AMD FirePro S10000 vs NVIDIA TITAN RTX Comparison

The AMD FirePro S10000 and NVIDIA TITAN RTX represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The data available for direct comparison is limited to two compute-oriented benchmarks, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the TITAN RTX scores 144,858 against the FirePro S10000’s 30,631, a delta of -78.9% for the AMD card. In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin narrows slightly but remains overwhelming: the TITAN RTX posts 136,073 versus 34,145, a -74.9% difference. Across both tested workloads, the NVIDIA card wins every round, giving it a 2-0 sweep in head-to-head competition. The FirePro S10000’s average benchmark score of 32,388 places it at the 77th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN RTX’s 31,676 average sits at the 76th percentile — a curious inversion where the older card holds a slight edge in aggregate standing despite losing every direct test. This discrepancy stems from the TITAN RTX’s broader benchmark suite, which includes DirectX and Passmark tests that drag its average down, while the FirePro S10000’s two scores are both compute-heavy and relatively consistent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test measures raw compute throughput, and here the gap is staggering. The TITAN RTX delivers 144,858 points, which is 4.7 times the FirePro S10000’s 30,631. In percentage terms, the AMD card trails by 78.9% — meaning the NVIDIA part completes roughly 4.7 times the work in the same time window. This result aligns with the raw specifications: the TITAN RTX’s FP32 throughput is 16.31 TFLOPS against 3.405 TFLOPS for the FirePro S10000, a 4.8x advantage that tracks almost exactly with the benchmark delta. The FirePro S10000’s GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process, simply cannot match the Turing design’s 12 nm node and 18,600 million transistors — a 4.3x increase in transistor count over the AMD card’s 4,313 million.

Geekbench Vulkan presents a slightly tighter contest, but the outcome is unchanged. The TITAN RTX scores 136,073, while the FirePro S10000 manages 34,145. The delta is -74.9%, meaning the AMD card retains about 25.1% of the NVIDIA card’s performance. Interestingly, the FirePro S10000’s Vulkan score (34,145) is 11.5% higher than its OpenCL score (30,631), suggesting the older architecture responds better to the Vulkan API’s lower overhead. The TITAN RTX, by contrast, scores 6.1% lower in Vulkan (136,073) than in OpenCL (144,858), indicating its compute strengths are more fully expressed through OpenCL’s older programming model. Despite these directional differences, the absolute performance chasm remains: the TITAN RTX’s Vulkan score is still 3.98 times the FirePro S10000’s OpenCL best.

The nearest-rival data provides additional context for each card’s standing. The FirePro S10000’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 32,456 on average — a mere 0.2% ahead of the FirePro S10000’s 32,388. This clustering suggests the FirePro S10000’s compute performance is still competitive with modern mid-range parts, despite its age. The TITAN RTX sits in a similar band: its 31,676 average is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31,532 is actually the rival’s score, making the TITAN RTX 0.5% ahead) and 0.7% behind the Intel Arc Pro A30M (31,894). Both cards occupy the 76th-77th percentile range, indicating they are neither top-tier nor obsolete in the broader GPU landscape — they are solidly mid-pack performers with specific strengths.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN RTX wins decisively with a score of 144,858 against the AMD FirePro S10000’s 30,631. The FirePro S10000 trails by 78.9%, meaning the TITAN RTX delivers roughly 4.7 times the OpenCL performance.

Q: Is the FirePro S10000 competitive in any benchmark against the TITAN RTX?

A: No. The FirePro S10000 loses both head-to-head tests. Its closest margin is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 34,145 versus the TITAN RTX’s 136,073 — still a 74.9% deficit.

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall percentile ranking?

A: The FirePro S10000 ranks at the 77th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN RTX ranks at the 76th percentile. Despite losing every direct comparison, the AMD card holds a one-point edge in aggregate standing.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The FirePro S10000 has an average benchmark score of 32,388, while the TITAN RTX averages 31,676. The AMD card is 2.2% higher on average, despite its lower peak scores in direct tests.

Q: Does the TITAN RTX’s larger benchmark suite affect its average score?

A: Yes. The TITAN RTX has ten recorded benchmarks, including Passmark DirectX tests (scores ranging from 88 to 223) and 3DMark Steel Nomad (3,794), which pull its average down. The FirePro S10000 has only two benchmarks, both compute-oriented, keeping its average higher relative to its direct performance.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN RTX is significantly higher at 16.31 TFLOPS, compared to the AMD FirePro S10000’s 3.405 TFLOPS. This is a 4.8x advantage that closely mirrors the OpenCL benchmark delta.

The Verdict

The data paints an unambiguous picture for compute workloads. The NVIDIA TITAN RTX is the superior performer in every measured category, delivering 4.7 times the OpenCL score and 3.98 times the Vulkan score of the AMD FirePro S10000. For any workload that relies on raw GPGPU compute — OpenCL or Vulkan — the TITAN RTX is the only rational choice if raw performance is the sole criterion. Its 16.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 24 GB of GDDR6 memory, and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a massive resource pool that the FirePro S10000’s 3 GB GDDR5 and 240.0 GB/s cannot approach.

However, the FirePro S10000 is not without its own merits. Its 77th percentile ranking and average score of 32,388 — slightly higher than the TITAN RTX’s 31,676 — suggest that in the broader GPU context, it remains a capable compute card. Its nearest rivals include modern parts like the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (within 0.2%) and AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (within 0.5%), indicating that its compute performance has aged gracefully. For legacy systems or specialized deployments that require dual-slot, 2x 8-pin power configurations with a 750 W suggested PSU, the FirePro S10000’s 375 W TDP and 28 nm process may be a known quantity, but it is end-of-life and offers no path forward for modern API features.

The TITAN RTX, despite being end-of-life itself, carries DirectX 12 Ultimate support, 72 RT cores, and 576 tensor cores — features entirely absent from the FirePro S10000. Its 280 W TDP is lower than the AMD card’s 375 W, and its 600 W suggested PSU is more modest. For buyers choosing between these two today, the TITAN RTX is the clear winner on performance, power efficiency, and feature set. The FirePro S10000’s only advantage is its slightly higher percentile ranking and average score, which are artifacts of a limited benchmark suite rather than indicators of real-world superiority.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on nearly every specification. The FirePro S10000 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 240.0 GB/s bandwidth. The TITAN RTX uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on the same 384-bit bus, but achieves 672.0 GB/s — 2.8 times the bandwidth. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the FirePro S10000 runs at 825 MHz base and 950 MHz boost, while the TITAN RTX runs at 1350 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the AMD card versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA card.

Compute resources are equally lopsided. The FirePro S10000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The TITAN RTX has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs — 2.57x, 2.57x, and 3x respectively. Pixel rate is 30.40 GPixel/s for the AMD card versus 169.9 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card. Texture rate is 106.4 GTexel/s versus 509.8 GTexel/s. The TITAN RTX also has 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, while the FirePro S10000 has none. FP32 output is 3.405 TFLOPS versus 16.31 TFLOPS, and the TITAN RTX adds FP16 at 32.62 TFLOPS (2:1) where the FirePro S10000 has no FP16 specification.

Power and physical dimensions differ as well. The FirePro S10000 has a 375 W TDP with a 750 W suggested PSU, while the TITAN RTX has a 280 W TDP with a 600 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot and use 2x 8-pin power connectors. The FirePro S10000 is 305 mm long and 111 mm high, while the TITAN RTX is 267 mm long, 116 mm high, and 35 mm wide. Display outputs are 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 for the AMD card, versus 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C for the NVIDIA card.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The FirePro S10000 uses the Tahiti chip on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The TITAN RTX uses the TU102 chip on Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.7M per mm² — double the density of the older chip.

The FirePro S10000 belongs to the FirePro Server (Sx000) generation and was released in November 2012, with its predecessor being FirePro Terascale and its successor being Radeon Pro GCN. The TITAN RTX belongs to the GeForce 20 generation and was released in December 2018, with its predecessor being GeForce 10 and its successor being GeForce 30. API support reflects the architectural divide: the FirePro S10000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The TITAN RTX’s RT cores and tensor cores enable ray tracing and AI acceleration, features that do not exist in the GCN 1.0 design.

Memory technology also differs fundamentally. The FirePro S10000 uses GDDR5, while the TITAN RTX uses GDDR6. The NVIDIA card’s 24 GB capacity is eight times the AMD card’s 3 GB, and its 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is 2.8 times higher. These architectural differences explain the benchmark results: the TITAN RTX’s newer process node, higher transistor count, and dedicated compute cores give it an insurmountable advantage in raw throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA TITAN RTX wins in every direct benchmark comparison — Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan — with margins of 78.9% and 74.9% respectively. It is the clear choice for any compute-heavy workload that can leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, including GPGPU simulations, rendering, and machine learning inference (thanks to its tensor cores). Its 24 GB memory capacity and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets that would exhaust the FirePro S10000’s 3 GB frame buffer. The TITAN RTX also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, making it viable for modern gaming and real-time graphics workloads, though its Passmark DirectX scores (ranging from 88 to 223) suggest it is not optimized for those specific tests.

The AMD FirePro S10000 does not win any head-to-head test, but its 77th percentile ranking and average score of 32,388 — higher than the TITAN RTX’s 31,676 — indicate it holds its own against modern mid-range GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (0.2% faster) and AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (0.5% faster), meaning it is still within striking distance of contemporary parts in aggregate compute performance. For legacy applications that require GCN 1.0-specific optimizations or for systems with tight power budgets where 375 W is acceptable, the FirePro S10000 remains functional. Its 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort outputs support multiple displays, and its 305 mm length fits full-size chassis. However, its lack of RT cores, tensor cores, and FP16 support limits its usefulness in modern AI or ray-tracing workloads. The data is clear: the TITAN RTX is the superior card for virtually any task, while the FirePro S10000 is a historical curiosity that still computes respectably for its age.