AMD FirePro S7150 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly across two API workloads, giving each card a distinct territory. The AMD FirePro S7150 takes the Vulkan test decisively, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti edges ahead in OpenCL. The wins are not close in the same direction, and the delta percentages tell a story of specialization rather than overall dominance.

In the Vulkan test, the FirePro S7150 records a score of 29690, which is 9% ahead of the GTX 780 Ti's 27238. That is a meaningful margin, one that suggests the GCN 3.0 architecture handles Vulkan workloads with greater efficiency. The GTX 780 Ti, despite its higher raw compute figures, cannot match that result. For applications built on Vulkan, the FirePro S7150 is the stronger choice according to this data.

The OpenCL result flips the script. The GTX 780 Ti scores 27326, while the FirePro S7150 scores 26543, a 2.9% deficit for the AMD card. The margin is smaller than the Vulkan gap, but it is still a win for NVIDIA. OpenCL workloads, historically common in compute tasks, favor the Kepler architecture here. The difference is modest, yet consistent with the GTX 780 Ti's higher FP32 throughput in the specification sheet.

The average benchmark score also favors the GTX 780 Ti, but only because it has more recorded tests. The FirePro S7150 averages 28117 across two tests, while the GTX 780 Ti averages 24236 across three tests, including a Metal score of 18144 that drags its average down. That Metal result is not part of the head-to-head comparison, but it does affect the overall average. The FirePro S7150 has no recorded Metal score, so its average reflects only OpenCL and Vulkan performance.

The percentile rankings are close: the FirePro S7150 sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, the GTX 780 Ti at the 70th. The FirePro S7150's nearest rivals include the GTX 980 Ti at 0.3% higher, the Radeon Pro W5500X at 0.5% higher, and the Radeon RX 7800M at 0.8% higher. The GTX 780 Ti's nearest rivals include the GTX 1630 at 0.2% lower, the RTX 2080 SUPER at 0.3% higher, and the RX 6600 XT at 0.8% lower. These deltas place both cards in a crowded mid-upper tier, but the FirePro S7150 sits slightly higher in the overall distribution.

The Verdict

The choice between these two depends entirely on the workload. For Vulkan-based applications, the AMD FirePro S7150 is the clear winner, with a 9% advantage over the GTX 780 Ti. That is a substantial lead, one that should matter to anyone running modern Vulkan compute or rendering tasks. The FirePro S7150 also offers 8 GB of memory, which is more than double the GTX 780 Ti's 3 GB, and it consumes 150 W compared to 250 W, making it the more efficient option for dense server deployments.

For OpenCL workloads, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti holds a 2.9% edge. The margin is narrow, but it is consistent with the card's higher FP32 throughput and texture rate. The GTX 780 Ti also has display outputs, while the FirePro S7150 has none, so for any use case requiring direct video output, the NVIDIA card is the practical choice. The GTX 780 Ti's dual-slot design and 600 W suggested PSU also reflect its consumer-oriented positioning.

The FirePro S7150 is a server compute card with no display outputs, built for headless acceleration. The GTX 780 Ti is a desktop gaming card from the GeForce 700 generation. The data shows the FirePro S7150 wins in Vulkan, the GTX 780 Ti wins in OpenCL, and the overall average favors the AMD card when comparing only the shared tests. The FirePro S7150's launch MSRP is 2,399 USD, while the GTX 780 Ti's launch MSRP is 699 USD, a difference that reflects their intended markets rather than raw performance.

Buyers should pick the FirePro S7150 for Vulkan compute, server integration, or memory-heavy workloads. Buyers should pick the GTX 780 Ti for OpenCL tasks, display output, or any situation where the lower launch price matters. There is no overall winner, only a workload-dependent split.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded head-to-head tests are geekbench_opencl and geekbench_vulkan, and they produce opposite results. The OpenCL test shows the GTX 780 Ti at 27326 against the FirePro S7150 at 26543, a delta of -2.9% for the AMD card. That is the smaller of the two margins, but it is still a clear loss for the FirePro S7150. The GTX 780 Ti's higher shading unit count, 2880 versus 2048, and its higher FP32 throughput, 5.345 TFLOPS versus 3.768 TFLOPS, likely contribute to this result.

The Vulkan test shows the FirePro S7150 at 29690 against the GTX 780 Ti at 27238, a delta of 9% in favor of AMD. This is the larger margin and it flips the expected outcome based on raw compute specifications. The FirePro S7150 has fewer shading units, fewer TMUs, and fewer ROPs, yet it wins Vulkan by a wide margin. This suggests architectural efficiency in Vulkan handling for GCN 3.0, or possibly driver optimization that favors the newer architecture. The GTX 780 Ti's Kepler architecture, released in 2013, may not handle Vulkan as efficiently as the FirePro S7150's 2016 design.

The average benchmark scores in the database add context. The FirePro S7150's average of 28117 is higher than the GTX 780 Ti's 24236, but that average includes the GTX 780 Ti's Metal score of 18144, which is far below its OpenCL and Vulkan results. Without the Metal test, the GTX 780 Ti's average would be higher, but the database records it as is. The FirePro S7150's two scores are closer together, 26543 and 29690, indicating more consistent performance across APIs. The GTX 780 Ti's scores range from 18144 to 27326, a wider spread that suggests API-dependent behavior.

The nearest rival data places both cards in similar company. The FirePro S7150 is within 1% of the GTX 980 Ti, Radeon Pro W5500X, Radeon RX 7800M, and Radeon Pro Vega 20. The GTX 780 Ti is within 1% of the GTX 1630, RTX 2080 SUPER, RX 6800S, and RX 6600 XT. These groupings show that both cards, despite their age and different architectures, remain competitive in the current database rankings.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S7150 has an average benchmark score of 28117, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti has an average of 24236. However, the GTX 780 Ti's average includes a Metal score of 18144, which lowers its overall figure.

Q: How much faster is the FirePro S7150 in Vulkan?

A: The FirePro S7150 scores 29690 in the geekbench_vulkan test, which is 9% higher than the GTX 780 Ti's 27238.

Q: Does the GTX 780 Ti win any benchmark?

A: Yes, the GTX 780 Ti wins the geekbench_opencl test with a score of 27326, which is 2.9% higher than the FirePro S7150's 26543.

Q: What is the memory difference between the two cards?

A: The FirePro S7150 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780 Ti has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The GTX 780 Ti has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The FirePro S7150 has no display outputs.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The FirePro S7150 has a TDP of 150 W, uses a single 6-pin power connector, and requires a 450 W PSU. The GTX 780 Ti has a TDP of 250 W, uses a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector, and requires a 600 W PSU.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations. The AMD FirePro S7150 uses the Tonga chip with GCN 3.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti uses the GK110B chip with Kepler architecture. Both are built on TSMC's 28 nm process, but the similarities end there.

The transistor counts differ significantly. The GTX 780 Ti packs 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, while the FirePro S7150 has 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die. The transistor density is 13.7M per mm² for the AMD card and 12.6M per mm² for the NVIDIA card, meaning the FirePro S7150 packs its transistors more tightly despite having fewer overall.

The compute configurations are also different. The FirePro S7150 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 780 Ti has 2880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has more of everything, which explains its higher pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 222.7 GTexel/s, compared to the FirePro S7150's 29.44 GPixel/s and 117.8 GTexel/s.

The FP32 performance follows the same pattern. The GTX 780 Ti delivers 5.345 TFLOPS, while the FirePro S7150 delivers 3.768 TFLOPS. However, the FirePro S7150 has an FP16 rating of 7.537 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the GTX 780 Ti has no recorded FP16 capability. This makes the FirePro S7150 more suitable for workloads that can leverage half-precision math.

The memory subsystems also differ. The FirePro S7150 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780 Ti uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.6 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has more than double the bandwidth, but the AMD card has more than double the capacity.

The API support shows another divergence. The FirePro S7150 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the GTX 780 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 780 Ti has a slightly newer Vulkan version at 1.2.175 versus the FirePro S7150's 1.2.170.

Specification Differences

The FirePro S7150 and GTX 780 Ti differ in nearly every measured specification. The FirePro S7150 is a single-slot card with a 150 W TDP and a 1x 6-pin power connector, while the GTX 780 Ti is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP and both a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 450 W for the AMD card and 600 W for the NVIDIA card.

The physical dimensions differ slightly. The FirePro S7150 measures 241 mm in length, or 9.5 inches, with a height of 111 mm, or 4.4 inches. The GTX 780 Ti measures 267 mm in length, or 10.5 inches, with the same 111 mm height and a width of 38 mm, or 1.5 inches.

The memory clocks are different as well. The FirePro S7150's memory runs at 1250 MHz, with 5 Gbps effective speed, while the GTX 780 Ti's memory runs at 10.5 inches. The GTX 780 Ti's memory runs faster in both clock speed and bandwidth, with 1.5 inches and 7 Gbps effective speed. The GTX 780 Ti also has recorded base and boost clocks of 875 MHz and 928 MHz, while the FirePro S7150 has no recorded base or boost clock figures.

The release dates place them in different eras. The FirePro S7150 was released on 2016-01-31T17:00:00.000Z, while the GTX 780 Ti was released on 2013-11-06T17:00:00.000Z. The production status for both is listed as end-of-life. The FirePro S7150's predecessor is the FirePro Terascale, with a successor of Radeon Pro GCN, while the GTX 780 Ti's predecessor is the GeForce 600, with a successor GeForce 900. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for both cards.

The GTX 780 Ti also has a wider display output configuration: 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The FirePro S7150 has no display outputs, reinforcing its role as a headless server compute card.