AMD FirePro S10000 vs AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Comparison

The AMD FirePro S10000 and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT represent two very different generations of AMD graphics hardware. The data shows a clear overall winner in raw compute and modern API performance, but the FirePro S10000 still holds a niche based on its server-oriented design. This analysis relies exclusively on recorded benchmark scores and specification differences from the database.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT wins decisively in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6700 XT scores 44,152 against the FirePro S10000's 30,631, a delta of 30.6% in favor of the newer card. The gap widens dramatically in Geekbench Vulkan: the RX 6700 XT scores 93,500 while the FirePro S10000 manages 34,145, making the RX 6700 XT 63.5% faster. These are the only two shared benchmarks in the database, and the RX 6700 XT wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in direct comparisons.

The RX 6700 XT also has a broader benchmark footprint. The database includes results for 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (2,435), Geekbench Metal (130,896), and multiple Passmark tests (DirectX 9 at 242, DirectX 10 at 124, DirectX 11 at 173, DirectX 12 at 77, G2D at 951, G3D at 19,786, and GPU Compute at 9,336). The FirePro S10000 has no recorded scores for these tests, so its strengths cannot be quantified in those workloads.

The FirePro S10000's only advantage is contextual. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 32,388, which places it at the 77th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RX 6700 XT's average is 27,425, at the 72nd percentile. This means that despite losing the direct comparisons, the FirePro S10000 outperforms a larger fraction of the overall GPU pool when considering its full profile. However, this average is based on only two tests for the FirePro, while the RX 6700 XT has eleven, so the comparison is not apples-to-apples.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The FirePro S10000 uses GCN 1.0, codenamed Tahiti, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The RX 6700 XT uses RDNA 2.0, codenamed Navi 22, also from TSMC but on a 7 nm node. It contains 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, giving a much higher density of 51.3 million per mm².

The RX 6700 XT's clock speeds are substantially higher. Its base clock is 2,321 MHz, with a boost of 2,581 MHz and a game clock of 2,424 MHz. The FirePro S10000 runs at 825 MHz base and 950 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ greatly: the FirePro uses 1,250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) GDDR5, while the RX 6700 XT runs 2,000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) GDDR6.

Memory capacity and bandwidth favor the RX 6700 XT in most respects. The FirePro has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 240.0 GB/s. The RX 6700 XT offers 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s. The RX 6700 XT has more total memory and higher bandwidth, despite a narrower bus.

Compute resources are also lopsided. The RX 6700 XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, plus 40 ray tracing cores. The FirePro S10000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. Pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s for the RX 6700 XT versus 30.40 GPixel/s for the FirePro. Texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s versus 106.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 13.21 TFLOPS for the RX 6700 XT, and the FirePro manages 3.405 TFLOPS. The RX 6700 XT also supports FP16 at 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the FirePro has no recorded FP16 capability.

API support differences are notable. The RX 6700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro S10000 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The RX 6700 XT also has a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the FirePro uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the superior card for nearly any workload measured. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 30.6% and 63.5%. It has more memory, higher bandwidth, faster clocks, more compute units, and modern API support. Its average benchmark score of 27,425, despite including many more tests, still reflects a capable mid-range part.

The FirePro S10000's only statistical edge is its higher percentile ranking (77th versus 72nd) and its higher average score (32,388 versus 27,425), but that average comes from just two tests. The FirePro S10000 was released in 2012 and is end-of-life; the RX 6700 XT was released in 2021 and is also end-of-life, but its architecture is far more recent.

Who should pick the FirePro S10000? The recorded data shows it was a server-class card with 375 W TDP, dual-slot cooling, and two 8-pin power connectors. It has 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. For legacy systems that require GCN 1.0 behavior or that rely on PCIe 3.0, it might still function, but there is no benchmark evidence of any workload where it beats the RX 6700 XT.

Who should pick the RX 6700 XT? Anyone needing ray tracing (40 RT cores), higher memory capacity (12 GB), faster bandwidth (384.0 GB/s), or modern API features (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4). The RX 6700 XT also has a lower TDP (230 W versus 375 W), a smaller footprint (267 mm versus 305 mm length), and requires only a 550 W suggested PSU versus 750 W.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has an average benchmark score of 32,388, while the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT averages 27,425.

Q: Does the FirePro S10000 win any head-to-head benchmark?

A: No. In the two recorded head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the RX 6700 XT wins both, with deltas of 30.6% and 63.5% respectively.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The FirePro S10000 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: The RX 6700 XT has 40 ray tracing cores. The FirePro S10000 has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The FirePro S10000 has a 375 W TDP with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 750 W suggested PSU. The RX 6700 XT has a 230 W TDP with 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU.

Q: What are the API support differences?

A: The FirePro S10000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 6700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6700 XT scores 44,152 against the FirePro S10000's 30,631. That is a 30.6% advantage for the RX 6700 XT. OpenCL is a compute-oriented benchmark, and the RX 6700 XT's higher FP32 throughput (13.21 TFLOPS versus 3.405 TFLOPS) and larger memory pool likely explain the result.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap is even larger. The RX 6700 XT scores 93,500, while the FirePro S10000 scores 34,145. The delta is 63.5% in favor of the RX 6700 XT. Vulkan is a modern graphics and compute API, and the FirePro S10000's older GCN 1.0 architecture with Vulkan 1.2.170 support is clearly at a disadvantage. The RX 6700 XT's Vulkan 1.4 support and newer RDNA 2.0 design handle the workload far more efficiently.

These results are consistent with the broader benchmark picture. The RX 6700 XT's Passmark G3D score of 19,786 and GPU Compute score of 9,336 are strong indicators of overall performance, while its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,435 shows it can handle modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads. The FirePro S10000 has no comparable scores, so its performance in those areas is unmeasured.

The RX 6700 XT also shows high scores in Geekbench Metal (130,896), which is relevant for macOS or Metal-based applications. The FirePro S10000 has no Metal score. Across every test where both cards have data, the RX 6700 XT wins, and in the tests where only the RX 6700 XT has data, its scores are consistently solid.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two cards differ, based on the database.

| Specification | AMD FirePro S10000 | AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Chip | Tahiti | Navi 22 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 17,200 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 335 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 51.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 825 MHz | 2321 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 950 MHz | 2581 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2424 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 240.0 GB/s | 384.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 112 | 160 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | None | 40 |

| Pixel Rate | 30.40 GPixel/s | 165.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 106.4 GTexel/s | 413.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.405 TFLOPS | 13.21 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | None recorded | 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 375 W | 230 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Length | 305 mm (12 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 110 mm (4.3 inches) |

| Width | None recorded | 40 mm (1.6 inches) |

| Release Date | 2012-11-11 | 2021-03-02 |

| Launch MSRP | 3,599 USD | 479 USD |

| Predecessor | FirePro Terascale | Navi |

| Successor | Radeon Pro GCN | Navi III |

The RX 6700 XT is superior in nearly every technical specification. The only areas where the FirePro S10000 does not lose are the memory bus width (384 bit versus 192 bit) and the absence of a game clock (which is not a performance metric). The FirePro also has more display outputs (5 total versus 4), but the RX 6700 XT's outputs are newer standards. The recorded data leaves no doubt about which card is more capable.