AMD FirePro M6100 vs AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two AMD GPUs in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisively one-sided. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT scores 18,290 points, while the AMD FirePro M6100 manages 13,354 points. That is a 27% delta in favor of the newer card, a substantial gap that reflects the generational chasm between these products.

Looking at the FirePro M6100's nearest rivals in the database, it sits in a tightly contested cluster. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M scores 13,356, essentially a dead heat with a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon HD 8950M posts 13,376, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 555X trails slightly at 13,321, a 0.3% deficit for the M6100. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 leads the group with 13,407, putting the M6100 0.4% behind. In practical terms, the FirePro M6100 is indistinguishable from its immediate peers, all landing within a narrow 86-point band.

The RX 7800 XT's nearest rivals tell a different story. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 averages 11,680 points, which is 0.5% higher than the 7800 XT's average score of 11,627. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M comes in at 11,528, a 0.9% deficit. The NVIDIA Tesla K20c scores 11,479, trailing by 1.3%. The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT leads the pack at 11,842, putting the 7800 XT 1.8% behind. Note that the 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 11,627 is pulled down by its multiple lower-scoring tests, including PassMark DirectX 9 at 304, DirectX 11 at 249, and DirectX 10 at 121. Its strongest single result is the Geekbench Vulkan score of 54,228, followed by PassMark G3D at 24,176 and Geekbench OpenCL at 18,290.

The FirePro M6100, by contrast, has only one recorded benchmark, which makes its average score identical to its Geekbench OpenCL result. The 7800 XT's OpenCL advantage of 27% is the headline number here, but the broader data shows the 7800 XT also excels in Vulkan and DirectX workloads, areas where the FirePro M6100 has no recorded measurements.

Where Each One Wins

The FirePro M6100 wins nowhere in the direct comparison. Across the single shared benchmark, the RX 7800 XT takes the victory outright. The database records zero wins for the FirePro M6100 and one win for the RX 7800 XT.

For the FirePro M6100, its strength lies in its competitive position among its own generation. It is within 0.4% of the AMD Radeon Pro 555, the top scorer in its rival group. This suggests that for mobile workstation tasks of its era, the M6100 was a solid performer, but that era has passed. Its 13,354 OpenCL score is respectable for a 2014 mobile part, yet it places in the 54th percentile of all GPUs, meaning nearly half of all recorded GPUs outperform it.

The RX 7800 XT, despite its 51st percentile ranking (a result dragged down by its low PassMark legacy DirectX scores), wins decisively in modern compute workloads. Its Vulkan score of 54,228 is more than four times its OpenCL score, indicating exceptional performance in Vulkan-optimized applications. Its PassMark G3D score of 24,176 shows strong overall graphics capability, while its GPU compute score of 13,473 suggests solid general-purpose compute performance. The 7800 XT also achieves a 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio at 37.32 TFLOPS each, making it particularly effective for workloads that leverage half-precision arithmetic.

The use-case split is clear: for any modern application, the RX 7800 XT is the only choice. The FirePro M6100's sole advantage is historical, serving as a reference point for what mobile workstation graphics looked like in the mid-2010s.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans a decade of AMD design evolution. The FirePro M6100 uses the Emerald chip based on GCN 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2,080 million transistors into a 160 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.0 million per square millimeter. The RX 7800 XT uses the Navi 32 chip based on RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed "Wheat Nas," built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 28,100 million transistors across a 346 mm² die, achieving a density of 81.2 million per square millimeter, more than six times denser than the older chip.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The FirePro M6100 has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operations pipelines. The RX 7800 XT scales this up to 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, each figure representing a 4.3x, 4.3x, and 6x increase respectively. The 7800 XT also introduces 60 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GCN 2.0 architecture.

Memory configurations reflect the generational leap. The FirePro M6100 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth at a memory clock of 1,500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The RX 7800 XT offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 624.1 GB/s at 2,438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective). That is an 8x increase in capacity and a 6.5x increase in bandwidth.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The FirePro M6100's memory clock is the only clock recorded, while the RX 7800 XT lists a base clock of 1,295 MHz, a game clock of 2,124 MHz, and a boost clock of 2,430 MHz. The pixel rate jumps from 17.60 GPixel/s to 233.3 GPixel/s, and the texture rate from 61.60 GTexel/s to 583.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute output scales from 1.971 TFLOPS to 37.32 TFLOPS, an 18.9x improvement.

API support also diverges. The FirePro M6100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 7800 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, adding the full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set. The 7800 XT also reports FP16 at 37.32 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio to FP32, while the FirePro M6100 has no recorded FP16 capability.

The physical and power characteristics differ as expected. The FirePro M6100 is an MXM module with no power connectors and a portable-device-dependent display output. The RX 7800 XT is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 50 mm in width, requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested power supply. Its TDP is recorded at 263 W. The FirePro M6100 has no recorded TDP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT scores 18,290, which is 27% higher than the AMD FirePro M6100's 13,354.

Q: How does the FirePro M6100 compare to its closest rivals?

A: It is virtually tied with the AMD Radeon RX 5500M (0% delta, 13,356), trails the AMD Radeon HD 8950M by 0.2% (13,376), leads the AMD Radeon Pro 555X by 0.3% (13,321), and trails the AMD Radeon Pro 555 by 0.4% (13,407).

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 7800 XT delivers 624.1 GB/s over a 256-bit GDDR6 bus, while the FirePro M6100 provides 96.00 GB/s over a 128-bit GDDR5 bus. That is a 6.5x bandwidth advantage for the newer card.

Q: Does the RX 7800 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 60 ray tracing cores. The FirePro M6100 has no ray tracing cores, as its GCN 2.0 architecture predates that feature.

Q: How do the transistor densities compare?

A: The RX 7800 XT has a density of 81.2 million transistors per square millimeter on a 5 nm process, versus 13.0 million per square millimeter for the FirePro M6100 on a 28 nm process.

Q: What are the FP32 compute capabilities?

A: The RX 7800 XT achieves 37.32 TFLOPS, while the FirePro M6100 delivers 1.971 TFLOPS, an 18.9x difference.

The Verdict

The data presents an unambiguous picture. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT outperforms the AMD FirePro M6100 by 27% in the only shared benchmark, and its architectural advantages are overwhelming across every measurable metric. The 7800 XT offers 4.3x more shading units, 6.5x more memory bandwidth, 18.9x more FP32 compute, and introduces ray tracing support that the older card lacks entirely.

For anyone considering these GPUs today, the RX 7800 XT is the only viable choice for modern workloads. Its Vulkan score of 54,228 and PassMark G3D score of 24,176 demonstrate strong contemporary performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory provides ample capacity for current applications, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with the latest graphics features.

The FirePro M6100, with its 2 GB GDDR5 memory and GCN 2.0 architecture, is an end-of-life product. Its 54th percentile ranking and placement among similarly aged mobile workstation parts confirm its historical role, but not its relevance for current tasks. It remains a useful reference point for understanding how far mobile GPU technology has advanced over the past decade, but the database clearly shows it cannot compete with the RX 7800 XT.

The verdict is straightforward: choose the RX 7800 XT for any compute, gaming, or workstation application. The FirePro M6100 belongs in a museum of mobile graphics history, not in a modern system.