AMD FirePro D500 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data for these two cards comes from different benchmark suites, making a direct apples-to-apples comparison impossible. The AMD FirePro D500 was tested with Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 18,533 points. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 was tested with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, scoring 16,504 points. These are separate workloads measuring different aspects of GPU performance, so no direct winner can be declared from the head-to-head results, which remain empty in the database.

What the data does show is where each card sits relative to its own immediate competitors. The FirePro D500 lands in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around its score. The AMD Radeon RX 560X averages 18,626 points, which is 0.5% higher than the FirePro D500. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT averages 18,685 points, 0.8% higher. On the other side, the Intel Arc A770M averages 18,383 points, 0.8% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 averages 18,373 points, 0.9% lower. The FirePro D500 essentially trades blows with these cards, sitting in a performance band where a single percentage point separates the entire group.

The RTX 5090 D V2 sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA T400 averages 16,508 points, statistically identical at a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 averages 16,415 points, 0.5% lower. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell averages 16,408 points, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT averages 16,361 points, 0.9% lower. Again, the margins are razor thin, with the entire rival group falling within one point of the RTX 5090 D V2's score.

The broader picture is clearer. The FirePro D500's 18,533 Geekbench Vulkan score is roughly 12% higher than the RTX 5090 D V2's 16,504 Steel Nomad score. But that comparison ignores the fact that these are different tests with different rendering paths, different driver optimizations, and different hardware generations. What the percentiles reveal is that both cards occupy similar positions in the overall GPU landscape, one at 62% and the other at 59%, despite the enormous architectural gap between them.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from completely different eras of GPU design. The AMD FirePro D500 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors onto a 352 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 uses the GB202 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 5 nm process. It contains 92,200 million transistors across a 750 mm² die, achieving a density of 122.9 million per square millimeter. That is roughly ten times the transistor density of the older AMD part.

The FirePro D500 features 1,536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, as those concepts did not exist in GCN 1.0. The RTX 5090 D V2, by contrast, deploys 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. It also carries 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores, reflecting the modern GPU emphasis on accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads.

Memory configurations differ just as dramatically. The FirePro D500 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384 bit bus, delivering 243.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5090 D V2 uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on the same 384 bit bus width, but bandwidth jumps to 1.34 TB/s, a more than fivefold increase. Memory clocks tell the story: the FirePro D500 runs at 1270 MHz, or 5.1 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5090 D V2 runs at 1750 MHz, or 28 Gbps effective.

Compute throughput shows the generational leap. The FirePro D500 delivers 2.227 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 23.20 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 69.60 GTexel/s. The RTX 5090 D V2 delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 and the same 104.8 TFLOPS for FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. Its pixel rate reaches 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate hits 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card is roughly 47 times faster in FP32 throughput, an enormous gap driven by both architecture and node improvements.

Power and interface specifications also diverge. The FirePro D500 has a TDP of 274 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 5090 D V2 has a TDP of 575 W and a suggested PSU of 950 W. The older card uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the newer one uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the FirePro D500 offers six mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs plus one SDI output, while the RTX 5090 D V2 provides one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD FirePro D500 scores 18,533 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 scores 16,504 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. These are different test suites, so the scores are not directly comparable.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The FirePro D500 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RTX 5090 D V2 has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory. Both use a 384 bit memory bus.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D V2 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 5090 D V2 includes 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The FirePro D500 has no ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two?

A: The FirePro D500 contains 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die. The RTX 5090 D V2 contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die.

Q: Which card is currently in production?

A: The FirePro D500 is marked as end-of-life and was released on 2014-01-17. The RTX 5090 D V2 is active and was released on 2025-08-14.

Q: What are the TDP requirements for each card?

A: The FirePro D500 has a TDP of 274 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 5090 D V2 has a TDP of 575 W and a suggested PSU of 950 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D500 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 92,200 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 750 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 122.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | None listed | 2017 MHz |

| Boost Clock | None listed | 2407 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz, 5.1 Gbps effective | 1750 MHz, 28 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 243.8 GB/s | 1.34 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 21760 |

| TMUs | 96 | 680 |

| ROPs | 32 | 176 |

| RT Cores | None | 170 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 680 |

| Pixel Rate | 23.20 GPixel/s | 423.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 69.60 GTexel/s | 1,636.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 2.227 TFLOPS | 104.8 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None listed | 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 274 W | 575 W |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 950 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2014-01-17 | 2025-08-14 |

| Predecessor | FirePro Terascale | GeForce 40 |

| Successor | Radeon Instinct | GeForce 60 |

Both cards share a dual-slot width, a 384 bit memory bus, TSMC as the foundry, and OpenGL 4.6 support. The RTX 5090 D V2 has a launch MSRP of 2,299 USD.

The Verdict

The data paints two very different portraits. The AMD FirePro D500 is an end-of-life workstation card from the GCN 1.0 era. Its 18,533 Geekbench Vulkan score places it in the 62nd percentile, competitive with cards like the AMD Radeon RX 560X and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT, both of which sit within one percentage point. It offers 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, 2.227 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and a 274 W TDP. For workloads that rely on its specific feature set, particularly its six mini-DisplayPort outputs and SDI output, it remains a functional legacy option.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 is an active, current-generation card. Its 16,504 Steel Nomad score places it in the 59th percentile, with rivals like the NVIDIA T400 and AMD Radeon PRO W7500 within one point. It brings 24 GB of GDDR7 memory, 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 170 ray tracing cores, and 680 tensor cores. Its 575 W TDP demands serious power delivery, with a suggested PSU of 950 W.

The choice between these cards depends entirely on workload. The FirePro D500 suits legacy professional environments where its specific display output configuration and lower power draw are assets, and where the older GCN feature set is sufficient. The RTX 5090 D V2 is the clear choice for modern workloads that leverage ray tracing, tensor core acceleration, or the massive 24 GB memory pool. Its FP32 throughput is roughly 47 times higher, its bandwidth is more than five times higher, and its transistor count is over 21 times higher. The percentile rankings are surprisingly close, but the underlying capabilities are generations apart.