AMD FirePro W5000 vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Tesla M10 are both end-of-life workstation/accelerator cards built on TSMC's 28 nm process, but they target very different use cases. The FirePro W5000 is a single-slot, 75 W workstation card with display outputs and a 2012 release date, while the Tesla M10 is a dual-slot, 225 W compute accelerator with no display outputs, released in 2016. Benchmark data shows the Tesla M10 holds a 5% lead in the single head-to-head OpenCL test, but the FirePro W5000 counters with lower power draw, a smaller footprint, and display connectivity. The following analysis breaks down what each card does best based strictly on the provided specifications and benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W5000 has an average benchmark score of 9803, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 has an average score of 9724. However, in the direct head-to-head Geekbench OpenCL test, the Tesla M10 scored 10318 versus the FirePro's 9803, giving the Tesla a 5% win.

Q: How do these cards compare to nearby rivals in performance percentiles?

A: Both cards sit at the 47th percentile among all GPUs. The FirePro W5000's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (deltaPct 0.2), while the Tesla M10's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (deltaPct 0.1). The FirePro is 0.8% ahead of the Tesla M10 in average score, and the Tesla M10 is 0.6% behind the GeForce GTX 1070 in its own rival list.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference, and does it matter?

A: The Tesla M10 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 83.20 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro W5000 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla offers four times the capacity but 19.2 GB/s less bandwidth, which matters for large datasets versus memory-heavy workloads.

Q: Which card can output to a display?

A: Only the AMD FirePro W5000 has display outputs, specifically 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort 1.2. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 has no display outputs at all, making it strictly a compute-oriented accelerator.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The FirePro W5000 has a 75 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and needs a 250 W suggested PSU. The Tesla M10 has a 225 W TDP, requires one 8-pin power connector, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU.

Q: What API support differs between the two?

A: Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, but the FirePro W5000 lists Vulkan 1.2.170 while the Tesla M10 lists Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX feature level also differs: the FirePro supports 11_1, while the Tesla supports 11_0.

The Verdict

Choose the AMD FirePro W5000 if you need a low-power workstation card with display outputs. Its 75 W TDP, single-slot design, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for compact or legacy systems where a 250 W PSU is the ceiling. It also has higher memory bandwidth (102.4 GB/s vs 83.20 GB/s) and a wider 256-bit memory bus, which benefits certain OpenCL workloads. Its 47th percentile ranking and average score of 9803 place it within 0.2% of the GeForce GTX 1070, so its compute capability is respectable for its era.

Choose the NVIDIA Tesla M10 if raw compute throughput and memory capacity are your priorities. It wins the head-to-head OpenCL benchmark (10318 vs 9803, a 5% margin), offers 8 GB of VRAM versus 2 GB, and has a higher FP32 throughput of 1.672 TFLOPS versus 1,267.2 GFLOPS. It also has a higher texture rate (52.24 GTexel/s vs 39.60 GTexel/s) and a boost clock of 1306 MHz. The tradeoff is stark: 225 W TDP, dual-slot size, an 8-pin connector, a 550 W PSU requirement, and zero display outputs.

Do not pick either card for modern gaming or general desktop use. The FirePro's 2 GB memory is limiting, and the Tesla M10 cannot output video at all. If you need display output, the FirePro is the only option. If you need compute density and can handle the power and cooling, the Tesla M10 is the stronger performer.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins decisively. It scores 10318 against the FirePro W5000's 9803, a delta of -5% from the FirePro's perspective. This means the Tesla M10 is approximately 5% faster in this workload, which is a meaningful margin for compute tasks that scale with raw shader throughput.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the Tesla M10's average score of 9724 is actually lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting that other available tests (such as Vulkan) drag its average down. Indeed, the Tesla M10 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9130, which is lower than its OpenCL result. The FirePro W5000 has only one benchmark listed (OpenCL at 9803), so its average equals that score.

In terms of nearest rivals, the FirePro W5000 is 0.8% ahead of the Tesla M10 in average score, but that gap reverses in the head-to-head test. The FirePro also sits within 0.3% of the Quadro M2000M (9832) and 0.4% of the Quadro 6000 (9846), indicating it is tightly clustered with mid-range professional cards. The Tesla M10, meanwhile, is 0.6% behind the GeForce GTX 1070 (9780) and 0.6% ahead of the Quadro P4000 (9665), showing it holds its own against newer consumer and pro cards.

Specification Differences

The AMD FirePro W5000 uses a Pitcairn chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 uses a GM107 chip with Maxwell architecture. Both are 28 nm parts from TSMC, but the FirePro has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, versus 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die for the Tesla. This gives the FirePro a transistor density of 13.2M/mm² versus 12.6M/mm² for the Tesla.

Memory configurations differ significantly: the FirePro has 2 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the Tesla has 8 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 83.20 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla's memory clock is 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), while the FirePro's is 800 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective). The Tesla has a base clock of 1033 MHz and boost clock of 1306 MHz; the FirePro lists no base or boost clocks.

Compute resources: the FirePro has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the Tesla has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rates are 26.40 GPixel/s for the FirePro and 20.90 GPixel/s for the Tesla, but texture rates favor the Tesla (52.24 GTexel/s vs 39.60 GTexel/s). FP32 compute is 1,267.2 GFLOPS for the FirePro and 1.672 TFLOPS for the Tesla.

Physical and power specs diverge sharply: the FirePro is single-slot, 183 mm long, 111 mm tall, with 75 W TDP and no power connectors. The Tesla is dual-slot, 267 mm long, with 225 W TDP and one 8-pin connector. Suggested PSU is 250 W for the FirePro and 550 W for the Tesla. Display outputs exist only on the FirePro (1x DVI, 2x DisplayPort 1.2); the Tesla has none.

Architecture Differences

The AMD FirePro W5000 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture, the first iteration of AMD's Graphics Core Next design. It uses a Pitcairn chip with 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die. GCN 1.0 is known for its compute-oriented design, but this specific card has a relatively modest FP32 throughput of 1,267.2 GFLOPS from 768 shading units. Its memory subsystem is wide (256-bit) but runs at a modest effective speed of 3.2 Gbps, yielding 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The NVIDIA Tesla M10 is built on Maxwell architecture, specifically the GM107 chip with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die. Maxwell is a more power-efficient architecture per transistor, but the Tesla M10 is configured for compute density rather than efficiency, pulling 225 W. It has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with a boost clock of 1306 MHz. Its FP32 throughput is 1.672 TFLOPS, which is 32% higher than the FirePro's 1,267.2 GFLOPS. The Tesla's memory runs at 5.2 Gbps effective on a 128-bit bus, giving 83.20 GB/s bandwidth. It supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 — a newer Vulkan version than the FirePro.

Both cards lack ray tracing and tensor cores, and neither lists FP16 support. The FirePro has a higher pixel rate (26.40 GPixel/s vs 20.90 GPixel/s) due to more ROPs (32 vs 16), but the Tesla has a higher texture rate (52.24 GTexel/s vs 39.60 GTexel/s) due to its higher clock speeds. The Tesla's transistor density is slightly lower (12.6M/mm² vs 13.2M/mm²), reflecting the larger FirePro die.

Where Each One Wins

AMD FirePro W5000 wins on installation flexibility. Its 75 W TDP, single-slot profile, and lack of power connectors mean it can drop into almost any desktop with a 250 W PSU and a spare PCIe slot. It also has display outputs (DVI and two DisplayPort 1.2), making it usable as a workstation GPU for multi-monitor setups. Its higher memory bandwidth (102.4 GB/s vs 83.20 GB/s) and wider 256-bit bus give it an edge in bandwidth-sensitive workloads. It also has a higher pixel rate (26.40 GPixel/s), which helps with 2D and rasterization tasks.

NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins on raw compute performance. Its 5% OpenCL lead (10318 vs 9803) is backed by higher FP32 throughput (1.672 TFLOPS vs 1,267.2 GFLOPS) and a higher texture rate (52.24 GTexel/s vs 39.60 GTexel/s). Its 8 GB memory capacity is four times larger, which is critical for datasets that exceed 2 GB. The Tesla also has a boost clock of 1306 MHz versus no listed boost for the FirePro, and its memory runs at a faster 5.2 Gbps effective speed. For compute tasks that fit within its 128-bit bandwidth constraint, the Tesla's extra shader throughput and VRAM make it the stronger choice.

The tie-breaker is use case. If you need display output and low power draw, the FirePro is the only viable option. If you need maximum compute per card and have the power budget (225 W TDP, 550 W PSU), the Tesla M10 delivers more performance. Neither card is modern, but the Tesla's larger memory pool and higher compute make it better suited for headless compute servers, while the FirePro's display outputs and low profile suit it for legacy workstation desktops.