AMD FirePro D700 vs AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is decisively one-sided. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT wins both recorded head-to-head tests, and in one case the margin is staggering. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 7700 XT scores 138,383 against the FirePro D700's 23,716, a delta of 82.9% in favor of the newer card. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational gap made visible in raw compute throughput.

The Vulkan results are closer but still unambiguous. The RX 7700 XT records 46,443, while the FirePro D700 manages 27,968. The 39.8% delta in the RX 7700 XT's favor reflects both architectural maturity and driver evolution, as Vulkan support on the older GCN 1.0 part is limited to version 1.2.170, whereas the RX 7700 XT supports Vulkan 1.4.

Context from the database's nearest-rival comparisons reinforces the FirePro D700's standing. Its average benchmark score of 25,842 places it within 0.1% of the AMD FirePro W7100 (25,856) and 0.2% of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25,891). It actually edges out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740) by 0.4% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726) by 0.5% in average score. This tells a clear story: the FirePro D700 was a competitive workstation card for its era, but its era ended long ago.

The RX 7700 XT, by contrast, sits in a different performance class. Its average score of 22,549 is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22,435), 0.8% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22,729), and 1.5% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22,895). It leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (22,170) by 1.7%. These are tight margins, indicating that the RX 7700 XT competes with mid-range GPUs from recent generations, not with decade-old workstation parts.

The OpenCL result deserves extra emphasis because it is the single largest head-to-head differential in the database for these two cards. A score of 138,383 versus 23,716 means the RX 7700 XT delivers roughly 5.8 times the OpenCL performance. No amount of driver optimization or workload tuning can close that chasm. The Vulkan gap, while smaller, still represents a fundamental advantage for the newer architecture.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from entirely different eras of AMD design. The FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The RX 7700 XT uses the Navi 32 chip, based on RDNA 3.0 architecture, on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. It contains 28,100 million transistors in a slightly smaller 346 mm² die, achieving 81.2 million transistors per square millimeter. That is a 6.6-fold increase in transistor density, which explains the massive performance leap despite similar physical size.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The FirePro D700 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operating units. The RX 7700 XT more than doubles the shading units to 3,456, nearly doubles the TMUs to 216, and triples the ROPs to 96. The RX 7700 XT also includes 54 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the FirePro D700. The pixel rate tells the story: 27.20 GPixel/s for the FirePro D700 versus 244.2 GPixel/s for the RX 7700 XT. Texture rate jumps from 108.8 GTexel/s to 549.5 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 3.482 TFLOPS to 35.17 TFLOPS, a tenfold increase.

Memory subsystems reflect their respective market positions. The FirePro D700 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 263.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, but delivers 432.0 GB/s thanks to much faster memory clocks. The FirePro D700's memory runs at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective), while the RX 7700 XT runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The RX 7700 XT also supports FP16 at 35.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), whereas the FirePro D700 has no listed FP16 capability.

Clock speeds differ as well, though the FirePro D700 lists no base or boost clock in the database. The RX 7700 XT has a base clock of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. Interface and connectivity also reflect their generations: the FirePro D700 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 7700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are notably different: the FirePro D700 offers 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, aimed at professional video walls and broadcast use, while the RX 7700 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RX 7700 XT is decisively ahead. Its FP32 rating is 35.17 TFLOPS versus 3.482 TFLOPS for the FirePro D700, and it wins the Geekbench OpenCL test by 82.9% (138,383 versus 23,716).

Q: Does the FirePro D700 support ray tracing?

A: No. The FirePro D700 has no ray tracing cores listed. The RX 7700 XT includes 54 ray tracing cores, a feature that did not exist in the GCN 1.0 architecture.

Q: How do their memory capacities and bandwidths compare?

A: The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 192-bit bus. The FirePro D700 has 6 GB of GDDR5 with 263.0 GB/s on a wider 384-bit bus. The newer card has double the capacity and 64% more bandwidth.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 7700 XT leads by 39.8% in the Geekbench Vulkan test (46,443 versus 27,968). It also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro D700 is limited to Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The FirePro D700 is end-of-life, released in January 2014. The RX 7700 XT is active, released in September 2023, and lists a launch MSRP of 449 USD.

Q: How does power consumption compare?

A: The FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RX 7700 XT has a lower TDP of 245 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W, despite delivering significantly higher performance.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D700 | AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 28,100 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 346 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 81.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 1435 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 2544 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not listed | 2171 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 263.0 GB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 3456 |

| TMUs | 128 | 216 |

| ROPs | 32 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 54 |

| Pixel Rate | 27.20 GPixel/s | 244.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 108.8 GTexel/s | 549.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.482 TFLOPS | 35.17 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 35.17 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 274 W | 245 W |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 550 W |

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

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C |

| Length | 279 mm (11 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | 2x 8-pin |

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

| Release Date | 2014-01-17 | 2023-09-05 |

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7700 XT wins every benchmark category where both cards have recorded data. It is 82.9% ahead in OpenCL and 39.8% ahead in Vulkan. It offers more than double the memory capacity, 64% higher bandwidth, and roughly ten times the FP32 compute. It has ray tracing hardware, modern API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4), and a more efficient power envelope with lower TDP and PSU requirements. For any modern workload, from gaming to general-purpose compute, the RX 7700 XT is the clear choice.

The FirePro D700 retains specific advantages tied to its professional heritage. Its 384-bit memory bus and 6x mini-DisplayPort outputs with SDI connectivity point to multi-display professional environments, particularly video wall or broadcast applications where that output configuration is valuable. Its wider memory bus could theoretically benefit certain bandwidth-sensitive legacy workloads, though the RX 7700 XT's higher total bandwidth undercuts that advantage in practice. The FirePro D700 also has a higher percentile ranking (71st versus 67th percentile among all GPUs in the database), likely reflecting its strong standing relative to other cards of its era.

The FirePro D700's average benchmark score of 25,842 is actually higher than the RX 7700 XT's 22,549, which seems counterintuitive given the head-to-head results. This discrepancy arises because the two cards were tested under different benchmark suites: the FirePro D700's average includes only Geekbench scores, while the RX 7700 XT's average includes PassMark and 3DMark results that drag its average down. The head-to-head OpenCL and Vulkan tests are the reliable comparison points, and both favor the RX 7700 XT.

In practical terms, the FirePro D700 wins only in scenarios where its specific output configuration is mandatory, or where legacy software requires GCN 1.0 compatibility. The RX 7700 XT wins everywhere else, including every measurable performance metric.

The Verdict

The data leaves no room for ambiguity. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the superior card in every recorded benchmark, with an 82.9% lead in OpenCL and a 39.8% lead in Vulkan. It offers more memory, higher bandwidth, greater compute throughput, modern API support, and ray tracing capability. It also consumes less power (245 W versus 274 W) and requires a smaller PSU (550 W versus 600 W). For any user choosing between these two based on performance, the RX 7700 XT is the only rational selection.

The FirePro D700 is a relic of the GCN 1.0 era, released in January 2014 and now end-of-life. Its strengths are confined to its professional output configuration: 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI. That makes it suitable for specialized multi-display or broadcast installations where those outputs are essential and where the card is already deployed. Its 384-bit bus and 6 GB of GDDR5 memory were respectable in 2014, but the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth surpasses it in every meaningful way.

The RX 7700 XT, released in September 2023 with a launch MSRP of 449 USD, is an active product with a clear upgrade path. Its 5 nm process, 28,100 million transistors, and RDNA 3.0 architecture represent a massive generational leap. The 35.17 TFLOPS FP32 rating is ten times the FirePro D700's 3.482 TFLOPS. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 ensure compatibility with current and near-future software.

The verdict is straightforward: select the RX 7700 XT unless a specific professional workflow requires the FirePro D700's unique display outputs or legacy GCN 1.0 behavior. The benchmark data, the architectural differences, and the production status all point in the same direction. The FirePro D700 had its moment; the RX 7700 XT owns the present.