AMD FirePro D700 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive NVIDIA victory in the two shared workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD FirePro D700 scores 23,716 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 91,313 points. That is a 74% deficit for the AMD card, meaning the RTX 2080 delivers roughly 3.85 times the OpenCL performance. The gap is nearly identical in Geekbench Vulkan: the FirePro D700 posts 27,968 points against 107,797 points for the RTX 2080, a 74.1% difference. The NVIDIA card is about 3.85 times faster here as well.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story, though with a smaller margin. The FirePro D700 averages 25,842 points across its tested suite, while the RTX 2080 averages 22,895 points. Interestingly, the AMD card actually has a higher average score than its rival, despite losing both head-to-head tests. This happens because the RTX 2080's average includes a wider set of workloads, including several Passmark tests where it posts low numbers relative to its peak performance. For example, the RTX 2080 scores 18720 in Passmark G3D but only 136 in Passmark DirectX 10 and 72 in Passmark DirectX 12.

The percentile rankings place the FirePro D700 at the 71st percentile of all GPUs, slightly above the RTX 2080's 68th percentile. The nearest rivals for the AMD card include the AMD FirePro W7100 (25,856 average, 0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25,891 average, 0.2% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740 average, 0.4% lower). The RTX 2080's closest competitors include the Intel Arc B580 (23,021 average, 0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23,061 average, 0.7% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23,172 average, 1.2% higher). Neither card sits far from its nearest rivals, indicating that both occupy crowded performance tiers.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design eras. The AMD FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The die contains 4,313 million transistors across 352 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 uses the TU104 chip based on Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. That die packs 13,600 million transistors into 545 mm², for a density of 25.0 million per square millimeter. The RTX 2080 has roughly 3.15 times more transistors and nearly twice the transistor density.

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The FirePro D700 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, producing 263.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The RTX 2080 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, producing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Despite the narrower bus, the newer GDDR6 memory gives the NVIDIA card 70% more bandwidth.

Compute resources also favor NVIDIA heavily. The FirePro D700 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2080 has 2,944 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also includes 46 ray tracing cores and 368 tensor cores, features that simply do not exist on the AMD part from 2014. Pixel rate on the RTX 2080 is 109.4 GPixel/s versus 27.20 GPixel/s on the FirePro D700. Texture rate stands at 314.6 GTexel/s versus 108.8 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 10.07 TFLOPS versus 3.482 TFLOPS, and the RTX 2080 additionally offers 20.14 TFLOPS of FP16 via a 2:1 ratio, which the FirePro D700 does not support.

Power draw runs in the opposite direction. The FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W, while the RTX 2080 has a TDP of 215 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The NVIDIA card delivers far more performance while consuming less power. Both cards are dual-slot designs, with the FirePro D700 measuring 279 mm (11 inches) long and the RTX 2080 measuring 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, 116 mm (4.6 inches) tall, and 35 mm (1.4 inches) wide.

API support reflects the generational gap. The FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs also differ: the AMD card provides 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, while the NVIDIA card offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The RTX 2080 requires a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connector setup.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 74%, and in Geekbench Vulkan, it leads by 74.1%. These are not narrow margins; they represent a class difference in raw compute throughput. The RTX 2080 also wins on every architectural metric: more shading units, more texture units, more ROPs, more memory bandwidth, higher pixel rate, higher texture rate, and roughly three times the FP32 throughput. It also has exclusive features like ray tracing cores and tensor cores, which the FirePro D700 lacks entirely.

The FirePro D700 does hold one meaningful advantage in the recorded data: its average benchmark score is higher. At 25,842 points, it sits 12.9% above the RTX 2080's 22,895 average. This is driven primarily by the RTX 2080's weak Passmark DirectX scores (136 in DX10, 158 in DX11, 72 in DX12, 223 in DX9). The FirePro D700's percentile rank of 71 versus 68 for the RTX 2080 also reflects this anomaly. Additionally, the FirePro D700 offers 6x mini-DisplayPort outputs plus SDI, which may suit multi-display or broadcast workflows. It also has a longer card length, which could be a consideration in certain chassis configurations.

In terms of efficiency, the RTX 2080 wins decisively. It produces 10.07 TFLOPS of FP32 at 215 W, while the FirePro D700 produces 3.482 TFLOPS at 274 W. The RTX 2080 achieves roughly three times the compute per watt.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is the superior GPU in nearly every measurable category. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by roughly 74%, offers 2.9 times the FP32 throughput, provides 70% more memory bandwidth, includes dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware, and consumes 59 W less power. The RTX 2080 also supports newer API versions, including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which matters for modern workloads. Its launch MSRP was 699 USD, but the recorded metrics show it outperforming the older AMD part across the board.

The AMD FirePro D700's only statistical edge is its higher average benchmark score, which comes from a narrower test suite that does not include the RTX 2080's weaker Passmark results. The FirePro D700 also holds a slightly higher percentile ranking (71 versus 68) and offers six mini-DisplayPort outputs plus SDI, which could be relevant for specific multi-display or video production setups. However, those advantages do not offset the massive performance deficit in compute workloads.

For users requiring maximum raw compute, modern API support, or ray tracing capabilities, the RTX 2080 is the clear choice. For users with legacy multi-display workstation needs that specifically require the FirePro D700's output configuration, the AMD card remains a functional option, but the benchmark data shows it is heavily outclassed in every shared workload.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2080 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 2080 scores 91,313 against the FirePro D700's 23,716, a 74% lead for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the FirePro D700 have any benchmark where it beats the RTX 2080?

A: In the recorded head-to-head tests, no. The RTX 2080 wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. However, the FirePro D700 does have a higher average benchmark score (25,842 versus 22,895) and a higher percentile rank (71 versus 68).

Q: What are the memory capacities and types for each card?

A: The FirePro D700 has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 263.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 2080 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the RTX 2080 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 2080 includes 46 ray tracing cores and 368 tensor cores. The FirePro D700 has no such hardware.

Q: Which card has higher power consumption?

A: The FirePro D700 has a TDP of 274 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX 2080 has a TDP of 215 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: What API versions does each card support?

A: The FirePro D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.