AMD FirePro S10000 vs AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the AMD FirePro S10000 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 in OpenCL?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD FirePro S10000 scores 30,631, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 26,679. The FirePro S10000 wins by 14.8%.

Q: Which GPU has a higher Vulkan benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 scores 34,145 in Geekbench Vulkan, versus 26,410 for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20. This is a 29.3% advantage for the FirePro S10000.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has an average benchmark score of 32,388, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has an average of 27,839. The FirePro S10000 sits in the 77th percentile of all GPUs, and the Vega 20 sits in the 73rd percentile.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 240.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 4 GB of HBM2 memory on a 1024-bit bus, delivering 189.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the power draw difference between these two GPUs?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has a TDP of 375 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a 750 W suggested power supply. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has a TDP of 100 W, uses an IGP slot width, and does not list power connectors or a suggested PSU.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life products. The AMD FirePro S10000 was released in November 2012, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 was released in November 2018.

Architecture Differences

The AMD FirePro S10000 is built on the Tahiti chip using the GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 uses the Vega 12 chip with the GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The database does not list transistor count, die size, or density for the Vega 20.

These architectural generations differ significantly. GCN 1.0 was AMD's first iteration of the Graphics Core Next design, while GCN 5.0 represents a much later refinement with major changes to the compute unit layout and memory subsystem. The Vega 20 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, while the FirePro S10000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The Vega 20 includes explicit support for FP16 compute with a 2:1 ratio, delivering 6.569 TFLOPS, while the FirePro S10000 has no listed FP16 capability. The Vega 20 also uses HBM2 memory with a 1024-bit bus, a fundamental departure from the FirePro's GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The Vega 20's memory clock is listed at 740 MHz with 1480 Mbps effective, while the FirePro runs at 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective.

The FirePro S10000 is a dual-slot card with 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The Vega 20 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent," indicating it is designed for mobile or integrated implementations. The FirePro requires a 750 W power supply and dual 8-pin connectors, while the Vega 20 draws far less power and has no such requirements listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data covers two benchmark tests, and the AMD FirePro S10000 wins both. The largest margin is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the FirePro S10000 scores 34,145 against the Vega 20's 26,410. This represents a 29.3% advantage, a substantial gap that reflects the FirePro's higher raw throughput in this particular workload.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the FirePro S10000 scores 30,631 versus 26,679 for the Vega 20, a 14.8% lead. While still a clear win, the margin is narrower than in Vulkan, suggesting that the Vega 20's architectural improvements narrow the gap in compute-oriented tasks. The Vega 20's higher boost clock of 1283 MHz versus the FirePro's 950 MHz helps it remain competitive despite having fewer shading units.

The FirePro S10000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, while the Vega 20 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite having 40% fewer shaders, the Vega 20's pixel rate is higher at 41.06 GPixel/s versus 30.40 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is close at 102.6 GTexel/s versus 106.4 GTexel/s. This shows the Vega 20's per-clock efficiency is significantly better, but the FirePro's raw parallelism wins the overall benchmarks.

In terms of FP32 compute, the FirePro S10000 delivers 3.405 TFLOPS, slightly ahead of the Vega 20's 3.284 TFLOPS. The difference is only about 3.7%, yet the benchmark deltas are much larger, indicating that memory bandwidth and other factors play a major role in the observed performance gaps.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro S10000 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 |

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

| Chip | Tahiti | Vega 12 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | GCN 5.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | Not listed |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | Not listed |

| Base Clock | 825 MHz | 815 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 950 MHz | 1283 MHz |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 1024 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 240.0 GB/s | 189.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 112 | 80 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 30.40 GPixel/s | 41.06 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 106.4 GTexel/s | 102.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.405 TFLOPS | 3.284 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 6.569 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 375 W | 100 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | Not listed |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | Not listed |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.3 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 305 mm length, 111 mm height | Not listed |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD FirePro S10000 is the clear winner in the recorded benchmarks, taking both head-to-head tests. Its advantage is most pronounced in Vulkan, where it leads by 29.3%. This suggests that for applications leveraging Vulkan's low-level API, the FirePro S10000's higher shading unit count and greater memory bandwidth (240.0 GB/s versus 189.4 GB/s) provide a meaningful edge. The FirePro also has a higher average benchmark score at 32,388, placing it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs.

The FirePro S10000 is also the better choice for raw FP32 compute, delivering 3.405 TFLOPS versus 3.284 TFLOPS. Its 14.8% OpenCL win reinforces this positioning. For workloads that are not heavily dependent on FP16 or newer API features, the FirePro's older architecture still holds up well due to its larger execution resources.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, despite losing both head-to-head benchmarks, has distinct advantages in specific areas. Its FP16 capability of 6.569 TFLOPS (2:1) is entirely absent from the FirePro S10000, making it the superior choice for workloads that can utilize half-precision math. The Vega 20 also has a much higher boost clock (1283 MHz versus 950 MHz), which helps it achieve a higher pixel rate of 41.06 GPixel/s despite fewer ROPs.

The Vega 20's power efficiency is a major differentiating factor. With a TDP of 100 W versus 375 W, it draws less than a third of the power. This makes it suitable for integrated or mobile implementations, as indicated by its IGP slot width and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The FirePro S10000, by contrast, is a dual-slot card requiring a 750 W power supply and two 8-pin connectors.

The Vega 20 also offers newer API support, including DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, versus DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170 on the FirePro. For applications that require these newer API versions or FP16 compute, the Vega 20 is the functional choice. Its 4 GB of HBM2 memory also provides more capacity than the FirePro's 3 GB of GDDR5, which can matter for larger datasets.

In terms of competitive positioning, the FirePro S10000's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 32,456, just 0.2% higher. The Vega 20's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7800M, scoring 27,883, also 0.2% higher. Both cards are slightly below their closest competitors in the database's rankings.

For users prioritizing pure compute throughput in OpenCL or Vulkan, the FirePro S10000 is the stronger option based on the recorded data. For those needing FP16 support, newer API features, or drastically lower power consumption, the Radeon Pro Vega 20 is the appropriate choice, even though its overall benchmark scores are lower.