AMD FirePro S9300 X2 vs AMD Radeon RX 570 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear pattern across the two shared benchmark tests, with the AMD Radeon RX 570 taking both head-to-head victories. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 570 scores 32,084 against the FirePro S9300 X2's 27,971, a margin of 12.8%. That is not a narrow gap; it is a decisive swing in favor of the newer consumer card. The Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RX 570 posting 42,752 versus 37,109 for the FirePro, a 13.2% advantage. Both deltas exceed ten percentage points, so the result is consistent across different compute APIs, not an artifact of a single workload.

The FirePro S9300 X2 does not win either of the shared tests, yet its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is higher than the RX 570's. The FirePro averages 32,540, while the RX 570 averages 28,766. That apparent contradiction is explained by the fact that the two cards were tested in different benchmark suites. The FirePro's average is boosted by its two Geekbench results, while the RX 570's average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench Metal score of 39,349, which drag the average down. The FirePro sits at the 77th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 570 sits at the 74th percentile. So in overall standing, the FirePro ranks slightly higher despite losing the direct comparisons.

Looking at the rival tables, the FirePro S9300 X2's average score of 32,540 places it within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (32,601), 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (32,456), and 0.5% ahead of the AMD FirePro S10000 (32,388). It trails the NVIDIA T600 Mobile (32,849) by 0.9%. Those are tight margins, essentially a statistical tie across four competing products. The RX 570's average of 28,766 sits 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28,874), 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996), 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28,580), and 1.2% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (28,421). Again, the deltas are small, which suggests that in aggregate compute performance the RX 570 is closely matched with its immediate rivals.

The head-to-head numbers, however, are unambiguous. The RX 570 leads by double digits in both Geekbench tests. In OpenCL, the 12.8% deficit for the FirePro is larger than any delta in either rival table. In Vulkan, the 13.2% deficit is similarly decisive. This means that for anyone choosing between these two specific cards for compute workloads that resemble Geekbench OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 570 is the stronger option. The FirePro's higher average score comes from a different mix of tests, but in the only direct comparisons available, it loses.

The Verdict

The data points to the AMD Radeon RX 570 as the better choice in the two measured scenarios. It wins both shared benchmarks, and it does so by margins that are not close to the noise level seen in the rival tables. The 12.8% OpenCL lead and the 13.2% Vulkan lead are both well outside the 0.2% to 1.2% deltas that separate the FirePro from its own nearest rivals. If the decision rests purely on these benchmark results, the RX 570 is the card to pick.

The FirePro S9300 X2 still has a claim to attention through its average score and percentile ranking. Its 32,540 average is 13.1% higher than the RX 570's 28,766, and its 77th percentile versus the RX 570's 74th percentile reflects that. But the average includes tests the RX 570 was not measured on, so it is not a direct apples-to-apples comparison. In the direct tests, the RX 570 wins. The FirePro also carries a launch MSRP of 5,999 USD, which is a figure that speaks to its original positioning as a server compute card, not a consumer gaming product.

For a user whose workload matches the Geekbench OpenCL or Vulkan suites, the RX 570 is the data-backed recommendation. The FirePro's niche, if any, would be for scenarios that align with its overall average performance profile, where it ranks in the 77th percentile. But the head-to-head record is the strongest evidence available, and it favors the RX 570 in both tests. The verdict is straightforward: the RX 570 wins the direct comparison, while the FirePro retains a slightly higher aggregate standing in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD GPU design. The FirePro S9300 X2 uses the Capsaicin chip based on GCN 3.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RX 570 uses the Polaris 20 chip based on GCN 4.0, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The process node difference is significant: 28 nm versus 14 nm, which explains the density gap. The FirePro packs 8,900 million transistors into a 596 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 14.9 million per square millimeter. The RX 570 has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 570 is the denser chip despite having fewer transistors overall.

Memory architecture diverges sharply. The FirePro uses 4 GB of HBM on a 4096-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 570 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro's memory bandwidth is more than double that of the RX 570, a consequence of the wide HBM interface. Memory clocks also differ: the FirePro runs at 500 MHz with 1000 Mbps effective, while the RX 570 runs at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective. The RX 570 compensates for its narrower bus with a much higher memory clock, but it still trails in raw bandwidth.

Compute resources favor the FirePro on paper. It has 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The RX 570 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, exactly half in each category. Pixel rate for the FirePro is 62.40 GPixel/s, versus 39.81 GPixel/s for the RX 570. Texture rate is 249.6 GTexel/s for the FirePro, versus 159.2 GTexel/s for the RX 570. FP32 throughput is 7.987 TFLOPS for the FirePro, versus 5.095 TFLOPS for the RX 570. The RX 570 lists FP16 at 5.095 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not gain any advantage in half-precision work. The FirePro lists no FP16 figure at all.

Clock speeds are only fully specified for the RX 570. It has a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The FirePro's base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database. Power draw differs substantially: the FirePro is rated at 300 W TDP, the RX 570 at 150 W. The FirePro requires two 8-pin power connectors and a 700 W suggested PSU, while the RX 570 uses a single 6-pin connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. Physical dimensions also differ, with the FirePro measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the RX 570 is 241 mm long. Both are dual-slot cards.

API support shows a few differences. Both support DirectX 12 (12_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The FirePro supports Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RX 570 supports Vulkan 1.3, a newer revision. Display outputs are a major differentiator: the FirePro has no display outputs, confirming its server-oriented role. The RX 570 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The FirePro is from the FirePro Server (Sx300) generation, while the RX 570 is from the Polaris (RX 500) generation. The FirePro's predecessor is FirePro Terascale and its successor is Radeon Pro GCN; the RX 570's predecessor is Arctic Islands and its successor is Vega. Both cards are end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570, with a score of 32,084 versus the FirePro S9300 X2's 27,971, a 12.8% advantage.

Q: Does the FirePro have higher memory bandwidth?

A: Yes. The FirePro S9300 X2 has 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 4096-bit HBM bus, while the RX 570 has 224.0 GB/s over a 256-bit GDDR5 bus.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The FirePro S9300 X2 is built on a 28 nm TSMC process, while the RX 570 is built on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process.

Q: Why does the FirePro have a higher average benchmark score if it loses the head-to-head tests?

A: The FirePro's average of 32,540 comes from a different set of tests than the RX 570's average of 28,766. The RX 570's average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench Metal score of 39,349, which lower its mean.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (12_0). The RX 570 supports Vulkan 1.3, while the FirePro supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Can the FirePro drive displays directly?

A: No. The FirePro S9300 X2 has no display outputs. The RX 570 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 570 wins in the two recorded head-to-head benchmarks. It leads by 12.8% in Geekbench OpenCL and by 13.2% in Geekbench Vulkan. Those are the only direct comparisons in the database, so the RX 570 takes the compute crown in measured terms. It is also the only one of the two with display outputs, making it the only option for driving a display directly. Its lower TDP of 150 W, single 6-pin power connector, 450 W suggested PSU, and shorter 241 mm length make it easier to integrate into a standard desktop build. It supports Vulkan 1.3, which is a newer API revision than the FirePro's Vulkan 1.2.170, and it supports OpenGL 4.6 alongside DirectX 12 (12_0). The RX 570's FP16 throughput matches its FP32 at 5.095 TFLOPS, which is listed as a 1:1 ratio, meaning it handles half-precision tasks at the same rate.

The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 wins in aggregate standing. Its average score of 32,540 ranks in the 77th percentile among all GPUs, above the RX 570's 74th percentile. It has more than double the memory bandwidth at 512.0 GB/s, and its compute resources are larger on paper: 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 62.40 GPixel/s pixel rate, 249.6 GTexel/s texture rate, and 7.987 TFLOPS FP32. Its transistor count is higher at 8,900 million, on a 596 mm² die. The FirePro is a dual-slot card with two 8-pin connectors, a 300 W TDP rating. It belongs to the FirePro Server generation, uses HBM memory, and carries a launch MSRP of 5,999 USD. For workloads that resemble the Geekbench OpenCL or Vulkan tests, the RX 570 is the winner.

The use-case split is therefore clear. For a desktop user with a display connected to the card, the RX 570 is the only viable option, given the FirePro's lack of display outputs. For a server compute context where no display is needed and the workload favors the FirePro's higher average score, the FirePro has a role, but the direct benchmark evidence still favors the RX 570 in both shared tests. The RX 570 leads in the two measured compute workloads, and the FirePro leads in the overall percentile ranking. Neither card is a universal winner; the choice depends on whether the workload matches the head-to-head tests or the aggregate average. The data supports the RX 570 for the former, the FirePro for the latter.