AMD FirePro W4100 vs AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile and AMD FirePro W4100 represent two distinct approaches to graphics processing: one is a power-sipping integrated processor from the Vega IGP line, while the other is a dedicated professional workstation card from the FirePro GCN family. Benchmark data from the Geekbench suite reveals a clear performance hierarchy, though the differences in architecture and target use cases are substantial. This analysis walks through the head-to-head results, specifications, and architectural divergences to determine which GPU suits which workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between these two GPUs is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures raw compute throughput for general-purpose GPU workloads. In this single head-to-head contest, the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile decisively outperforms the AMD FirePro W4100, scoring 6476 points against the FirePro's 5478 points. This represents an 18.2% advantage for the Vega 10 Mobile, making it the winner of the sole benchmark where both cards were tested under identical conditions.

The magnitude of this lead is notable when contextualized against each card's nearest rivals. The Vega 10 Mobile's score of 6476 places it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M (6481 points) and 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M (6493 points). It even edges past the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell, which scores 6407 points, giving the Vega 10 Mobile a 1.1% advantage over that much newer professional card. This positioning in the 37th percentile of all GPUs indicates that the Vega 10 Mobile, despite being an integrated solution, holds its own against a wide range of dedicated graphics processors.

The FirePro W4100, by contrast, sits in the 34th percentile with an average benchmark score of 5987 points across its two recorded tests (OpenCL and Vulkan). Its OpenCL score of 5478 is its weaker result; its Vulkan score of 6496 is substantially higher, though the Vega 10 Mobile has no corresponding Vulkan data for direct comparison. The FirePro's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K4000M at 5986 points, a difference of 0%, indicating that the FirePro W4100 is squarely in the mid-range of workstation-class GPUs from its era. Its OpenCL deficit to the Vega 10 Mobile mirrors the gap between the two cards' overall capabilities, but the Vulkan score suggests the FirePro is more competitive in graphics-oriented APIs than in raw compute.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile scores 6476 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 18.2% higher than the AMD FirePro W4100's score of 5478 in the same test.

Q: How does the FirePro W4100's Vulkan performance compare to its OpenCL performance?

A: The FirePro W4100 achieves a Geekbench Vulkan score of 6496, which is significantly higher than its OpenCL score of 5478, indicating the card is better optimized for Vulkan workloads than for OpenCL compute tasks.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 6476 from a single OpenCL test, while the AMD FirePro W4100 has an average of 5987 across its OpenCL and Vulkan benchmarks.

Q: How does each card rank relative to all other GPUs?

A: The Vega 10 Mobile falls in the 37th percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W4100 sits in the 34th percentile, indicating the Vega 10 Mobile holds a slightly higher overall ranking.

Q: Which NVIDIA rivals are closest to each card's performance?

A: The Vega 10 Mobile's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M at 6481 points, a 0.1% difference, while the FirePro W4100's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K4000M at 5986 points, a 0% difference.

Q: Does the Vega 10 Mobile outperform any newer professional GPUs?

A: Yes, the Vega 10 Mobile scores 1.1% higher than the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell, which records 6407 points in the same benchmark.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile is the superior compute performer, delivering an 18.2% higher OpenCL score than the AMD FirePro W4100. For users whose primary workload is OpenCL-based compute, the Vega 10 Mobile is the clear choice, offering better raw throughput while consuming only 10 W of power compared to the FirePro's 50 W TDP. The Vega 10 Mobile's 37th percentile ranking versus the FirePro's 34th percentile further reinforces this performance advantage.

However, the FirePro W4100 is not without merit. Its Vulkan score of 6496 is virtually identical to the Vega 10 Mobile's OpenCL score of 6476, and it exceeds the Vega 10 Mobile's single recorded benchmark. For applications that leverage Vulkan, the FirePro W4100 may offer comparable or better graphics performance, and its dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth provides a fixed memory pool that the system-shared memory of the Vega 10 Mobile cannot guarantee. The FirePro W4100 is also a single-slot PCIe 3.0 x16 card, making it a suitable drop-in upgrade for older systems lacking modern integrated graphics. Users with existing FirePro-compatible professional software stacks may prefer the W4100, but for raw compute head-to-head, the Vega 10 Mobile wins decisively.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measurable specification, starting with their fundamental design. The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 10 W TDP and no power connectors, while the AMD FirePro W4100 is a single-slot dedicated card with a 50 W TDP and no external power connectors but a suggested power supply of 250 W. The Vega 10 Mobile uses a 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries, whereas the FirePro W4100 uses a 28 nm node from TSMC.

Memory configurations are starkly different. The Vega 10 Mobile relies on system-shared memory with a system-dependent bandwidth, while the FirePro W4100 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 10 Mobile's memory clock is listed as "System Shared," while the FirePro W4100's memory runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). In terms of shading resources, the Vega 10 Mobile has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 8 raster operation pipelines (ROPs), while the FirePro W4100 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Vega 10 Mobile's pixel rate is 10.41 GPixel/s and texture rate is 52.04 GTexel/s, compared to the FirePro's 10.08 GPixel/s and 20.16 GTexel/s.

Compute throughput is where the Vega 10 Mobile pulls ahead significantly: it delivers 1.665 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 3.331 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (at a 2:1 ratio), while the FirePro W4100 manages only 645.1 GFLOPS of FP32 and has no FP16 capability. The Vega 10 Mobile has no base clock listed but boosts to 1301 MHz, whereas the FirePro W4100 has no clock speeds listed at all. Display outputs also differ, with the Vega 10 Mobile being "portable device dependent" and the FirePro W4100 offering 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connections.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile is built on GCN 5.0 architecture, codenamed Raven-M, and belongs to the Vega IGP generation (Raven Ridge-M). It uses a 14 nm process with 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million transistors per mm². The FirePro W4100, in contrast, uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture with the Cape Verde chip, belonging to the FirePro GCN (Wx100) generation. It is fabricated on a 28 nm process with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, giving a much lower density of 12.2 million transistors per mm².

The Vega 10 Mobile's predecessor is the GCN 3.0 IGP, and its successor is the Navi II IGP, highlighting its position in AMD's integrated graphics roadmap. The FirePro W4100's predecessor is the FirePro Terascale, and its successor is the Radeon Pro Polaris, marking it as an early entry in the FirePro GCN family. API support differs as well: the Vega 10 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, while the FirePro W4100 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6. The Vega 10 Mobile's 640 shading units are arranged in a newer GCN 5.0 configuration, while the FirePro's 512 shading units use the original GCN 1.0 design. The FirePro's 16 ROPs versus the Vega 10 Mobile's 8 ROPs suggest different rasterization priorities, while the Vega 10 Mobile's 40 TMUs versus the FirePro's 32 TMUs indicate a stronger texture-processing capability.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile wins in every category where direct comparison data exists. It outperforms the FirePro W4100 by 18.2% in OpenCL compute, has nearly 2.6 times the FP32 throughput (1.665 TFLOPS versus 645.1 GFLOPS), and delivers more than double the texture rate (52.04 GTexel/s versus 20.16 GTexel/s). Its 14 nm process node and 4,940 million transistors provide a generational advantage in efficiency and complexity, and its 10 W TDP makes it suitable for thin-and-light portable devices where power draw is critical. The Vega 10 Mobile's higher percentile ranking (37th versus 34th) and its ability to edge out the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell in OpenCL further cement its compute superiority.

The AMD FirePro W4100 wins in areas where the Vega 10 Mobile has no comparable data or where its dedicated design provides clear benefits. Its Vulkan score of 6496 exceeds the Vega 10 Mobile's only recorded benchmark, indicating stronger graphics API performance in that specific test. The FirePro's dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth offers predictable, fixed memory performance, whereas the Vega 10 Mobile's system-shared memory bandwidth is system-dependent and may vary. The FirePro's 16 ROPs double the Vega 10 Mobile's 8 ROPs, which can benefit pixel-heavy workloads. It is also a PCIe 3.0 x16 card with 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, making it a flexible option for multi-monitor professional setups, while the Vega 10 Mobile's display outputs are dependent on the host portable device. For users needing a dedicated, low-profile workstation card with Vulkan support, the FirePro W4100 is the appropriate pick; for OpenCL compute, the Vega 10 Mobile is objectively faster.