AMD FirePro W2100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Comparison

The AMD FirePro W2100 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti represent two very different approaches to graphics hardware, and the benchmark data shows a clear separation in capability. The GTX 1050 Ti dominates in every head-to-head comparison, but the FirePro W2100 holds its own in a narrow niche where its architecture and feature set matter more than raw compute throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result comes from the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti delivers a score of 18129 against the AMD FirePro W2100's 4093. That is a delta of -77.4% from the perspective of the AMD card, meaning the GTX 1050 Ti is roughly four and a half times faster in raw compute workloads. This is not a marginal difference; it is a generational gap in computational capability. The GTX 1050 Ti's 2.138 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the FirePro W2100's 435.2 GFLOPS explains this chasm, as the NVIDIA card has more than four times the shading units (768 vs 320), more texture mapping units (48 vs 20), and four times the render output units (32 vs 8).

The Vulkan test tells a similar but slightly less lopsided story. The GTX 1050 Ti scores 10001, while the FirePro W2100 manages 4497, a -55% delta. While still a decisive victory for NVIDIA, the AMD card's Vulkan score of 4497 is actually higher than its OpenCL score of 4093, suggesting its GCN 1.0 architecture is reasonably efficient at translating Vulkan API calls into work. The GTX 1050 Ti, meanwhile, shows the reverse trend, with its Vulkan score of 10001 falling short of its OpenCL score of 18129. This indicates the Pascal architecture is particularly well-optimized for OpenCL compute tasks, or that the drivers extract more parallelism from that workload.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the GTX 1050 Ti also has a Passmark G3D score of 6340 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 2652, which are not directly comparable to the FirePro W2100's two Geekbench results but indicate solid general-purpose 3D rendering and compute capability. The NVIDIA card's average benchmark score of 4193 places it in the 25th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (0.6% behind) and the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (1.1% ahead). The FirePro W2100's average score of 4295 also sits in the 25th percentile, with its nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M (0.3% behind) and the RTX 4070 GDDR6 (0.9% ahead) — an odd grouping that shows how average scores can cluster tightly across very different hardware generations.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is substantial. The FirePro W2100 uses GCN 1.0 on TSMC's 28 nm process, packing 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die. The GTX 1050 Ti uses Pascal on Samsung's 14 nm process, with 3,300 million transistors across a 132 mm² die. The transistor density difference is telling: the GTX 1050 Ti achieves 25.0M transistors per mm² versus the FirePro W2100's 12.3M per mm², reflecting the newer manufacturing node.

Clock speeds further separate the two. The FirePro W2100 runs at a 630 MHz base and 680 MHz boost, while the GTX 1050 Ti starts at 1291 MHz and boosts to 1392 MHz. That is roughly double the clock rate, which compounds with the shader count advantage to produce the massive performance gap. Memory configuration is equally divergent: the FirePro W2100 uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 1050 Ti uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus but achieves 112.1 GB/s — nearly four times the bandwidth. The memory clock difference (900 MHz vs 1752 MHz, with 1800 Mbps effective versus 7 Gbps effective) is the primary driver.

Feature support also differs. The FirePro W2100 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the GTX 1050 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 1050 Ti's Vulkan support is 1.4 versus the FirePro W2100's 1.2.170. The GTX 1050 Ti also has FP16 capability at 33.41 GFLOPS (1:64 rate), whereas the FirePro W2100 has no listed FP16 support — a relevant detail for compute workloads that can leverage half-precision arithmetic.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is dramatically faster, scoring 18129 versus the AMD FirePro W2100's 4093 in Geekbench OpenCL, a -77.4% delta from the AMD card's perspective.

Q: Does the FirePro W2100 have any advantage in Vulkan performance relative to its own OpenCL score?

A: Yes. The FirePro W2100 scores 4497 in Vulkan versus 4093 in OpenCL, meaning it performs better on the Vulkan API. However, the GTX 1050 Ti still wins decisively in Vulkan with a score of 10001.

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

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth from 4 GB of GDDR5, while the FirePro W2100 has 28.80 GB/s from 2 GB of DDR3. Both use a 128-bit memory bus.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count and what does that indicate?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 3,300 million transistors versus the FirePro W2100's 950 million. This indicates the NVIDIA card has significantly more complex hardware, consistent with its higher shading unit count of 768 versus 320.

Q: Are both cards in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both are in the 25th percentile of all GPUs. The FirePro W2100 has an average benchmark score of 4295, while the GTX 1050 Ti has an average score of 4193.

Q: What is the power connector requirement for each card?

A: Neither card requires power connectors. The FirePro W2100 has a 26 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 200 W, while the GTX 1050 Ti has a 75 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 250 W.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the superior performer in every measured benchmark. Its OpenCL score is 4.4 times higher than the FirePro W2100's, and its Vulkan score is 2.2 times higher. The GTX 1050 Ti also has more than double the memory capacity (4 GB vs 2 GB), nearly four times the bandwidth, and a much larger shader array. If raw performance is the criterion, there is no contest.

However, the FirePro W2100 is not without merit. Its 26 W TDP versus the GTX 1050 Ti's 75 W means it draws far less power, and its single-slot design versus the dual-slot GTX 1050 Ti makes it more compact. The FirePro W2100 also requires a lower suggested PSU (200 W vs 250 W). For a workstation environment where power efficiency and physical footprint are paramount, and where the workload is modest, the FirePro W2100 could be a rational choice. But for anyone who needs compute performance, the GTX 1050 Ti is the only sensible pick from the data.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro W2100 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 950 million | 3,300 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 132 mm² |

| Base Clock | 630 MHz | 1291 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 680 MHz | 1392 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 28.80 GB/s | 112.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 320 | 768 |

| TMUs | 20 | 48 |

| ROPs | 8 | 32 |

| FP32 Performance | 435.2 GFLOPS | 2.138 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None listed | 33.41 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 26 W | 75 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Suggested PSU | 200 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 2x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2014-08-11 | 2016-10-24 |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti wins in every performance category measured. It wins OpenCL compute by a 77.4% margin, Vulkan by 55%, and has superior specifications across the board: higher clocks, more memory, faster memory, more shaders, and more texture and pixel throughput. Its pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s dwarf the FirePro W2100's 5.440 GPixel/s and 13.60 GTexel/s. For gaming, 3D rendering, video editing, or any GPU-accelerated compute task, the GTX 1050 Ti is the clear winner.

The FirePro W2100 wins only in power efficiency and physical dimensions. Its 26 W TDP is less than half the GTX 1050 Ti's 75 W, and its single-slot 168 mm length makes it easier to fit into constrained chassis. It also uses no power connectors, as does the GTX 1050 Ti, but requires a lower suggested PSU wattage. In a low-power, low-profile workstation that only needs basic display output and occasional light compute, the FirePro W2100 could be the more practical option. However, any workload that stresses the GPU will quickly expose the FirePro W2100's limitations, and the GTX 1050 Ti's launch MSRP of 139 USD reflects its position as a mainstream performer rather than a workstation specialist. The data simply does not support choosing the FirePro W2100 for performance purposes.