AMD FirePro W4100 vs Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 Comparison

The Verdict

The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 and AMD FirePro W4100 target completely different use cases, and the benchmark data makes that split clear. The Intel part, an integrated GPU inside Skylake, wins the OpenCL compute test by a wide margin, posting a score of 9082 against the AMD card's 5478, a 65.8% advantage. The AMD FirePro W4100, a dedicated workstation card, returns the favor in Vulkan, scoring 6496 versus Intel's 5258, a 19.1% lead. The average benchmark scores tell a similar story: the Intel part sits at 7170, while the AMD card averages 5987.

For a builder prioritizing compute workloads through OpenCL, the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 is the stronger choice. Its shading unit count of 576, texture units at 72, and FP32 throughput of 1,152.0 GFLOPS give it a clear edge in raw parallel compute. The AMD FirePro W4100 counters with 512 shading units, 32 texture units, and 645.1 GFLOPS, which explains its deficit in that test.

For Vulkan-based applications, the AMD card is the better pick. Its 6496 Vulkan score exceeds the Intel part's 5258 by a significant margin, and it brings a 2 GB GDDR5 memory configuration with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the Intel GPU relies on system shared memory with bandwidth that is system dependent. The AMD card also provides four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, making it a practical choice for multi-monitor setups, while the Intel part's display outputs are motherboard dependent.

The data suggests a professional user on a tight power budget should consider the Intel part, as it draws only 15 W. The AMD card draws 50 W and requires a 250 W suggested PSU. However, the AMD card is a single-slot solution with no power connectors, measuring 171 mm in length, which makes it a straightforward drop into a workstation chassis. Neither card is current production; both are end-of-life, with the Intel part released in 2015 and the AMD card in 2014.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 has an average benchmark score of 7170, while the AMD FirePro W4100 averages 5987. The Intel part sits at the 39th percentile among all GPUs, whereas the AMD card is at the 34th percentile.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD FirePro W4100 wins the Vulkan test with a score of 6496, beating the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580's 5258 by 19.1%. This is the AMD card's strongest showing in the head-to-head data.

Q: How do they compare in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 dominates OpenCL, scoring 9082 against the AMD FirePro W4100's 5478, a 65.8% advantage. This aligns with the Intel part's higher FP32 throughput of 1,152.0 GFLOPS versus 645.1 GFLOPS for the AMD card.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs use?

A: The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth. The AMD FirePro W4100 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth and a 1000 MHz memory clock (4 Gbps effective).

Q: Which card has better API support?

A: The Intel part supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Intel holds the edge in both DirectX and Vulkan version support.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 has a 15 W TDP and is an IGP with a Ring Bus interface. The AMD FirePro W4100 has a 50 W TDP, requires a 250 W suggested PSU, uses no power connectors, and is a single-slot card.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 is built on the Skylake GT4e chip with Intel's Generation 9.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm+ process at Intel's own foundry. This is an integrated GPU, designated as an IGP, that shares system memory and depends on the host platform for display outputs. Its architecture, labeled HD Graphics-W (Skylake), is designed to fit within the power envelope of a mobile or compact platform, evidenced by its 15 W TDP.

The AMD FirePro W4100 uses the Cape Verde chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This is a discrete graphics card with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.2M per mm². The architecture generation is FirePro GCN (Wx100), and it serves as a workstation-oriented solution with dedicated GDDR5 memory. The AMD part includes a 2 GB frame buffer with a 128-bit bus, while the Intel part has no dedicated memory at all.

The feature sets diverge significantly. The Intel part provides 576 shading units, 72 texture mapping units, and 9 ROPs, with pixel rate of 9.000 GPixel/s and texture rate of 72.00 GTexel/s. The AMD card has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with pixel rate of 10.08 GPixel/s and texture rate of 20.16 GTexel/s. The Intel part leverages a much higher texture rate and FP32 throughput, while the AMD card compensates with a higher pixel rate and a dedicated memory subsystem.

API support also differs. Intel supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. AMD supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Intel part has a more recent Vulkan implementation, while the AMD card's DirectX support is one feature level behind. The AMD card's predecessor is listed as FirePro Terascale and its successor as Radeon Pro Polaris, indicating a clear product lineage. The Intel part has no listed predecessor or successor.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measured specification. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 has a base clock of 350 MHz and a boost clock of 1000 MHz, while the AMD FirePro W4100 lists no base or boost clocks in the database; its memory clock is 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The Intel part's memory is system shared, while the AMD card has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources differ as well. Intel has 576 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 9 ROPs. AMD has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The pixel rates are 9.000 GPixel/s for Intel and 10.08 GPixel/s for AMD. Texture rates are 72.00 GTexel/s for Intel and 20.16 GTexel/s for AMD. FP32 throughput is 1,152.0 GFLOPS for Intel and 645.1 GFLOPS for AMD. Intel lists FP16 at 2.304 TFLOPS (2:1), while AMD lists no FP16 figure.

Power and physical design differ substantially. The Intel part is an IGP with a 15 W TDP and a Ring Bus interface. The AMD card is a single-slot discrete card with a 50 W TDP, no power connectors, a 250 W suggested PSU, and a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The AMD card measures 171 mm in length and 69 mm in height. The Intel part has no listed dimensions, as it is integrated into the host system.

Display outputs also separate the two. The Intel part's outputs are motherboard dependent, meaning the user must rely on the motherboard's built-in ports. The AMD card provides four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, giving it a clear advantage for multi-display professional setups. The AMD card's production status is end-of-life, as is the Intel part's. Release dates are 2015-08-31 for Intel and 2014-08-12 for AMD.

Process node and foundry details also differ: Intel uses a 14 nm+ process at Intel's foundry, while AMD uses a 28 nm process at TSMC. The AMD card's transistor count is 1,500 million, its die size is 123 mm², and its transistor density is 12.2M per mm². The Intel part has no listed transistor count, die size, or density. These differences highlight the fundamental design split between a low-power integrated solution and a dedicated workstation card.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two benchmark tests, and each GPU wins one. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 takes the OpenCL test with a score of 9082 against the AMD FirePro W4100's 5478, a delta of 65.8%. This is the largest margin in either direction and reflects the Intel part's commanding lead in compute throughput. The AMD card's lower FP32 figure of 645.1 GFLOPS versus 1,152.0 GFLOPS for Intel explains why it trails so heavily in this workload.

The AMD FirePro W4100 wins the Vulkan test with a score of 6496, while the Intel part scores 5258, a 19.1% difference. This is a substantial win for AMD and shows that the card's architecture handles Vulkan workloads more efficiently despite its lower raw compute specifications. The AMD card's dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth likely contributes to this result, as the Intel part's system shared memory bandwidth is system dependent and may bottleneck graphics-heavy Vulkan tasks.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each GPU provides additional context. The Intel part's average score of 7170 sits nearly even with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE at 7171 (0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 at 7157 (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile at 7203 (0.5% behind). It is also close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 at 7222 (0.7% behind). The AMD FirePro W4100's average score of 5987 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Quadro K4000M at 5986 (0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 at 5982 (0.1% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server at 5996 (0.2% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M at 6000 (0.2% behind). These rival comparisons show that the Intel part competes in a higher performance tier than the AMD card, at least by average score.

The wins are evenly split at one each. The Intel part's OpenCL win is massive, while the AMD card's Vulkan win is smaller but still decisive. The average benchmark score of 7170 for Intel versus 5987 for AMD gives the Intel part an overall edge in the database's aggregate metric, but the Vulkan result demonstrates that the AMD card is not without merit in specific workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 wins in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads. Its score of 9082 in the OpenCL test, 65.8% ahead of the AMD card, makes it the clear choice for applications that leverage OpenCL for general-purpose GPU compute. The Intel part's 576 shading units, 72 texture units, and 1,152.0 GFLOPS FP32 throughput provide the raw resources needed for parallel compute tasks. Its FP16 support of 2.304 TFLOPS (2:1) adds further flexibility for workloads that can use reduced precision. The 15 W TDP also makes it suitable for low-power systems where the GPU must share power with the CPU.

The AMD FirePro W4100 wins in Vulkan-based workloads. Its score of 6496 in the Vulkan test, 19.1% ahead of the Intel part, indicates that its GCN 1.0 architecture and dedicated memory subsystem handle Vulkan rendering more effectively. The 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth provides predictable performance, unlike the Intel part's system dependent memory bandwidth. The AMD card's four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs make it the practical choice for multi-monitor professional setups, as the Intel part relies on motherboard dependent display outputs.

The AMD card also wins on dedicated memory capacity and bandwidth. With 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, it offers deterministic memory performance, while the Intel part's system shared memory can vary based on the host platform. For users who need a discrete card with a fixed memory configuration, the AMD card is the only option between these two. Its single-slot design, 171 mm length, and lack of power connectors make installation straightforward in most workstations.

The Intel part wins on power efficiency and compute density. At 15 W, it consumes one-third the power of the AMD card's 50 W TDP, and its 1,152.0 GFLOPS FP32 throughput is nearly double the AMD card's 645.1 GFLOPS. The Intel part's texture rate of 72.00 GTexel/s also dwarfs the AMD card's 20.16 GTexel/s, making it the better choice for texture-heavy compute workloads. Its Vulkan 1.3 support is also newer than the AMD card's Vulkan 1.2.170, and its DirectX 12 (12_1) support is one feature level ahead of the AMD card's DirectX 12 (11_1).

In summary, the data points to a clear split: choose the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 for OpenCL compute, low power consumption, and higher raw throughput; choose the AMD FirePro W4100 for Vulkan workloads, dedicated memory, and multi-display output capabilities. The Intel part's higher average benchmark score of 7170 and 39th percentile ranking suggest it is the stronger all-around performer in the database's measurements, but the AMD card's Vulkan win and workstation-oriented features make it the better fit for specific professional scenarios.