GPU Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a single head-to-head comparison between the AMD Radeon HD 7970 and the AMD FirePro S10000, and the result is decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541 points against the FirePro S10000’s 30,631 points, a delta of 12.8% in favor of the Radeon. This is a substantial margin in a compute-oriented workload, indicating that the HD 7970 delivers meaningfully higher raw throughput for OpenCL-based tasks.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the HD 7970’s average benchmark score stands at 34,541, while the FirePro S10000’s average is 32,388, derived from its two recorded scores (30,631 in OpenCL and 34,145 in Vulkan). The HD 7970’s single OpenCL result is 6.6% higher than the FirePro S10000’s average across both tests, which suggests the Radeon holds an edge in the compute workloads measured here, though the FirePro’s Vulkan showing of 34,145 is notably close to the HD 7970’s OpenCL number, a difference of only 1.1%.

When placed against their respective nearest rivals, both cards sit in similar performance tiers. The HD 7970’s percentile rank is 79, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB at a score of 34,561 (a delta of -0.1%, meaning the Radeon is essentially tied), and the NVIDIA TITAN V at 34,355 (delta of +0.5% in favor of the Radeon). The FirePro S10000 holds a 77th percentile rank, with its closest competitor being the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE at 32,456 (delta of -0.2%) and the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 at 32,540 (delta of -0.5%). The data indicates both cards are competitive within their performance neighborhood, but the HD 7970 occupies a slightly higher percentile and outperforms the FirePro in the one directly comparable test.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon HD 7970 wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by 12.8%. This makes it the clear choice for compute-heavy applications that rely on OpenCL acceleration. Its shading unit count of 2,048 versus the FirePro’s 1,792, combined with a texture rate of 118.4 GTexel/s against 106.4 GTexel/s, provides a structural advantage in parallel processing workloads that scale with shader count and texture throughput. The HD 7970 also offers higher memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s compared to the FirePro’s 240.0 GB/s, which benefits memory-bound compute tasks.

The FirePro S10000, despite losing the OpenCL comparison, has its own areas of relative strength. Its Vulkan score of 34,145 is higher than its OpenCL score of 30,631 by 11.5%, indicating that it performs better in Vulkan-based workloads than in OpenCL ones. This suggests that for applications leveraging the Vulkan API, the FirePro is substantially more capable than its OpenCL performance would imply. The FirePro also has a higher pixel rate at 30.40 GPixel/s versus the HD 7970’s 29.60 GPixel/s, which could translate to a slight advantage in rasterization-heavy tasks, though this is a narrow margin of 2.7%. Additionally, the FirePro’s boost clock of 950 MHz (against the HD 7970’s unspecified boost) and its server-oriented positioning, the generation is labeled "FirePro Server (Sx000)", indicate it is designed for sustained professional workloads where stability and multi-display output matter more than peak compute scores.

It is worth noting that the HD 7970’s single benchmark result is its OpenCL score, while the FirePro has both OpenCL and Vulkan data. In the OpenCL domain, the Radeon wins outright. In Vulkan, the FirePro’s 34,145 score would compare favorably to the HD 7970’s OpenCL 34,541, but no direct Vulkan test exists for the Radeon, so a head-to-head in that API cannot be established from the available data.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same underlying silicon: the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. Both have a die size of 352 mm² and contain 4,313 million transistors, yielding an identical transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The fundamental hardware is the same, but the configurations diverge significantly.

The Radeon HD 7970 is fully enabled with 2,048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), while the FirePro S10000 is partially disabled, featuring 1,792 shading units and 112 TMUs. This represents a 14.3% reduction in shader count and a 12.5% reduction in TMUs for the FirePro. Both cards retain 32 ROPs. The clock speeds tell a different story: the FirePro has a base clock of 825 MHz and a boost clock of 950 MHz, whereas the HD 7970’s base and boost clocks are not listed in the data. The FirePro’s memory runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), slightly lower than the HD 7970’s 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). Consequently, the HD 7970 achieves higher memory bandwidth (264.0 GB/s versus 240.0 GB/s) and higher FP32 throughput (3.789 TFLOPS versus 3.405 TFLOPS).

Power consumption is a major differentiator. The FirePro S10000 draws 375 W TDP with dual 8-pin power connectors and requires a 750 W suggested PSU, while the HD 7970 is rated at 250 W TDP with a single 6-pin and single 8-pin connector, needing only a 600 W PSU. The FirePro’s 50% higher TDP is notable given its lower compute performance, suggesting the extra power is allocated to features beyond raw throughput, such as its server-oriented design and additional display outputs. The FirePro offers 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs plus 1x DVI, whereas the HD 7970 has 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DVI. Both cards support PCIe 3.0 x16, DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, so API support is identical. Physically, the FirePro is longer at 305 mm versus the HD 7970’s 275 mm, with the same 111 mm height and a dual-slot width for both.

The release dates reflect their different market positions: the HD 7970 launched on January 8, 2012, as part of the Southern Islands (HD 7900) generation, succeeding Northern Islands and preceding Sea Islands. The FirePro S10000 launched ten months later on November 11, 2012, under the FirePro Server (Sx000) generation, succeeding FirePro Terascale and preceding Radeon Pro GCN. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970 outperforms the AMD FirePro S10000 by 12.8% in the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 34,541 versus 30,631.

Q: Does the FirePro S10000 have any benchmark where it wins?

A: The data shows no direct head-to-head win for the FirePro. However, its Geekbench Vulkan score of 34,145 is 11.5% higher than its own OpenCL score, indicating it performs better in Vulkan than in OpenCL, though no Vulkan score is available for the HD 7970 to compare.

Q: Are these cards based on the same hardware?

A: Yes, both use the Tahiti chip with GCN 1.0 architecture on TSMC’s 28 nm process, with identical transistor counts (4,313 million) and die size (352 mm²). The FirePro has fewer enabled shading units (1,792 versus 2,048) and TMUs (112 versus 128).

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The FirePro S10000 has a TDP of 375 W and requires dual 8-pin connectors and a 750 W PSU. The Radeon HD 7970 has a TDP of 250 W, uses one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector, and needs a 600 W PSU.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The HD 7970 sits at the 79th percentile, with its closest rival being the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (delta -0.1%). The FirePro S10000 is at the 77th percentile, with its closest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (delta -0.2%).

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon HD 7970 has higher bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s compared to the FirePro’s 240.0 GB/s, due to its higher effective memory clock of 5.5 Gbps versus 5 Gbps.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is the superior performer for compute workloads. Its 12.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is significant, and its higher shader count, texture rate, and memory bandwidth all support this advantage. The HD 7970 also achieves this performance at a lower TDP (250 W versus 375 W) and with a smaller physical footprint (275 mm versus 305 mm in length). For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute performance per watt and per millimeter, the Radeon is the clear choice.

The AMD FirePro S10000, however, is not without merit. Its Vulkan score of 34,145 demonstrates strong performance in that API, and its higher pixel rate (30.40 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s) suggests a slight edge in pixel-heavy tasks. The FirePro’s server-oriented positioning, with four mini-DisplayPort outputs and a boost clock of 950 MHz, indicates it is built for professional multi-display or sustained compute environments where the HD 7970’s consumer-oriented design may be less suited. Its lower percentile rank (77 versus 79) and lower average benchmark score (32,388 versus 34,541) mean it trails the Radeon in overall measured performance.

For a general-purpose compute card, the HD 7970 wins on every metric where direct comparison is possible. For a professional server deployment requiring Vulkan support and multiple display outputs, the FirePro S10000 offers a specialized alternative, but the data suggests it is not a better compute performer than the Radeon. The HD 7970 is the recommended pick for OpenCL-centric workloads; the FirePro is only preferable if Vulkan performance or server-grade display connectivity is the dominant requirement.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7970 | AMD FirePro S10000 |

|----------------|---------------------|---------------------|

| Generation | Southern Islands (HD 7900) | FirePro Server (Sx000) |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 825 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 950 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 264.0 GB/s | 240.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 128 | 112 |

| Pixel Rate | 29.60 GPixel/s | 30.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 118.4 GTexel/s | 106.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.789 TFLOPS | 3.405 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 250 W | 375 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 750 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| Length | 275 mm (10.8 inches) | 305 mm (12 inches) |

| Width | 38 mm (1.5 inches) | Not listed |

| Release Date | 2012-01-08 | 2012-11-11 |

| Predecessor | Northern Islands | FirePro Terascale |

| Successor | Sea Islands | Radeon Pro GCN |

| Launch MSRP | 549 USD | 3,599 USD |

| Geekbench OpenCL | 34,541 | 30,631 |

| Geekbench Vulkan | Not listed | 34,145 |

| Average Benchmark Score | 34,541 | 32,388 |

| Percentile vs. All GPUs | 79 | 77 |

The two cards share identical architecture, process node, foundry, transistor count, die size, transistor density, memory size (3 GB GDDR5), bus width (384 bit), ROP count (32), bus interface (PCIe 3.0 x16), slot width (Dual-slot), height (111 mm), and API support (DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.2.170).