AMD FirePro W4300 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows a clear split in workload suitability. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 wins the only recorded head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a score of 13,515 against the AMD FirePro W4300's 11,225. That is a 20.4% advantage, a substantial margin that places the GTX 570 in the 54th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the FirePro W4300 sits in the 50th percentile.

For compute-heavy tasks that leverage OpenCL, the GTX 570 is the stronger option. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (which scores 13,536, just 0.2% higher) and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470, 0.3% lower). This places the GTX 570 in a tight cluster where small differences separate cards, but its 20.4% lead over the FirePro W4300 is not a marginal gap. The FirePro W4300's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 (11,228, essentially identical) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M (11,261, 0.3% higher), showing it competes in a lower performance tier.

Where the FirePro W4300 wins is in efficiency and physical footprint. It draws 50 W under load compared to the GTX 570's 219 W, a difference that allows it to run on a 250 W suggested PSU versus the 550 W required by the GTX 570. The FirePro W4300 is also a single-slot card with no power connectors, while the GTX 570 is dual-slot and requires two 6-pin connectors. For systems where power delivery, chassis space, or cooling capacity are constrained, the FirePro W4300 is the practical choice despite its lower compute score.

Architecture Differences

These two cards represent different architectural generations and design philosophies. The GTX 570 uses NVIDIA's GF110 chip built on Fermi 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,000 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.8 million per mm². The FirePro W4300 uses AMD's Bonaire chip on GCN 2.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a much smaller 28 nm process. It contains 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.0 million per mm². The density difference is significant: the FirePro W4300 fits nearly two and a half times more transistors per square millimeter.

Memory configurations differ sharply. The GTX 570 has 1,280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus, producing 152.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro W4300 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s. The GTX 570 delivers 58% more bandwidth, but the FirePro W4300 offers three times the capacity. The memory clock rates reflect this: the GTX 570 runs at 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective), while the FirePro W4300 runs at 1,500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The FirePro W4300's higher clock rate does not compensate for its narrower bus.

Compute resources also differ. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 texture mapping units, and 40 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 21.96 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 43.92 GTexel/s. Its FP32 throughput is 1,405.4 GFLOPS. The FirePro W4300 has 768 shading units but only 48 TMUs and 16 ROPs, yielding 14.88 GPixel/s and 44.64 GTexel/s respectively. Its FP32 output is 1,428.5 GFLOPS, slightly higher than the GTX 570. The FirePro W4300 has more shaders and marginally higher theoretical FP32, but its lower pixel rate and bandwidth limit real-world performance.

API support differs notably. The GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and no Vulkan support. The FirePro W4300 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The FirePro W4300 is also a PCIe 3.0 x16 card, while the GTX 570 is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs also diverge: the GTX 570 provides two DVI ports and one mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the FirePro W4300 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, a configuration suited to multi-monitor professional setups.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward recommendation. Pick the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 if your priority is raw OpenCL compute performance. Its 20.4% lead in the recorded benchmark is decisive, and its 152.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 40 ROPs make it better suited for tasks that are bandwidth or pixel-throughput sensitive. It also has a higher percentile ranking at 54 versus 50, meaning it outperforms a larger fraction of the GPUs in the database.

Pick the AMD FirePro W4300 if your constraints are physical or thermal rather than raw performance. Its 50 W power draw is 169 W lower than the GTX 570's 219 W, and it requires no power connectors and only a 250 W PSU. It fits in a single slot and measures 171 mm (6.7 inches) in length, compared to the GTX 570's 267 mm (10.5 inches) dual-slot design. The FirePro W4300 also offers 4 GB of VRAM, which is useful for larger datasets that exceed the GTX 570's 1,280 MB capacity, and it supports Vulkan and PCIe 3.0, which the GTX 570 does not.

The GTX 570 is the older card, released in December 2010, while the FirePro W4300 came in November 2015. Both are end-of-life products. The GTX 570 had a launch MSRP of 349 USD. The FirePro W4300's launch MSRP is not recorded in the database. Neither card is a current-generation product, so the choice is about matching existing hardware to specific workload requirements.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher OpenCL benchmark scores?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13,515, which is 20.4% higher than the AMD FirePro W4300's 11,225 in the Geekbench OpenCL test.

Q: How much power does each card draw?

A: The GTX 570 has a TDP of 219 W and requires a 550 W suggested PSU with two 6-pin connectors. The FirePro W4300 has a TDP of 50 W, needs no power connectors, and runs on a 250 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The FirePro W4300 has 4 GB of GDDR5, while the GTX 570 has 1,280 MB. The GTX 570 has a wider 320-bit bus and higher bandwidth at 152.0 GB/s, compared to the FirePro W4300's 128-bit bus and 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: No. The GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan. The FirePro W4300 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What are the physical size differences?

A: The GTX 570 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long and dual-slot. The FirePro W4300 is 171 mm (6.7 inches) long, 69 mm (2.7 inches) high, and single-slot.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 570's closest competitors score very similarly: the AMD Radeon HD 7770M is 0.2% higher, and the NVIDIA P106-090 is 0.3% lower. The FirePro W4300's closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, scores 11,228, which is effectively identical.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head test is Geekbench OpenCL, and it shows a significant victory for the GTX 570. The GTX 570 scores 13,515 against the FirePro W4300's 11,225, a delta of 20.4%. This is not a close contest. The GTX 570's score places it at the 54th percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W4300 sits at the 50th percentile. In practical terms, the GTX 570 is roughly a fifth faster in OpenCL compute workloads.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces this gap. The GTX 570's closest competitor, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, scores 13,536, only 0.2% higher, meaning the GTX 570 is essentially on par with that mobile chip. The FirePro W4300, by contrast, lands next to the Radeon Pro WX 3200 at 11,228 (a 0% delta) and the GeForce GTX 780M at 11,261 (0.3% higher). The FirePro W4300's performance tier is clearly below the GTX 570's.

The GTX 570's advantage likely stems from its memory subsystem. Its 152.0 GB/s bandwidth and 40 ROPs provide a throughput advantage that OpenCL workloads often exploit. The FirePro W4300 has higher theoretical FP32 at 1,428.5 GFLOPS versus 1,405.4 GFLOPS, but that small 1.6% advantage does not translate into benchmark success. The FirePro W4300's 16 ROPs and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth are structural limitations that its extra shading units cannot overcome in this test.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The GTX 570 uses the GF110 chip on Fermi 2.0 architecture at 40 nm, while the FirePro W4300 uses Bonaire on GCN 2.0 at 28 nm. Transistor counts are 3,000 million for the GTX 570 and 2,080 million for the FirePro W4300, with die sizes of 520 mm² and 160 mm² respectively. Transistor density is 5.8M per mm² for NVIDIA and 13.0M per mm² for AMD.

Memory differs completely: the GTX 570 has 1,280 MB GDDR5 at 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective) on a 320-bit bus for 152.0 GB/s, while the FirePro W4300 has 4 GB GDDR5 at 1,500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus for 96.00 GB/s. Shading units favor AMD at 768 versus 480, but TMUs favor NVIDIA at 60 versus 48, and ROPs strongly favor NVIDIA at 40 versus 16. Pixel rates are 21.96 GPixel/s for the GTX 570 and 14.88 GPixel/s for the FirePro W4300. Texture rates are nearly identical at 43.92 GTexel/s and 44.64 GTexel/s. FP32 is close: 1,405.4 GFLOPS versus 1,428.5 GFLOPS.

Power and physical specifications diverge widely. The GTX 570 draws 219 W, requires two 6-pin connectors, a 550 W PSU, and occupies a dual-slot 267 mm (10.5 inches) length. The FirePro W4300 draws 50 W, needs no power connectors, runs on a 250 W PSU, and is a single-slot 171 mm (6.7 inches) by 69 mm (2.7 inches) card. Bus interfaces differ: PCIe 2.0 x16 for NVIDIA, PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD. Display outputs are 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 570, versus 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 for the FirePro W4300.

API support is a differentiator. The GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but no Vulkan. The FirePro W4300 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Release dates are December 2010 for the GTX 570 and November 2015 for the FirePro W4300. Both are end-of-life. The GTX 570's launch MSRP was 349 USD; the FirePro W4300 has no recorded launch MSRP.