GPU Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and AMD FirePro S10000 represent two very different eras of workstation graphics, and the benchmark data reflects a generational chasm. The single head-to-head result is decisive: in Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A2000 scores 66,998 against the FirePro S10000’s 30,631, a 118.7% advantage. This is not a close contest; the RTX A2000 more than doubles the FirePro’s compute output in this test. The RTX A2000 also holds a commanding lead in average benchmark score, posting 34,154 versus 32,388 for the FirePro, a difference of roughly 5.5%. While the FirePro S10000’s 77th percentile ranking and the RTX A2000’s 79th percentile indicate both sit in similar overall performance tiers, the raw performance gap in the available test is massive. The RTX A2000’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN V (deltaPct -0.6) and the RTX A1000 (deltaPct -0.2), showing it sits in a competitive cluster. The FirePro S10000, meanwhile, is bracketed by the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (deltaPct -0.2) and the Radeon Pro 570X (deltaPct 0.7), suggesting its performance level is closer to mid-range modern cards than to the RTX A2000’s tier.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it tells a stark story. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB achieves a score of 66,998, while the AMD FirePro S10000 manages just 30,631. That is a deltaPct of 118.7% in favor of the RTX A2000. To put that in perspective, the RTX A2000 is not merely faster; it delivers over twice the raw compute throughput in this workload. This result aligns with the architectural gap between the two cards, but the magnitude is nonetheless striking. The FirePro S10000’s best available score comes from Geekbench Vulkan at 34,145, which is still less than half of the RTX A2000’s OpenCL result.

Beyond the direct comparison, the average benchmark scores reinforce the hierarchy. The RTX A2000 averages 34,154 across its benchmark suite, while the FirePro S10000 averages 32,388. This 1,766-point gap translates to a roughly 5.5% lead for the RTX A2000. However, the head-to-head OpenCL test shows a much larger disparity, suggesting that the FirePro’s average is buoyed by its Vulkan score, which is not shared by the RTX A2000 in this dataset. In practical terms, the RTX A2000’s advantage in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads is overwhelming. The FirePro S10000’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, scores 32,456 (deltaPct -0.2), meaning the FirePro is essentially on par with that card in average terms. The RTX A2000, by contrast, is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (score 34,207) and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V (score 34,355), placing it in a significantly higher performance bracket.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB is the superior card for any workload captured by the available benchmarks. It wins the only head-to-head test by 118.7% and has a higher average benchmark score. Anyone choosing between these two based strictly on performance data should pick the RTX A2000. The FirePro S10000, despite its age and higher original launch MSRP, does not offer any competitive advantage in the measured tests. The RTX A2000’s 79th percentile ranking versus the FirePro’s 77th percentile further confirms its edge, though both are in the upper-middle range of all GPUs.

That said, the FirePro S10000 is not without its niche. Its 3 GB of memory and 384-bit bus are vestiges of a different era, but its 240.0 GB/s bandwidth is still respectable. However, the RTX A2000 counters with 12 GB of memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, making it superior in both capacity and throughput. The RTX A2000 also has a lower TDP of 70 W versus the FirePro’s 375 W, which means it can be powered without auxiliary connectors, while the FirePro requires 2x 8-pin connectors and a 750 W suggested PSU. For any modern workstation build, the RTX A2000 is the rational choice. For retro or niche server applications where the FirePro’s specific feature set is required, it could still serve, but the performance data gives no reason to prefer it.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures, separated by roughly a decade of GPU design. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 uses the GA106 chip based on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The AMD FirePro S10000 uses the Tahiti chip based on the GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It has 4,313 million transistors on a larger 352 mm² die, resulting in a much lower transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². This process node advantage alone explains much of the performance gap.

The RTX A2000 features 3,328 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 26 RT cores and 104 tensor cores, making it a fully modern GPU with hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration. The FirePro S10000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores, as those technologies did not exist in GCN 1.0. The RTX A2000 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the FirePro only supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Vulkan support also differs: the RTX A2000 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro supports Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the feature sets diverge significantly beyond that.

Memory configurations are equally divergent. The RTX A2000 uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, achieving 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro S10000 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 240.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A2000’s memory clock is 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the FirePro’s is 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The RTX A2000 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the FirePro is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the RTX A2000 has 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, while the FirePro has 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB scores 66,998 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD FirePro S10000 scores 30,631. This is a 118.7% advantage for the RTX A2000.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX A2000 has an average benchmark score of 34,154, while the FirePro S10000 has an average of 32,388. The RTX A2000 leads by 1,766 points, or approximately 5.5%.

Q: What are the memory capacities of each card?

A: The RTX A2000 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the FirePro S10000 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Does the FirePro S10000 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the FirePro S10000 has no RT cores. The RTX A2000, by contrast, has 26 RT cores.

Q: What are the TDP requirements for each card?

A: The RTX A2000 has a TDP of 70 W and requires no power connectors, while the FirePro S10000 has a TDP of 375 W and requires 2x 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX A2000 on 8 nm has a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm², while the FirePro S10000 on 28 nm has 12.3 million per mm².

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB wins in every measurable category. It dominates the only head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 66,998 versus 30,631. It also has a higher average benchmark score (34,154 vs 32,388) and a higher percentile ranking (79th vs 77th). The RTX A2000’s memory subsystem is superior in both capacity (12 GB vs 3 GB) and bandwidth (288.0 GB/s vs 240.0 GB/s). Its FP32 compute of 7.987 TFLOPS more than doubles the FirePro’s 3.405 TFLOPS. The RTX A2000 also has a significantly lower TDP of 70 W versus 375 W, making it far more power-efficient.

The AMD FirePro S10000 does not win any benchmark in the dataset. Its only competitive advantage lies in its 384-bit memory bus, which is wider than the RTX A2000’s 192-bit bus, but this does not translate into higher bandwidth. The FirePro also has a higher base clock of 825 MHz versus the RTX A2000’s 562 MHz, but the RTX A2000’s boost clock of 1200 MHz exceeds the FirePro’s 950 MHz. In texture rate, the FirePro’s 106.4 GTexel/s is close to the RTX A2000’s 124.8 GTexel/s, but the RTX A2000 still leads. The FirePro’s pixel rate of 30.40 GPixel/s is less than half of the RTX A2000’s 57.60 GPixel/s. For any use case involving modern compute, rendering, or AI workloads, the RTX A2000 is the clear winner. The FirePro S10000 might only be relevant for legacy software that specifically requires GCN 1.0 features, but the data provides no performance reason to choose it.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and the AMD FirePro S10000:

• Chip: GA106 vs Tahiti
• Architecture: Ampere vs GCN 1.0
• Generation: Workstation Ampere (Ax000) vs FirePro Server (Sx000)
• Process Node: 8 nm (Samsung) vs 28 nm (TSMC)
• Transistors: 12,000 million vs 4,313 million
• Die Size: 276 mm² vs 352 mm²
• Transistor Density: 43.5M / mm² vs 12.3M / mm²
• Base Clock: 562 MHz vs 825 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1200 MHz vs 950 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) vs 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 12 GB vs 3 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 vs GDDR5
• Memory Bus Width: 192 bit vs 384 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 288.0 GB/s vs 240.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 3328 vs 1792
• TMUs: 104 vs 112
• ROPs: 48 vs 32
• RT Cores: 26 vs null
• Tensor Cores: 104 vs null
• Pixel Rate: 57.60 GPixel/s vs 30.40 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 124.8 GTexel/s vs 106.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 7.987 TFLOPS vs 3.405 TFLOPS
• FP16: 7.987 TFLOPS (1:1) vs null
• TDP: 70 W vs 375 W
• Power Connectors: None vs 2x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 250 W vs 750 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 vs PCIe 3.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a vs 1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2
• DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (11_1)
• Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.2.170
• Dimensions (Length): 167 mm (6.6 inches) vs 305 mm (12 inches)
• Dimensions (Height): 69 mm (2.7 inches) vs 111 mm (4.4 inches)