AMD FirePro D700 vs NVIDIA CMP 70HX Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data records two head-to-head comparisons between the NVIDIA CMP 70HX and the AMD FirePro D700, and in both cases, NVIDIA secures the victory. The first test, Geekbench OpenCL, shows the CMP 70HX scoring 25,135 against the FirePro D700's 23,716, a 6% advantage. This is a modest lead, suggesting that in raw compute workloads that stress the GPU's general processing capabilities, the two cards are relatively close, though the NVIDIA part still comes out ahead.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, tells a far more dramatic story. Here, the CMP 70HX scores 35,817 while the FirePro D700 manages only 27,968, producing a 28.1% delta. This is a substantial gap, indicating that when the workload shifts to a modern graphics API, the architectural advantages of the Ampere design become far more pronounced. The FirePro D700, built on GCN 1.0 and released in 2014, simply cannot match the newer GPU's ability to handle Vulkan's execution model efficiently.

Looking at the average benchmark scores across the database, the CMP 70HX posts a figure of 30,476, while the FirePro D700 lands at 25,842. That translates to a roughly 18% overall advantage for the NVIDIA card. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the CMP 70HX sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, whereas the FirePro D700 ranks at the 71st percentile. While both cards are above the median, the NVIDIA part occupies a higher tier of overall performance.

The nearest rivals for the CMP 70HX include the NVIDIA Tesla M60 with an average score of 30,490 (a 0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6700 at 30,433 (0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 at 30,095 (1.3% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti at 29,945 (1.8% delta). These are all very close scores, meaning the CMP 70HX performs essentially on par with a group of established gaming and workstation cards. The FirePro D700's nearest rivals, meanwhile, include the AMD FirePro W7100 at 25,856 (a -0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon R9 M395X at 25,891 (-0.2% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile at 25,740 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 at 25,726 (0.5% delta). The FirePro D700 is clustered with a set of cards that are older or more power-constrained, which aligns with its lower overall score.

Where Each One Wins

The data suggests a clear split in use cases. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX wins both recorded benchmarks, so on raw performance metrics, it dominates this matchup entirely. The Vulkan result, with its 28.1% margin, points to workloads that leverage modern graphics APIs as a particular strength for the Ampere architecture. Any application that uses Vulkan for rendering or compute would see a meaningful performance advantage on the CMP 70HX.

However, the FirePro D700 has attributes that matter outside of pure benchmark scores. It offers display outputs, specifically 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, while the CMP 70HX has no outputs at all. This makes the AMD card the only option for any workload that requires driving monitors or video walls. The CMP 70HX, as a mining-focused product, cannot output anything to a screen. For a workstation environment where visual output is necessary, the FirePro D700 is the functional choice despite its lower performance.

The OpenCL test, where the CMP 70HX wins by only 6%, shows that in compute-heavy but API-agnostic workloads, the two cards are more comparable. The FirePro D700's GCN architecture was designed for compute, and its 2,048 shading units deliver respectable throughput. For applications that rely primarily on OpenCL and do not stress Vulkan performance, the gap between the two cards narrows considerably.

The memory configurations also hint at different strengths. The CMP 70HX has 8 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro D700 has 6 GB of GDDR5 with a 384-bit bus and 263.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has more than double the memory bandwidth, which will benefit large data sets and high-resolution textures. The AMD card's wider bus does not compensate for the much lower bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 70HX wins with a score of 25,135 versus the AMD FirePro D700's 23,716, a 6% advantage.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: The CMP 70HX scores 35,817 in Geekbench Vulkan compared to 27,968 for the FirePro D700, giving NVIDIA a 28.1% lead.

Q: Can the NVIDIA CMP 70HX drive displays?

A: No, the CMP 70HX has no display outputs. The AMD FirePro D700 offers 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The CMP 70HX provides 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth with 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, while the FirePro D700 provides 263.0 GB/s with 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: How do the two cards rank among all GPUs?

A: The CMP 70HX sits at the 75th percentile, while the FirePro D700 sits at the 71st percentile.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each?

A: The CMP 70HX averages 30,476 across its recorded benchmarks, while the FirePro D700 averages 25,842.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ significantly across nearly every specification category. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX uses 8 GB of GDDR6X memory, while the AMD FirePro D700 uses 6 GB of GDDR5. The bus widths differ as well: 256-bit for the CMP 70HX versus 384-bit for the FirePro D700. Memory bandwidth is heavily in NVIDIA's favor, with 608.3 GB/s against 263.0 GB/s.

The shading unit counts are also different. The CMP 70HX has 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. The FirePro D700 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has nearly double the shaders and double the ROPs, while AMD has slightly more TMUs. The CMP 70HX also includes 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores, features that the FirePro D700 lacks entirely.

Pixel and texture rates tell a similar story. The CMP 70HX reaches 89.28 GPixel/s and 167.4 GTexel/s, while the FirePro D700 reaches 27.20 GPixel/s and 108.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 10.71 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 3.482 TFLOPS for AMD. The CMP 70HX also lists FP16 performance at 10.71 TFLOPS (1:1), while the FirePro D700 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Power requirements differ substantially. The FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W, while the CMP 70HX has no listed TDP but a suggested PSU of 200 W. The bus interface also differs: the CMP 70HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a very narrow connection, while the FirePro D700 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The NVIDIA card's power connector is a single 12-pin, while the AMD card has no recorded connector type.

Dimensions vary slightly. The CMP 70HX is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long and 112 mm (4.4 inches) tall. The FirePro D700 is 279 mm (11 inches) long with no recorded height. Both are dual-slot cards. The CMP 70HX has no display outputs, whereas the FirePro D700 has 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX is built on the GA104 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The AMD FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip with the GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It holds 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, for a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter.

The transistor count difference is stark: the CMP 70HX packs roughly four times as many transistors into only slightly more die area. This is a direct result of the process node advantage, with 8 nm versus 28 nm. The density figures, 44.4M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm², quantify just how much more tightly packed the Ampere design is.

The API support also reflects the architectural gap. The CMP 70HX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The newer DirectX feature level and higher Vulkan version on the NVIDIA card enable features and optimizations that the older GCN architecture cannot access.

The CMP 70HX belongs to NVIDIA's Mining GPUs generation and has a production status of end-of-life. The FirePro D700 belongs to the FirePro Data Center (Dx00) generation, was released on 2014-01-17, and is also end-of-life. Its predecessor is the FirePro Terascale and its successor is the Radeon Instinct. The NVIDIA card has no recorded release date, predecessor, or successor.

Clock behavior also differs. The CMP 70HX has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1395 MHz, with memory running at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The FirePro D700 has no recorded base or boost clock, but its memory runs at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The GDDR6X memory on the NVIDIA card operates at a much higher effective data rate.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA CMP 70HX outperforms the AMD FirePro D700 in every recorded test. The 28.1% Vulkan lead is decisive, and even the closer OpenCL result still favors NVIDIA by 6%. The CMP 70HX's average score of 30,476 places it in the 75th percentile, while the FirePro D700's 25,842 lands in the 71st percentile. Anyone choosing purely on performance should select the CMP 70HX.

The CMP 70HX also offers superior memory specifications, with 8 GB of GDDR6X, 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth, and support for modern APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. Its FP32 throughput of 10.71 TFLOPS is more than triple the FirePro D700's 3.482 TFLOPS. For compute-heavy workloads, the NVIDIA card is clearly the stronger option.

The FirePro D700 does retain one critical advantage: display outputs. With 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, it can drive professional display setups, while the CMP 70HX has no outputs whatsoever. The AMD card also has a wider 384-bit memory bus and a higher TDP of 274 W, which may indicate different intended power delivery characteristics, but these do not translate into benchmark wins.

For a system that requires visual output, the FirePro D700 is the only viable choice of the two. For any headless compute, rendering, or Vulkan-based workload, the CMP 70HX is the correct pick. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the NVIDIA card leading by margins that range from moderate to overwhelming depending on the workload. The FirePro D700 remains relevant only in scenarios where its display capabilities are essential.