AMD FirePro S7150 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data paints a starkly one-sided picture in direct comparison. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 wins both head-to-head benchmark tests, with no benchmark victories recorded for the AMD FirePro S7150. The two Geekbench tests included in the database show the A5000 dominating in both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, making it the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks that leverage these APIs.

The RTX A5000's wins are not marginal. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A5000 scores 157905 against the FirePro S7150's 26543, a delta of 494.9%. In Vulkan, the A5000 scores 137828 versus 29690, a 364.2% advantage. These are order-of-magnitude gaps that place the two cards in entirely different performance tiers, despite both being workstation-oriented products.

However, the FirePro S7150 does hold ground in one specific area: its average benchmark score of 28117 places it within 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 1% of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, according to the nearest rivals data. This suggests that while the S7150 cannot compete with the A5000, it remains competitive within its own generation of workstation GPUs. The A5000, by contrast, sits at the 78th percentile versus all GPUs, while the S7150 sits at the 73rd, a modest gap in overall standing but a massive one in raw compute throughput.

The use-case split is therefore clear: the RTX A5000 is for workloads that demand maximum compute throughput, such as large OpenCL or Vulkan-based rendering, simulation, or machine learning tasks. The FirePro S7150, with its lower scores and older architecture, is better suited for legacy server environments where its lower power draw and single-slot form factor may matter more than raw performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational and fundamental. The RTX A5000 uses the GA102 chip on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 28,300 million transistors onto a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The FirePro S7150 uses the Tonga chip on AMD's GCN 3.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die, with a transistor density of just 13.7M per mm².

The transistor count difference is nearly sixfold, and the process node advantage (8 nm versus 28 nm) explains much of the performance gap. The A5000's die is larger in absolute terms, but its density is over three times higher, reflecting the newer manufacturing process and more complex design.

The A5000 features 8192 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It also includes 64 ray tracing cores and 256 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the FirePro S7150, which has no RT or tensor core equivalents. The S7150 offers 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, all roughly a quarter to a third of the A5000's counts.

Memory architecture differs as well. The A5000 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384 bit bus, delivering 768.0 GB/s bandwidth. The S7150 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256 bit bus, with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The A5000's memory bandwidth is 4.8 times higher, which directly impacts compute-heavy workloads.

The A5000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the S7150 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a feature-level difference. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the A5000 supports Vulkan 1.4 versus the S7150's Vulkan 1.2.170. The A5000 also has display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the S7150 has no display outputs at all, reflecting its server-oriented design.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 scores 157905 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to the AMD FirePro S7150's 26543, a 494.9% advantage for the A5000.

Q: Do both GPUs support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX A5000 includes 64 ray tracing cores, while the AMD FirePro S7150 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RTX A5000 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the FirePro S7150 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. The A5000's memory bus is 384 bit versus 256 bit, and its bandwidth is 768.0 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX A5000 has an average benchmark score of 33622, while the FirePro S7150 averages 28117. The A5000 sits at the 78th percentile versus all GPUs, while the S7150 sits at the 73rd.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life. The A5000 was released in April 2021, and the S7150 was released in January 2016.

Q: Which GPU has better Vulkan performance?

A: The RTX A5000 scores 137828 in Geekbench Vulkan, versus the FirePro S7150's 29690, a 364.2% difference in favor of the A5000.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards:

• Chip and architecture: GA102 on Ampere (A5000) versus Tonga on GCN 3.0 (S7150).
• Process node: 8 nm Samsung (A5000) versus 28 nm TSMC (S7150).
• Transistors: 28,300 million versus 5,000 million.
• Die size: 628 mm² versus 366 mm².
• Transistor density: 45.1M / mm² versus 13.7M / mm².
• Memory: 24 GB GDDR6 versus 8 GB GDDR5.
• Memory bus width: 384 bit versus 256 bit.
• Memory bandwidth: 768.0 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s.
• Shading units: 8192 versus 2048.
• Texture mapping units: 256 versus 128.
• Render output units: 96 versus 32.
• Ray tracing cores: 64 versus none.
• Tensor cores: 256 versus none.
• Pixel rate: 162.7 GPixel/s versus 29.44 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: 433.9 GTexel/s versus 117.8 GTexel/s.
• FP32 performance: 27.77 TFLOPS versus 3.768 TFLOPS.
• FP16 performance: 27.77 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 7.537 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: 230 W versus 150 W.
• Slot width: Dual-slot versus single-slot.
• Power connectors: 1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin.
• Suggested PSU: 550 W versus 450 W.
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16.
• Display outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus no outputs.
• DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_0).
• Vulkan support: 1.4 versus 1.2.170.
• Dimensions: 267 mm length, 112 mm height versus 241 mm length, 111 mm height.
• Release date: April 2021 versus January 2016.
• Predecessor: Quadro Turing versus FirePro Terascale.
• Successor: Workstation Ada versus Radeon Pro GCN.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons, both of which the RTX A5000 wins decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the A5000 produces a score of 157905, while the FirePro S7150 manages 26543. The delta of 494.9% means the A5000 delivers roughly six times the OpenCL compute throughput. This test typically reflects general-purpose GPU compute performance, and the gap is consistent with the FP32 specification difference: 27.77 TFLOPS versus 3.768 TFLOPS, a 7.4x difference in raw floating-point capability.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the A5000 scores 137828 against the S7150's 29690, a 364.2% advantage. Vulkan performance often scales with shading unit count and memory bandwidth, both of which heavily favor the A5000. The A5000's 8192 shading units versus 2048, combined with 768.0 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s bandwidth, explains the magnitude of this win.

The S7150's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which it trails by only 0.3%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X, which it leads by 0.5%. This contextualizes the S7150 as a mid-tier performer within its era. The A5000's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB, which it trails by 0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700S, which it trails by 0.7%. Curiously, the A5000's average score of 33622 is only slightly below these consumer cards, suggesting that its workstation optimization may not translate to every generic benchmark, despite its massive lead over the S7150.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX A5000 outperforms the AMD FirePro S7150 in every recorded benchmark, with wins in both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. The A5000's compute advantage is so large that it falls into a different performance class entirely, with 494.9% and 364.2% leads respectively.

For users prioritizing compute throughput, modern API support, and large memory capacity, the RTX A5000 is the only choice between these two. Its 24 GB GDDR6 memory, 64 ray tracing cores, and 256 tensor cores make it suitable for contemporary workloads that the S7150 cannot handle at all. The A5000 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the S7150 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The FirePro S7150 does retain some appeal for specific scenarios. Its 150 W TDP is significantly lower than the A5000's 230 W, and its single-slot form factor makes it easier to fit in dense server chassis. Its lack of display outputs indicates it was designed for headless compute nodes, where the A5000's DisplayPort outputs are unused. The S7150's launch MSRP was 2,399 USD, though this historical figure does not reflect current market conditions.

For any workload that uses OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX A5000 is the superior option by a wide margin. For legacy server deployments that prioritize power efficiency and slot density over compute performance, the FirePro S7150 remains a viable, if dated, option. The A5000's 78th percentile standing versus all GPUs, compared to the S7150's 73rd, confirms that even in overall rankings, the A5000 sits higher, but the head-to-head data shows the real story: this is not a close contest.