AMD FirePro D700 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD FirePro D700 sit at opposite ends of the GPU timeline, yet their average benchmark scores place them in adjacent performance tiers. The RTX 5060, built on Blackwell 2.0, delivers a 375.6% higher OpenCL score and a 305.2% higher Vulkan score than the FirePro D700, which relies on the decade-old GCN 1.0 architecture. Despite the FirePro D700's 71st percentile ranking versus the RTX 5060's 72nd, the actual workload results show a decisive generational gap, with the newer card winning both head-to-head tests.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for nearly every scenario: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the superior performer, and the FirePro D700's only advantage lies in legacy compatibility. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112,787 against the D700's 23,716, a 375.6% lead that reflects the massive architectural leap between 2014 and 2025. The Vulkan gap is similarly stark, with 113,321 versus 27,968, a 305.2% difference. For any user running modern compute or graphics workloads, the RTX 5060 is the only rational selection based on these numbers.

The FirePro D700, however, retains relevance in one narrow context: systems that require its specific output configuration of 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, which the RTX 5060 cannot match with its 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. The D700 also runs on PCIe 3.0 x16, which may be the only interface available in older workstations, whereas the RTX 5060 requires PCIe 5.0 x8. For professionals with legacy infrastructure that cannot accommodate a modern bus, the D700's end-of-life status still offers a working solution, but its 3.482 TFLOPS FP32 performance versus the RTX 5060's 19.18 TFLOPS makes it a fallback, not a preference.

Average scores reinforce this verdict: the RTX 5060 averages 26,331 across all benchmarks, while the D700 averages 25,842. The RTX 5060's nearest rival, AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, trails by 1.2%, while the D700's closest competitor, AMD Radeon Pro W5700, is 0.5% behind. Both cards sit in the same percentile band, but the RTX 5060 achieves its position with modern features and far higher peak performance, while the D700 relies on sheer legacy stability.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, packing 21,900 million transistors into a 181 mm² die, yielding a density of 121.0M transistors per mm². The FirePro D700 uses the Tahiti chip on a 28 nm TSMC process, with 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, resulting in just 12.3M transistors per mm². This 10x density difference explains the RTX 5060's superior efficiency: it delivers 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 at a 145 W TDP, while the D700 manages only 3.482 TFLOPS at 274 W.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s bandwidth with a 1750 MHz clock (28 Gbps effective). The D700 offers 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 263.0 GB/s at 1370 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The RTX 5060's 70% bandwidth advantage comes despite a narrower bus, thanks to GDDR7's higher data rates. The D700's larger bus width (384-bit versus 128-bit) is its only memory-related edge, but it cannot compensate for the older memory technology.

Compute resources favor the RTX 5060 overwhelmingly. It has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, plus 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The D700 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: the RTX 5060 achieves 119.9 GPixel/s and 299.6 GTexel/s, versus 27.20 GPixel/s and 108.8 GTexel/s for the D700. The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the D700 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1), and Vulkan support differs at 1.4 versus 1.2.170.

Power and physical specs also contrast. The RTX 5060 requires a 300 W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin connector, with dimensions of 241 mm length, 111 mm height, and 40 mm width. The D700 demands a 600 W PSU with no listed connector, and spans 279 mm in length. Both are dual-slot cards, but the D700's 274 W TDP is nearly double the RTX 5060's 145 W, making the newer card far easier to cool and integrate.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only two shared benchmark tests exist between these cards, and the RTX 5060 wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112,787 against the D700's 23,716, a 375.6% delta. This test stresses raw compute throughput across heterogeneous workloads, and the result aligns with the theoretical FP32 gap: 19.18 TFLOPS versus 3.482 TFLOPS, a 5.5x difference that manifests as the observed 4.75x score advantage. The D700's GCN 1.0 architecture, designed for professional compute in 2014, simply cannot compete with Blackwell 2.0's modern scheduling and execution units.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5060 posts 113,321 versus the D700's 27,968, a 305.2% delta. Vulkan performance depends heavily on driver optimization and hardware feature support. The RTX 5060's Vulkan 1.4 API support and dedicated RT cores enable advanced rendering paths, while the D700's Vulkan 1.2.170 implementation lacks these capabilities. The lower delta compared to OpenCL suggests the D700's driver handles Vulkan relatively better, but the absolute gap remains enormous.

The RTX 5060 also has a broader benchmark portfolio, with scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (3,628), Passmark DirectX 10 (127), DirectX 11 (200), DirectX 12 (77), DirectX 9 (225), G2D (1,154), G3D (20,891), and GPU Compute (10,899). The D700 has no scores in these tests, meaning its average of 25,842 relies solely on the two Geekbench results. This limited data set makes the D700's percentile ranking of 71 less robust than the RTX 5060's 72, which is based on ten benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers 19.18 TFLOPS FP32, while the AMD FirePro D700 delivers 3.482 TFLOPS, a 5.5x difference that aligns with the 375.6% OpenCL score gap.

Q: Can the FirePro D700 handle modern APIs?

A: The D700 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, but lacks RT cores and tensor cores. The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 5060 has 448.0 GB/s bandwidth from 8 GB GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus. The D700 has 263.0 GB/s from 6 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 5060 leads by 70%.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 5060 consumes 145 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU, while the D700 consumes 274 W TDP with a 600 W suggested PSU. The RTX 5060 achieves 5.5x the FP32 performance at roughly half the power draw.

Q: Are these cards comparable in system integration?

A: Both are dual-slot, but the RTX 5060 is shorter at 241 mm versus 279 mm for the D700. The RTX 5060 uses PCIe 5.0 x8, while the D700 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The D700 offers 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs, versus the RTX 5060's 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b.

Q: What does the average benchmark score say?

A: The RTX 5060 averages 26,331 across ten tests, ranking in the 72nd percentile. The D700 averages 25,842 across two tests, ranking in the 71st percentile. Despite similar averages, the RTX 5060's wins come from far more diverse workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 wins in every measured compute and graphics scenario. Its OpenCL score of 112,787 versus 23,716 makes it the clear choice for general-purpose GPU compute, including scientific simulations, machine learning inference, and rendering tasks that leverage FP32 throughput. The Vulkan score of 113,321 versus 27,968 indicates superior performance in modern game engines and Vulkan-based professional applications. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3,628, while not directly comparable to the D700, demonstrates strong DX12 rasterization capability that the D700 cannot approach given its DirectX 12 (11_1) limitation.

The RTX 5060's 8 GB GDDR7 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth supports high-resolution textures and large datasets, while its 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores enable ray tracing and AI-accelerated features that the D700 lacks entirely. The 145 W TDP makes it suitable for compact builds, and the PCIe 5.0 x8 interface provides ample bandwidth for future systems. The 5 nm process node ensures efficiency that the 28 nm D700 cannot match.

The FirePro D700 wins only in legacy compatibility scenarios. Its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface works in older motherboards that lack PCIe 5.0 support. The 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs cater to specific multi-display or broadcast workflows that require those exact connectors. The 384-bit memory bus, while slower in bandwidth, may offer better latency characteristics for certain memory-bound legacy workloads. The D700's end-of-life production status means it is still available for systems that must maintain hardware consistency, but its 3.482 TFLOPS FP32 and 27.20 GPixel/s pixel rate place it firmly in a historical performance tier. For any new deployment, the RTX 5060's 19.18 TFLOPS and 119.9 GPixel/s make it the only data-supported choice.