AMD FirePro D700 vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the definitive winner in every measured head-to-head benchmark against the AMD FirePro D700, decisively outperforming the older professional card by over 60% in both available compute and graphics API tests. The data shows a generational leap, with the RX 6600 XT delivering roughly 3.4 times the OpenCL performance and 2.6 times the Vulkan performance of the FirePro D700. While the FirePro D700 holds its own in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, the RX 6600 XT, despite a slightly lower 70th percentile, achieves this with modern architecture and dramatically higher efficiency, making it the clear choice for any workload leveraging its contemporary feature set.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results create a clear, one-sided split: the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT wins every single head-to-head test listed. The geekbench_opencl test shows the RX 6600 XT scoring 80,503 against the FirePro D700’s 23,716, a delta of -70.5% from the perspective of the older card. Similarly, in geekbench_vulkan, the RX 6600 XT scores 72,417 versus 27,968, a -61.4% delta. There are zero tests where the FirePro D700 comes out ahead.

This means the RX 6600 XT is the superior choice for general-purpose GPU compute (OpenCL) and modern graphics APIs (Vulkan). The FirePro D700’s only potential advantage lies in its historical positioning as a workstation card with specific display outputs (6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI), which may be relevant for legacy multi-display setups, but not for raw performance. The data does not provide any scenario, benchmark, or specification where the FirePro D700 outperforms the RX 6600 XT in processing power.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent vastly different eras of AMD GPU design. The FirePro D700 is built on the Tahiti chip using the GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the RX 6600 XT uses the Navi 23 chip with the RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a much more advanced 7 nm process, also at TSMC. This process shrink is a primary driver of the performance and efficiency differences.

The transistor counts and die sizes reflect this generational gap. The FirePro D700 packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.3M / mm². The RX 6600 XT, however, integrates 11,060 million transistors on a smaller 237 mm² die, achieving a density of 46.7M / mm². This means the RX 6600 XT crams nearly three times the transistors into a much smaller space, enabling more features and higher clock speeds.

Feature support diverges significantly. The RX 6600 XT includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the FirePro D700. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the FirePro D700 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). The RX 6600 XT also has a newer Vulkan API support at 1.4, compared to the FirePro D700’s 1.2.170. Both cards share the same number of shading units (2048) and TMUs (128), but the RX 6600 XT doubles the ROPs to 64 from 32, and its memory interface, while narrower (128-bit vs 384-bit), uses faster GDDR6 memory.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The quantitative data is unambiguous. In geekbench_opencl, the RX 6600 XT’s score of 80,503 crushes the FirePro D700’s 23,716. This represents a 239% improvement for the newer card, or conversely, the FirePro D700 is 70.5% slower. This massive gap highlights the difference in raw compute throughput, with the RX 6600 XT delivering 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the FirePro D700’s 3.482 TFLOPS.

In geekbench_vulkan, the RX 6600 XT again dominates with a score of 72,417 versus 27,968. The delta is -61.4%, meaning the FirePro D700 trails by a substantial margin. This test reflects modern graphics API efficiency, where the RDNA 2.0 architecture’s advancements are clearly visible. The RX 6600 XT’s pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are also significantly higher than the FirePro D700’s 27.20 GPixel/s and 108.8 GTexel/s, respectively, further explaining the benchmark results.

The FirePro D700’s closest rivals in the database are the AMD FirePro W7100, AMD Radeon R9 M395X, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, and AMD Radeon Pro W5700, with all deltas within 0.5%. The RX 6600 XT, meanwhile, sits near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, Intel Arc A350M, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, with deltas between -0.8% and 1.1%. This shows that while the RX 6600 XT is in a different performance tier than the FirePro D700, its own closest rivals are a mix of older high-end and newer mid-range cards.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: choose the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT unless a specific, legacy requirement dictates otherwise. It wins 100% of the head-to-head benchmarks, offers superior architectural features like ray tracing and DirectX 12 Ultimate, and does so at a lower TDP of 160 W compared to the FirePro D700’s 274 W. The RX 6600 XT’s FP32 performance is over three times higher, and its memory bandwidth is comparable despite a narrower bus, thanks to faster GDDR6 memory.

The FirePro D700 is a product of its time, with its 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus providing 263.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is close to the RX 6600 XT’s 256.0 GB/s. However, its GCN 1.0 architecture lacks modern features and its performance is severely outdated. Its only niche would be in a system that specifically requires its unique 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs, but for any performance-oriented task, the RX 6600 XT is the only rational choice based on the available data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute tasks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is significantly faster, scoring 80,503 in the geekbench_opencl test compared to the FirePro D700’s 23,716, a performance delta of 70.5% in favor of the newer card.

Q: Does the FirePro D700 support ray tracing?

A: No, the FirePro D700 does not have any ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the older card.

Q: What is the difference in power consumption?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has a TDP of 160 W, which is significantly lower than the AMD FirePro D700’s 274 W. The RX 6600 XT also recommends a 450 W power supply, while the FirePro D700 suggests a 600 W unit.

Q: Which GPU has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD FirePro D700 has a slightly higher memory bandwidth of 263.0 GB/s, achieved through a 384-bit bus with GDDR5 memory. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has 256.0 GB/s bandwidth using a 128-bit bus with faster GDDR6 memory.

Q: Are their average benchmark scores similar?

A: The AMD FirePro D700 has a higher average benchmark score of 25,842 across all its tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT averages 24,442. However, this is because the FirePro D700 has fewer tests, and the RX 6600 XT wins all direct head-to-head comparisons.

Q: What is the release date difference?

A: The AMD FirePro D700 was released on January 17, 2014, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT was released much later on July 29, 2021. This seven-year gap explains the significant architectural and performance advantages of the newer card.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D700 | AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 11,060 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 237 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 46.7M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not specified | 1968 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not specified | 2589 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not specified | 2359 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | Not specified | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 27.20 GPixel/s | 165.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 108.8 GTexel/s | 331.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.482 TFLOPS | 10.60 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | Not specified | 21.21 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 274 W | 160 W |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 450 W |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 1x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions (Length) | 279 mm (11 inches) | 190 mm (7.5 inches) |

| Release Date | 2014-01-17 | 2021-07-29 |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 379 USD |