AMD FirePro S10000 vs AMD Radeon Pro 570X Comparison

The AMD FirePro S10000 and the AMD Radeon Pro 570X represent two distinct generations of AMD professional graphics, separated by architectural philosophy and target platform. The data shows a near-perfect statistical tie in average benchmark scores, yet the two cards achieve parity through entirely different performance profiles. The FirePro S10000, a dual-slot server card from 2012, wins both shared benchmark tests, while the Radeon Pro 570X, a 2019 mobile-oriented part, counters with a much lower power draw and a more modern feature set. This analysis breaks down where each GPU holds an advantage based on the provided benchmark data and specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD FirePro S10000 is the clear winner in raw compute throughput as measured by the two benchmarks both cards took. In Geekbench OpenCL, the S10000 scores 30,631 against the Pro 570X’s 27,604, an 11% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens to 18.3%, with scores of 34,145 and 28,859 respectively. This makes the S10000 the superior choice for workloads that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan compute APIs, particularly in server environments where its dual-slot, 375W design is acceptable. Its average benchmark score of 32,388 also edges out the Pro 570X’s 32,176, placing it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs versus the 76th percentile for its rival. The S10000’s wins are exclusively in compute-oriented tasks that stress the GPU’s raw processing capabilities.

The AMD Radeon Pro 570X wins in every other practical category, despite losing both head-to-head compute tests. Its decisive advantage is power efficiency: it draws 150W versus the S10000’s 375W, a 225W difference that makes it suitable for integrated applications (labeled as IGP slot width) where the S10000’s power connectors and dual-slot footprint are non-starters. The Pro 570X also has a dedicated Geekbench Metal score of 40,066, a benchmark the S10000 never took, indicating its strength in Apple ecosystem applications. With a newer architecture (GCN 4.0 vs GCN 1.0), 4GB of memory versus 3GB, and a smaller 14nm process node, the Pro 570X is the more versatile, modern part for mobile workstations and compact systems where power and thermal constraints dominate over peak compute performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has a marginally higher average benchmark score of 32,388, which is 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro 570X’s 32,176. Both cards sit within a narrow band of each other, with the S10000 in the 77th percentile and the Pro 570X in the 76th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: How much faster is the FirePro S10000 in Vulkan compute?

A: The FirePro S10000 outperforms the Radeon Pro 570X by 18.3% in Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 34,145 versus 28,859. This is its largest margin of victory in any shared benchmark.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 570X have any benchmark advantage?

A: Yes, the Radeon Pro 570X has a Geekbench Metal score of 40,066, which is a test the FirePro S10000 does not have a recorded result for. This indicates a performance capability in Metal-based applications that the S10000 cannot match in that specific API.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between the two cards?

A: The FirePro S10000 has a TDP of 375W, while the Radeon Pro 570X is rated at 150W. This 225W difference is substantial and makes the Pro 570X far more suitable for power-constrained or compact systems.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The FirePro S10000 has a higher memory bandwidth of 240.0 GB/s, compared to the Radeon Pro 570X’s 217.0 GB/s. However, the Pro 570X has a larger total memory capacity of 4GB versus 3GB on the S10000.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No. Both the AMD FirePro S10000 and the AMD Radeon Pro 570X are listed as end-of-life products. The S10000 was released in 2012, while the Pro 570X came out in 2019.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two Geekbench tests provide a clear picture of the performance delta between these GPUs. In Geekbench OpenCL, the FirePro S10000 scores 30,631, which is 11% higher than the Radeon Pro 570X’s 27,604. This advantage is notable but not overwhelming, suggesting that the S10000’s older Tahiti chip still holds a lead in general-purpose compute tasks. The result is consistent with the S10000’s higher memory bandwidth (240.0 GB/s vs 217.0 GB/s) and its wider 384-bit memory bus, which helps feed its 1792 shading units more effectively in memory-intensive workloads.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a much larger separation. The FirePro S10000 achieves 34,145, while the Radeon Pro 570X trails at 28,859, resulting in an 18.3% delta in favor of the S10000. This significant gap suggests that the S10000’s architecture is better optimized for Vulkan’s low-level compute and rendering paths, despite being nearly seven years older. The S10000’s FP32 throughput of 3.405 TFLOPS is lower than the Pro 570X’s 3.960 TFLOPS, yet the S10000 still manages to win decisively, indicating that raw FLOPs are not the sole determinant of real-world benchmark performance. The data shows that in Vulkan, the S10000 punches well above its theoretical compute rating.

It is also importantly the Radeon Pro 570X has a third benchmark result, Geekbench Metal, where it scores 40,066. While there is no direct comparison available for the S10000, this score is higher than either card’s OpenCL or Vulkan scores, suggesting that the Pro 570X performs exceptionally well in Apple’s Metal API. This result is likely a key differentiator for users in macOS environments, where Metal is the primary graphics and compute framework. The S10000, with no Metal support listed in its API specifications, cannot compete in this specific software ecosystem.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge significantly across nearly every core specification. The FirePro S10000 uses a 28nm TSMC process, while the Radeon Pro 570X is built on GlobalFoundries’ 14nm node. This process advantage allows the Pro 570X to pack 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, compared to the S10000’s 4,313 million transistors on a much larger 352 mm² die. Consequently, the Pro 570X has a transistor density of 24.6M per mm², nearly double the S10000’s 12.3M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the newer card. The Pro 570X runs at a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1105 MHz, while the S10000 operates at 825 MHz base and 950 MHz boost. Memory configurations also differ: the S10000 has 3GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 240.0 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the Pro 570X has 4GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 217.0 GB/s. The S10000’s memory runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the Pro 570X’s memory is faster at 1695 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective), though the narrower bus limits overall bandwidth.

The shading unit count is identical at 1792, with 112 TMUs and 32 ROPs on both cards. However, the Pro 570X achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 35.36 GPixel/s and 123.8 GTexel/s, versus 30.40 GPixel/s and 106.4 GTexel/s on the S10000. The Pro 570X also has higher FP32 performance at 3.960 TFLOPS, and it explicitly supports FP16 at 3.960 TFLOPS (1:1), a feature the S10000 does not list. Power requirements are starkly different: the S10000 demands 375W with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 750W PSU recommendation, while the Pro 570X draws only 150W with no power connectors, being an IGP-class part. The S10000 is a 305mm dual-slot card with 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort outputs, whereas the Pro 570X has no listed dimensions and its display outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent."

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these GPUs is generational. The FirePro S10000 is based on the Tahiti chip using GCN 1.0 architecture, a design that debuted in 2012 for server workloads. The Radeon Pro 570X uses the Ellesmere chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, released in 2019 for Mac-based professional systems. This four-generation leap brings significant feature improvements to the Pro 570X.

In terms of API support, the Pro 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the S10000 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the Pro 570X has Vulkan 1.3 support versus Vulkan 1.2.170 on the S10000. The Pro 570X also has native FP16 compute at a 1:1 rate, a feature absent from the S10000’s specifications, which is relevant for machine learning and certain compute workloads that benefit from half-precision arithmetic. The S10000’s transistor count is lower (4,313 million vs 5,700 million), but it compensates with a wider memory bus and higher bandwidth, suggesting a design optimized for memory throughput rather than density.

The production status of both cards is end-of-life, but their design philosophies could not be more different. The S10000 is a dual-slot, high-power server card with a 375W TDP and a 305mm length, designed for rack-mounted compute nodes where power and space are secondary concerns. The Pro 570X is an IGP-class part with a 150W TDP, no power connectors, and no fixed dimensions, indicating it is designed for integration into laptops or all-in-one systems. The S10000 carries a launch MSRP of 3,599 USD, while the Pro 570X has no listed launch MSRP, reflecting its role as an OEM component rather than a retail product. These architectural differences mean that despite similar average benchmark scores, the two cards are optimized for entirely different use cases and physical environments.