transistor density of 44.4M/mm² for NVIDIA versus 12.3M/mm² for AMD, highlighting the process node advantage.

Clock speeds are only listed for the RTX 3070, with a base of 1500 MHz and boost of 1725 MHz. The D500’s clocks are absent from the data, but its memory runs at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) compared to the RTX 3070’s 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Memory configuration differs: 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus for the RTX 3070, versus 3 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus for the D500. Bandwidth favors the RTX 3070 at 448.0 GB/s versus 243.8 GB/s.

Compute resources are massively skewed toward the RTX 3070: 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores, versus 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the D500. The RTX 3070 also has a lower TDP of 220 W versus 274 W, and a shorter length (242 mm vs 279 mm). Bus interface differs as well: PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA, PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD. The RTX 3070 has a launch MSRP of 499 USD, while the D500 has no listed MSRP.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is the core story here. The FirePro D500 is built on GCN 1.0, AMD’s first-generation Graphics Core Next architecture, which debuted in 2012. It lacks dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, relying on a unified shader design that was competitive for its era but is now outdated. The RTX 3070, in contrast, uses NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, which introduces dedicated RT cores (46 of them) for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor cores (184) for AI-driven tasks like DLSS. This is a fundamental difference: the D500 cannot accelerate ray tracing or deep learning inference in hardware, while the RTX 3070 is purpose-built for both.

The process node difference—28 nm TSMC versus 8 nm Samsung—explains the efficiency and density gains. The RTX 3070’s FP16 performance is listed at 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio with FP32), indicating full-rate half-precision compute, which the D500 lacks entirely (FP16 is null in the data). API support also differs: the RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the D500 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. This means the RTX 3070 can handle modern games and workloads that require mesh shaders, variable rate shading, and other DirectX 12 Ultimate features, none of which are available on the D500.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the superior card in every measurable way. It is 11.8% faster in Vulkan, has over nine times the FP32 compute throughput (20.31 TFLOPS vs 2.227 TFLOPS), nearly double the memory bandwidth, and supports modern APIs that the FirePro D500 cannot. The RTX 3070 also achieves this with a lower TDP (220 W vs 274 W) and a smaller physical footprint (242 mm vs 279 mm). Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than double the D500’s 3 GB, and its 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores open up capabilities that the older card simply does not possess.

The FirePro D500’s sole advantage is its legacy output configuration—six mini-DisplayPorts and an SDI connector—which could be critical for a specialized multi-monitor or broadcast setup that relies on older cabling standards. Additionally, its 384-bit memory bus, while slower in aggregate bandwidth, may be preferable for certain legacy workstation applications that favor wider buses. However, these are niche use cases, and the D500’s end-of-life production status and lack of driver updates for modern APIs make it a risky choice for any forward-looking deployment.

For anyone building a system today, the RTX 3070 is the obvious pick. It outperforms the D500 in the only head-to-head test available, and its architectural advantages in ray tracing, tensor compute, and process efficiency are insurmountable. The D500 should only be considered if you have a specific hardware requirement for SDI outputs or must maintain compatibility with an ancient software stack that cannot tolerate newer drivers. Otherwise, the data says to choose the RTX 3070 without hesitation.