AMD FirePro D700 vs AMD Radeon 860M Comparison

The AMD Radeon 860M and AMD FirePro D700 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, with the former being a modern integrated processor and the latter a legacy workstation card. Benchmark data reveals a split decision: the FirePro D700 takes a narrow lead in OpenCL compute, while the Radeon 860M counters with a decisive advantage in Vulkan performance. The overall average benchmark scores are close, with the Radeon 860M at 26,401 and the FirePro D700 at 25,842, a margin of roughly 2.2%. This places both GPUs in a similar performance tier, with the Radeon 860M holding the 72nd percentile of all GPUs and the FirePro D700 at the 71st percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmarks included in the comparison paint a picture of generational trade-offs. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD FirePro D700 scores 23,716, which is 4% higher than the Radeon 860M's 22,759. This result is notable because the FirePro D700 is a much older design, yet its raw compute throughput in this specific workload remains competitive. The Radeon 860M's deficit here is likely tied to its integrated nature, where memory bandwidth is shared with the system rather than dedicated. This is a clear win for the older card, showing that its 6 GB of GDDR5 memory and 384-bit bus still provide a tangible advantage in certain compute tasks.

However, the Vulkan benchmark tells the opposite story. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 30,043, which is 7.4% higher than the FirePro D700's 27,968. This is a substantial margin that underscores the architectural improvements in the Radeon 860M. The newer RDNA 3.5 architecture with support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 likely contributes to better driver optimization and more efficient execution of modern graphics APIs. The FirePro D700, with its older GCN 1.0 architecture and Vulkan 1.2.170 support, trails in this scenario, indicating that its strengths lie in legacy compute rather than contemporary graphics pipelines.

When looking at the nearest rivals for each card, the data provides additional context for these scores. The Radeon 860M's average score of 26,401 puts it within 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (26,331) and 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26,421). It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553) by 0.6% and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 (26,683) by 1.1%. This suggests the Radeon 860M is positioned among a cluster of discrete mobile and entry-level workstation GPUs, which is impressive for an IGP. The FirePro D700's average score of 25,842 places it near the AMD FirePro W7100 (25,856) with a 0.1% delta, and it is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740) by 0.4% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726) by 0.5%. This indicates the FirePro D700 still holds its own against much newer mobile parts, though its performance ceiling is clearly lower than the Radeon 860M's in modern API workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a higher average benchmark score of 26,401 compared to the AMD FirePro D700's 25,842, a difference of about 2.2%.

Q: How does the Radeon 860M perform in Vulkan relative to the FirePro D700?

A: The Radeon 860M scores 30,043 in the Geekbench Vulkan test, which is 7.4% higher than the FirePro D700's score of 27,968, making it the clear winner in that benchmark.

Q: Where does the FirePro D700 outperform the Radeon 860M?

A: The FirePro D700 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 23,716, which is 4% higher than the Radeon 860M's 22,759.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU among all GPUs?

A: The Radeon 860M ranks in the 72nd percentile, while the FirePro D700 ranks in the 71st percentile, indicating they are in the same broad performance tier.

Q: Which rival is closest in performance to the Radeon 860M?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 is the closest rival to the Radeon 860M, with an average score of 26,421 and a delta of -0.1%, meaning the Radeon 860M is essentially tied with it.

Q: Which rival is closest in performance to the FirePro D700?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 is the closest rival to the FirePro D700, with an average score of 25,856 and a delta of -0.1%, indicating a near-identical performance level.

The Verdict

The data suggests a nuanced choice. For users prioritizing modern graphics API performance, particularly Vulkan, the AMD Radeon 860M is the better option. Its 7.4% lead in Vulkan is significant and reflects its support for newer standards like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. This makes it more suitable for contemporary gaming or graphics workloads that leverage these APIs. The Radeon 860M also has a higher average benchmark score overall, placing it in the 72nd percentile.

Conversely, the AMD FirePro D700 is the pick for legacy compute tasks, as evidenced by its 4% win in OpenCL. Its dedicated 6 GB of GDDR5 memory with 263.0 GB/s bandwidth and 384-bit bus provides a level of memory performance that the Radeon 860M, with its system-shared memory, cannot match. For professional applications that rely heavily on OpenCL compute and do not require modern graphics features, the FirePro D700 remains a capable, albeit end-of-life, solution. The FirePro D700 also benefits from a higher raw FP32 throughput of 3.482 TFLOPS compared to the Radeon 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS, which likely underpins its OpenCL advantage.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ fundamentally in their memory subsystems and power requirements. The Radeon 860M uses System Shared memory, with a memory clock of "System Shared" and bandwidth described as "System Dependent". In contrast, the FirePro D700 has 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory, a 384-bit bus width, and a bandwidth of 263.0 GB/s. The memory clock on the FirePro D700 is 1370 MHz, or 5.5 Gbps effective. The Radeon 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3000 MHz, while the FirePro D700 has no listed base or boost clock. The Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W and is an IGP with no power connectors, while the FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W, is a dual-slot card, and requires a suggested PSU of 600 W.

The bus interface also differs: the Radeon 860M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, whereas the FirePro D700 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent" for the Radeon 860M, while the FirePro D700 features 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI. The Radeon 860M has a die size that is unknown, while the FirePro D700 has a die size of 352 mm² and contains 4,313 million transistors. The production status is "Active" for the Radeon 860M and "End-of-life" for the FirePro D700.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture using a 4 nm process at TSMC, while the FirePro D700 uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. The Radeon 860M features 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, along with 8 ray tracing cores. The FirePro D700 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but lacks dedicated ray tracing cores. This difference in core configuration explains why the FirePro D700 can compete in raw compute: it has four times the shading units and TMUs, which helps in parallel workloads.

The Radeon 860M's FP32 performance is 3.072 TFLOPS, while the FirePro D700's is slightly higher at 3.482 TFLOPS. However, the Radeon 860M supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (3.072 TFLOPS), while the FirePro D700 has no listed FP16 capability. The Radeon 860M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Radeon 860M is part of the Navi III IGP generation on the Krackan Point chip, while the FirePro D700 is from the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation on the Tahiti chip. The Radeon 860M has a transistor count listed as unknown, while the FirePro D700's transistor density is 12.3M per mm².

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 860M wins in scenarios that demand modern API support and efficiency. Its 7.4% lead in Vulkan makes it the better choice for gaming applications that use Vulkan, as well as for any workload that benefits from DirectX 12 Ultimate features like ray tracing, given its 8 dedicated RT cores. Its low 15 W TDP also makes it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where power efficiency is critical. The Radeon 860M's higher average benchmark score and 72nd percentile ranking suggest it is the more versatile performer overall.

The AMD FirePro D700 wins in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, as shown by its 4% advantage in that benchmark. Its dedicated 6 GB of GDDR5 memory with 263.0 GB/s bandwidth provides a significant advantage for tasks that require large datasets or high memory throughput, such as scientific simulations or professional rendering. The FirePro D700's higher shading unit count (2048 vs 512) and FP32 throughput (3.482 TFLOPS) also make it a stronger candidate for raw parallel compute, despite its older architecture. For legacy professional applications that are optimized for OpenCL and do not require modern graphics features, the FirePro D700 remains a viable option, though its end-of-life status and 274 W TDP limit its appeal in modern systems.