AMD FirePro D700 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti vs AMD FirePro D700

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and AMD FirePro D700 occupy different corners of the GPU market, yet both remain relevant in legacy benchmark comparisons. The GTX 980 Ti, built on Maxwell 2.0, posts an average benchmark score of 28,020 and sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro D700, based on GCN 1.0, averages 25,842 and lands in the 71st percentile. The data shows the GTX 980 Ti leads by roughly 8.4% in average score, but the gap is far more dramatic in individual compute workloads, with the NVIDIA card winning both head-to-head tests by margins exceeding 70%.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti averages 28,020, while the AMD FirePro D700 averages 25,842. The GTX 980 Ti sits 0.2% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 among its nearest rivals, whereas the FirePro D700 trails the AMD FirePro W7100 by 0.1% and the AMD Radeon R9 M395X by 0.2%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The GTX 980 Ti scores 43,513, which is 83.5% higher than the FirePro D700's 23,716. This is the largest performance delta between the two cards across any benchmark in the data.

Q: What is the difference in Vulkan performance?

A: The GTX 980 Ti achieves 47,724 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the FirePro D700 scores 27,968. The NVIDIA card leads by 70.6% in this test.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, but with different feature levels. The GTX 980 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, though Vulkan support differs slightly: the GTX 980 Ti runs Vulkan 1.4, and the FirePro D700 runs Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The GTX 980 Ti has 2,816 shading units and 176 TMUs, compared to the FirePro D700's 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs. However, the FirePro D700 does have a smaller die size at 352 mm² versus 601 mm².

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: Both cards feature 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus. The GTX 980 Ti operates at 1753 MHz with 7 Gbps effective speed and delivers 336.6 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro D700 runs at 1370 MHz with 5.5 Gbps effective speed and 263.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 980 Ti wins decisively in every benchmark category where both cards have data. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA card scores 43,513 against the FirePro D700's 23,716, a margin of 83.5%. This suggests the GTX 980 Ti is substantially better suited for general-purpose compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, such as rendering, simulation, or data processing tasks that can offload to the GPU.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 980 Ti again dominates with 47,724 versus 27,968, a 70.6% advantage. Vulkan performance matters for modern gaming and compute applications that utilize low-overhead graphics APIs, and the data indicates the GTX 980 Ti handles these workloads far more efficiently than the FirePro D700.

The FirePro D700 has no benchmark wins against the GTX 980 Ti in the available data. However, it does have strengths in other areas. Its 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI output configuration suggests it was designed for multi-display professional environments, whereas the GTX 980 Ti offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The FirePro D700 also supports a wider array of display connections, which could be advantageous in workstation setups requiring multiple monitors or SDI output for broadcast workflows.

For users prioritizing raw compute performance, the GTX 980 Ti is the clear choice based on the benchmark data. For those needing specialized display output options, the FirePro D700's connectivity may be more appealing, though it sacrifices significant compute capability.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different architectural philosophies. NVIDIA's GTX 980 Ti uses the GM200 chip based on Maxwell 2.0, while AMD's FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip based on GCN 1.0. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the similarities end there.

The GTX 980 Ti packs 8,000 million transistors into a 601 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.3 million per square millimeter. The FirePro D700 contains 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, with a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The Maxwell architecture emphasizes higher per-clock efficiency and larger shader counts, which is reflected in the GTX 980 Ti's 2,816 shading units, 176 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The GCN 1.0 architecture in the FirePro D700 is designed with a different compute focus, featuring 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, but only 32 ROPs.

The ROP disparity is particularly notable: the GTX 980 Ti has three times the ROP count of the FirePro D700. This translates to a pixel rate of 103.3 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card versus 27.20 GPixel/s for the AMD card, a massive difference for fill-rate-bound workloads. Texture rate also favors the GTX 980 Ti at 189.4 GTexel/s compared to 108.8 GTexel/s for the FirePro D700.

FP32 compute performance follows the same trend: the GTX 980 Ti delivers 6.060 TFLOPS, while the FirePro D700 manages 3.482 TFLOPS. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, and both lack FP16 support in the provided data. The GTX 980 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, indicating the NVIDIA card has more modern API feature support.

Specification Differences

The GTX 980 Ti has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1076 MHz, while the FirePro D700's clock speeds are not listed, so no direct comparison is possible. Memory clocks differ significantly: the GTX 980 Ti runs at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective), whereas the FirePro D700 runs at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). This contributes to the bandwidth gap: 336.6 GB/s versus 263.0 GB/s.

The GTX 980 Ti leads in shading units (2,816 versus 2,048), TMUs (176 versus 128), and ROPs (96 versus 32). Pixel rate is 103.3 GPixel/s versus 27.20 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 189.4 GTexel/s versus 108.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute stands at 6.060 TFLOPS versus 3.482 TFLOPS.

Power draw is similar but not identical: the GTX 980 Ti has a TDP of 250 W, while the FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W. Both are dual-slot cards and share the same suggested PSU rating of 600 W. The GTX 980 Ti requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, while the FirePro D700's power connector configuration is not specified. Both use PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces.

Physical dimensions differ: the GTX 980 Ti is 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, while the FirePro D700 is 279 mm long with no listed height or width. Display outputs are a major differentiator: the GTX 980 Ti offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2, whereas the FirePro D700 provides 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI.

The GTX 980 Ti was released on 2015-06-01 with a launch MSRP of 649 USD. The FirePro D700 was released on 2014-01-17 with no launch MSRP listed. Both are end-of-life products. The GTX 980 Ti's predecessor is the GeForce 700 series and its successor is the GeForce 10 series, while the FirePro D700's predecessor is FirePro Terascale and its successor is Radeon Instinct.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a one-sided contest. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 980 Ti scores 43,513 against the FirePro D700's 23,716, resulting in a 83.5% delta in favor of NVIDIA. This is the single largest performance gap in the comparison. The GTX 980 Ti's OpenCL score is nearly double that of the FirePro D700, which suggests the Maxwell 2.0 architecture handles compute workloads with significantly greater efficiency than GCN 1.0 in this test.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 980 Ti again wins with 47,724 versus 27,968, a 70.6% delta. The NVIDIA card's advantage is slightly smaller in Vulkan than in OpenCL, but it remains substantial. The GTX 980 Ti's Vulkan score is also higher than its OpenCL score, indicating strong API scaling, whereas the FirePro D700's Vulkan score (27,968) is higher than its OpenCL score (23,716), showing improvement but still far behind the NVIDIA card.

The GTX 980 Ti wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head benchmarks, while the FirePro D700 wins none. Looking at the broader benchmark ecosystem, the GTX 980 Ti also holds a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,321 and a Geekbench Metal score of 19,520, which the FirePro D700 does not have data for. The GTX 980 Ti's average benchmark score of 28,020 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro D700's 25,842 places it in the 71st percentile. The NVIDIA card's nearest rival is the AMD FirePro S7150, which trails by 0.3%, while the FirePro D700's nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W7100, which leads by 0.1%. This indicates that while both cards are competitive within their respective performance tiers, the GTX 980 Ti occupies a slightly higher tier overall.