AMD FirePro S7150 vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

The AMD FirePro S7150 and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 represent two vastly different eras of GPU design. The FirePro S7150 is a legacy server product from early 2016, built on the GCN 3.0 architecture, while the RX 9070 is a modern consumer graphics card from 2025, built on RDNA 4.0. Benchmark data from the database shows a clear and overwhelming performance advantage for the newer card, but the comparison also highlights how architectural priorities have shifted over nearly a decade.

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the definitive choice for any modern workload. In the two benchmarks shared by both cards, the RX 9070 wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9070 scores 131,539 compared to the FirePro S7150's 26,543, a difference of 79.8 percent in favor of the newer card. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 9070 scores 58,705 versus 29,690, a 49.4 percent advantage. There is no scenario in the recorded data where the FirePro S7150 comes out ahead.

For users seeking a current graphics solution with active driver support and modern feature sets, the RX 9070 is the only rational pick. It offers double the memory capacity, a significantly higher transistor count, and support for the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate API. The FirePro S7150 is an end-of-life product with no display outputs, making it unsuitable for any interactive or visual computing task. Its only potential relevance is as a historical reference point or in legacy server environments where its specific compute characteristics were once valued. The data suggests that the RX 9070 is not just an incremental improvement but a generational leap that renders the older card obsolete for practical purposes.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The FirePro S7150 uses the Tonga chip with GCN 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 5,000 million transistors on a die size of 366 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 13.7 million per mm². The RX 9070 uses the Navi 48 chip with RDNA 4.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a much more advanced 4 nm process. This newer node allows for 53,900 million transistors on a slightly smaller die of 357 mm², yielding a transistor density of 151.0 million per mm². That is over eleven times the density of the older chip.

The compute configurations differ sharply. The FirePro S7150 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation pipelines. The RX 9070 more than doubles these figures with 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. Additionally, the RX 9070 introduces 56 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GCN 3.0 design. The RX 9070 also supports a 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio, delivering 36.13 TFLOPS for both precision types, whereas the FirePro S7150 offers 3.768 TFLOPS FP32 and 7.537 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio.

Memory subsystems reflect their respective generations. The FirePro S7150 pairs 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 9070 doubles capacity to 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus width but achieves 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, a fourfold increase. Clock speeds also tell the story: the FirePro S7150 lists no base or boost clock but runs memory at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the RX 9070 has a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and memory at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). The RX 9070 also supports PCIe 5.0 x16, double the bandwidth of the FirePro S7150's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded benchmark results, the RX 9070 wins every single comparison. There are no tests in the database where the FirePro S7150 outperforms its successor. The RX 9070's victory in OpenCL is particularly pronounced, with a score that is roughly five times higher. This suggests a massive advantage in compute-heavy tasks such as rendering, physics simulation, and general-purpose GPU computing. The Vulkan result is closer but still strongly favors the RX 9070, indicating better performance in modern graphics APIs.

The FirePro S7150's only theoretical advantages lie outside benchmark scores. It has a lower TDP of 150 W versus 220 W for the RX 9070, and it requires a single 6-pin power connector instead of two 8-pin connectors. It is also a single-slot card compared to the RX 9070's dual-slot design. However, these are not performance wins; they are power and size considerations. The FirePro S7150 has no display outputs, meaning it cannot be used for any direct visual output. The RX 9070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, making it suitable for standard desktop and gaming use.

The RX 9070 also wins on software support. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The FirePro S7150 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6. The newer DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set enables advanced rendering techniques that the older card cannot handle. The RX 9070's production status is active, while the FirePro S7150 is end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 wins both shared benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 131,539 versus 26,543 for the FirePro S7150. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 58,705 versus 29,690.

Q: How much more memory does the RX 9070 have?

A: The RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the FirePro S7150 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. Both use a 256-bit memory bus, but the RX 9070's bandwidth is 644.6 GB/s compared to 160.0 GB/s for the older card.

Q: What is the difference in process technology?

A: The FirePro S7150 uses a 28 nm process with 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die. The RX 9070 uses a 4 nm process with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The transistor density increases from 13.7 million per mm² to 151.0 million per mm².

Q: Does the FirePro S7150 have display outputs?

A: No, the FirePro S7150 has no display outputs. The RX 9070 includes 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a connectors.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the RX 9070 has ray tracing cores, with 56 dedicated units. The FirePro S7150 has no ray tracing hardware.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The FirePro S7150 has a TDP of 150 W, while the RX 9070 has a TDP of 220 W. The older card uses a single 6-pin power connector, while the newer card uses two 8-pin connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards. The first is Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 9070 scores 131,539 and the FirePro S7150 scores 26,543. The delta is 79.8 percent in favor of the RX 9070. This is a staggering margin that underscores the compute capability gap between the GCN 3.0 and RDNA 4.0 architectures. The RX 9070's FP32 throughput of 36.13 TFLOPS compared to 3.768 TFLOPS for the FirePro S7150 explains much of this difference, as OpenCL workloads often scale with raw shader throughput.

The second benchmark is Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 9070 scores 58,705 and the FirePro S7150 scores 29,690. The delta is 49.4 percent in favor of the RX 9070. While this is a smaller margin than the OpenCL result, it still represents a substantial performance lead. Vulkan is a lower-overhead API that benefits from modern architecture features, and the RX 9070's support for Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.170 for the older card likely contributes to the better result.

Looking beyond the shared benchmarks, the RX 9070 has additional scores in the database that the FirePro S7150 does not. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6,290. In Passmark tests, it scores 25,381 for G3D, 14,737 for GPU Compute, 1,280 for G2D, and 343 for DirectX 9, 281 for DirectX 11, 141 for DirectX 10, and 74 for DirectX 12. These results are not directly comparable to the FirePro S7150, but they provide context for the RX 9070's overall capability. The FirePro S7150 has only two benchmark entries in the database, both of which are lower than the corresponding RX 9070 scores.

The average benchmark score also favors the RX 9070, though the database normalizes across different test suites. The FirePro S7150 has an average score of 28,117, while the RX 9070 has an average score of 23,877. This apparent contradiction is due to the different sets of benchmarks each card runs. The FirePro S7150's average is based on its two high-scoring Geekbench results, while the RX 9070 includes Passmark tests that score on different scales. The percentile rankings tell a similar story: the FirePro S7150 sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 9070 sits at the 69th percentile. This is not a direct head-to-head ranking but rather a comparison against all measured GPUs in the database.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The FirePro S7150 uses the Tonga chip with GCN 3.0, while the RX 9070 uses Navi 48 with RDNA 4.0. The process node improves from 28 nm to 4 nm. Transistor count jumps from 5,000 million to 53,900 million, while die size remains similar at 366 mm² versus 357 mm². Transistor density rises from 13.7M / mm² to 151.0M / mm². The FirePro S7150 has no listed base or boost clock, but its memory runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The RX 9070 has a base clock of 1330 MHz, game clock of 2070 MHz, boost clock of 2520 MHz, and memory at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). Memory capacity doubles from 8 GB to 16 GB, and memory type changes from GDDR5 to GDDR6. Bandwidth increases from 160.0 GB/s to 644.6 GB/s. Shading units increase from 2,048 to 3,584, TMUs from 128 to 224, and ROPs from 32 to 128. The RX 9070 adds 56 ray tracing cores. Pixel rate rises from 29.44 GPixel/s to 322.6 GPixel/s, texture rate from 117.8 GTexel/s to 564.5 GTexel/s, FP32 from 3.768 TFLOPS to 36.13 TFLOPS, and FP16 from 7.537 TFLOPS (2:1) to 36.13 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP increases from 150 W to 220 W. Slot width changes from single-slot to dual-slot, power connectors from 1x 6-pin to 2x 8-pin, and suggested PSU from 450 W to 550 W. The bus interface changes from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs go from none to 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a. DirectX support improves from 12 (12_0) to 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan from 1.2.170 to 1.4, while OpenGL remains at 4.6 for both. Production status shifts from end-of-life to active. Release dates are January 2016 and March 2025, respectively. The FirePro S7150 has a launch MSRP of 2,399 USD, while the RX 9070 has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.