AMD FirePro D700 vs AMD Radeon Pro W5700 Comparison

The AMD FirePro D700 and AMD Radeon Pro W5700 represent two distinct eras of AMD professional graphics, separated by nearly six years of architectural evolution. The data reveals a stark performance gulf, with the newer W5700 dominating the older D700 in every head-to-head benchmark, yet both cards occupy the same 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs, a curious statistical artifact. The FirePro D700, a GCN 1.0 relic from 2014, clings to relevance through its massive 384-bit memory bus and unique SDI output, while the Radeon Pro W5700 leverages a 7nm RDNA 1.0 design to deliver over three times the OpenCL compute throughput. This analysis dissects the specification sheets and benchmark results to determine which card suits which workload, strictly from the provided data.

The Verdict

The Radeon Pro W5700 is the unambiguous performance victor, winning both head-to-head tests decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the W5700 scores 74,613 against the D700's 23,716, a delta of -68.2% meaning the D700 trails by more than two-thirds. The Vulkan test shows a similar story: 70,706 versus 27,968, a -60.4% gap. For any compute-heavy or modern API workload, the W5700 is the only rational choice.

However, the FirePro D700 retains a niche argument for legacy environments. Its 6GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus delivers 263.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which, while lower than the W5700's 448.0 GB/s, is paired with a 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 plus 1x SDI output configuration. The SDI output is unique in this comparison and suggests a specific broadcast or video-production use case where the W5700's 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a plus USB Type-C setup may not suffice. The D700’s average benchmark score of 25,842 is nearly identical to the W5700's 25,726 (deltaPct 0.5), yet this parity is misleading—it stems from the D700 having only two benchmarks (both low) averaged against the W5700’s ten, which include high compute scores and low DirectX legacy scores.

For the vast majority of users, the W5700 wins outright: it doubles the memory capacity (8GB vs 6GB), nearly doubles FP32 throughput (8.663 TFLOPS vs 3.482 TFLOPS), and supports modern PCIe 4.0. The D700 should only be considered if the SDI output is a hard requirement and the workload is strictly OpenCL or Vulkan, where its scores, while lower, are still functional. The data does not support choosing the D700 for raw performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is fundamental, representing a generational leap in GPU design. The FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture at TSMC's 28nm process. It packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². In contrast, the Radeon Pro W5700 uses the Navi 10 chip, built on RDNA 1.0 architecture at TSMC's 7nm node. This newer process allows 10,300 million transistors in a smaller 251 mm² die, achieving a density of 41.0M per mm²—over three times denser.

The core configurations differ significantly. The D700 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The W5700 increases these to 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs—the ROP doubling is particularly impactful for pixel fill rates. The D700's pixel rate is 27.20 GPixel/s and texture rate is 108.8 GTexel/s, while the W5700 posts 120.3 GPixel/s and 270.7 GTexel/s, respectively.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The D700 uses 6GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with memory clock at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective), achieving 263.0 GB/s bandwidth. The W5700 uses 8GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), achieving 448.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the faster GDDR6 nearly doubles bandwidth.

Feature support shows the W5700's modernity. The D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The W5700 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4—a notably newer Vulkan version. The W5700 also has FP16 support at 17.33 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the D700 has no listed FP16 capability. The D700 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the W5700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the bus bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw compute performance?

A: The Radeon Pro W5700 decisively wins compute. Its FP32 output is 8.663 TFLOPS versus the FirePro D700's 3.482 TFLOPS, and in Geekbench OpenCL the W5700 scores 74,613 against 23,716—a 68.2% advantage.

Q: Is the FirePro D700 better at anything measured?

A: Yes, in one specific area: its display output includes 1x SDI, which the W5700 lacks. The D700 also has 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 versus the W5700's 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a plus USB Type-C. No benchmark shows the D700 winning.

Q: Why do both cards have the same 71st percentile ranking?

A: The percentile is based on average benchmark scores, which are 25,842 for the D700 and 25,726 for the W5700—nearly identical. However, this similarity is due to differing benchmark sets: the D700 has only two scores (OpenCL and Vulkan), while the W5700 has ten, including low DirectX 9/10/11/12 scores that drag its average down.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The D700 has a TDP of 274 W and requires a 600 W suggested PSU. The W5700 has a lower TDP of 205 W with a 550 W suggested PSU. The W5700 also uses 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors, while the D700's connector type is not specified.

Q: Which card supports newer PCIe standards?

A: The Radeon Pro W5700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the FirePro D700 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. This affects data transfer rates to the host system, though the practical impact depends on the workload.

Q: How much memory does each card have, and what type?

A: The D700 has 6GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The W5700 has 8GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the W5700's GDDR6 provides 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 263.0 GB/s for the D700.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D700 | AMD Radeon Pro W5700 |

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

| Chip | Tahiti | Navi 10 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Clock | 1370 MHz / 5.5 Gbps | 1750 MHz / 14 Gbps |

| Memory Bandwidth | 263.0 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 128 | 144 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 27.20 GPixel/s | 120.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 108.8 GTexel/s | 270.7 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.482 TFLOPS | 8.663 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | N/A | 17.33 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 274 W | 205 W |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DP 1.2, 1x SDI | 5x mini-DP 1.4a, 1x USB-C |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Length | 279 mm / 11 inches | 267 mm / 10.5 inches |

| Base Clock | N/A | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | N/A | 1880 MHz |

| Release Date | 2014-01-17 | 2019-11-18 |

| Predecessor | FirePro Terascale | Radeon Pro Vega |

| Successor | Radeon Instinct | N/A |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two shared benchmarks, both showing overwhelming victories for the Radeon Pro W5700. In Geekbench OpenCL, the W5700 scores 74,613 versus the D700's 23,716, with a deltaPct of -68.2% (indicating the D700 is 68.2% slower). This is a massive gap, reflecting the W5700's 2.5x higher FP32 throughput and newer architecture's compute efficiency.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a similar pattern: W5700 at 70,706 versus D700 at 27,968, a -60.4% delta. This narrower gap (60.4% vs 68.2%) suggests the D700's GCN architecture handles Vulkan relatively better than OpenCL, but it is still far from competitive. The W5700's Vulkan 1.4 support versus the D700's 1.2.170 likely contributes to this advantage, as newer API versions enable more efficient command processing.

Beyond these shared tests, the W5700's full benchmark suite reveals its strengths and weaknesses. It scores 89,557 in Geekbench Metal, 14,520 in Passmark G3D, and 6,495 in Passmark GPU Compute. However, its legacy DirectX scores are modest: 88 in DirectX 10, 104 in DirectX 11, 54 in DirectX 12, and 225 in DirectX 9, with a G2D score of 899. These low DirectX numbers explain why its average score (25,726) is pulled down to parity with the D700, despite the enormous OpenCL/Vulkan margin.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro W5700 wins in every measurable performance category. For compute workloads, its OpenCL score is 68.2% higher, and its FP32 of 8.663 TFLOPS is more than double the D700's 3.482 TFLOPS. The W5700's FP16 capability (17.33 TFLOPS) opens up AI and machine learning tasks that the D700 cannot handle. Its 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, 120.3 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 270.7 GTexel/s texture rate make it superior for texture-heavy rendering and high-resolution displays. The 8GB memory capacity is better for large datasets, and the PCIe 4.0 interface reduces data transfer bottlenecks.

The FirePro D700 wins only in the specific niche of SDI video output. Its 1x SDI connector is absent from the W5700, making it the sole choice for workflows requiring direct SDI integration, such as broadcast monitoring or legacy video capture. The D700's 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs also outnumber the W5700's 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, though the latter supports newer display standards. The D700's 384-bit bus, while slower overall, provides a wider path that some older applications may prefer, but no benchmark data supports this as an advantage.

In terms of physical attributes, the D700 is longer (279 mm vs 267 mm) and has a higher TDP (274 W vs 205 W), making the W5700 easier to cool and fit in smaller chassis. The W5700's later release date (2019 vs 2014) means better driver maturity for modern operating systems. The data is unequivocal: the W5700 is the superior card for nearly all workloads, with the D700's only saving grace being its unique SDI output for specialized video environments.