AMD FirePro W5100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data shows a comprehensive victory for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti across the two benchmarks where both cards were measured. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 1070 Ti scored 49,219 against the FirePro W5100’s 11,888, a delta of 314%. This is not a marginal lead; the NVIDIA card delivers more than four times the raw compute throughput in this API. The gap is even larger in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the GTX 1070 Ti posted 61,006 points versus 13,805 for the AMD card, a delta of 341.9%. Both results place the FirePro W5100 in a fundamentally different performance tier, despite its workstation-oriented branding.

Looking at the broader database averages, the GTX 1070 Ti holds an average benchmark score of 14,277 across all recorded tests, while the FirePro W5100 averages 12,847. That difference of roughly 11% in overall standing is modest compared to the head-to-head deltas, which suggests the FirePro W5100’s limited benchmark suite (only two recorded tests) skews its aggregate. The GTX 1070 Ti sits at the 56th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the FirePro W5100 sits at the 52nd percentile. The NVIDIA card’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 14,315 (0.3% lower) and the AMD Radeon Vega 11 at 14,352 (0.5% lower), are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the GTX 1070 Ti’s average score places it in a tightly contested mid-range cluster. The FirePro W5100, by contrast, is bracketed by the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12,831, 0.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon 740M (12,870, 0.2% higher), showing that its aggregate performance aligns with entry-level discrete and modern integrated solutions.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti wins every recorded head-to-head comparison, so the use-case split is defined by the nature of the workloads. In OpenCL, which is commonly used for general-purpose GPU computation across scientific, engineering, and media applications, the GTX 1070 Ti’s 314% lead indicates a decisive advantage for compute-heavy tasks. In Vulkan, which is increasingly relevant for modern game engines and cross-platform graphics, the 341.9% margin further cements its dominance. The FirePro W5100, with no wins in the head-to-head set, cannot claim superiority in any directly measured category.

However, the FirePro W5100 does have a distinct profile in the database that points to alternative strengths. Its 50 W TDP, single-slot design, and lack of external power connectors make it a low-power, space-constrained option. The card’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for lighter workstation tasks like multi-display output. Its four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs support up to four monitors, a feature that the GTX 1070 Ti also offers but with a different mix (one DVI, one HDMI 2.0, and three DisplayPort 1.4a). For a user prioritizing multi-monitor professional setups over raw compute, the FirePro W5100’s physical and power profile is the only area where it presents a practical advantage. The benchmark data, though, offers no scenario where the AMD card wins on performance.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is built on the GP104 chip using the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.9 million per square millimeter. The AMD FirePro W5100 uses the Bonaire chip with GCN 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC, but on a larger 28 nm process. It contains 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die, giving a density of 13.0 million per square millimeter. The node advantage alone explains a significant portion of the performance gap, as the GTX 1070 Ti fits over three times as many transistors in roughly double the die area.

The compute resources differ by an even wider margin. The GTX 1070 Ti has 2,432 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The FirePro W5100 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and just 16 ROPs. This translates to a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 14.88 GPixel/s for AMD, and a texture rate of 255.8 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 8.186 TFLOPS for the GTX 1070 Ti and 1,428.5 GFLOPS (approximately 1.43 TFLOPS) for the FirePro W5100. Interestingly, the GTX 1070 Ti lists a FP16 rate of 127.9 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), while the FirePro W5100 has no recorded FP16 capability. This indicates that the NVIDIA card is designed for standard 32-bit precision workloads, not half-precision acceleration, and the AMD card lacks that pathway entirely.

The memory subsystems also reflect their respective eras. The GTX 1070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, running at 2002 MHz with 8 Gbps effective speed, for 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro W5100 has half the capacity (4 GB), a narrower 128-bit bus, and slower 1500 MHz memory (6 Gbps effective), yielding 96.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA card’s bandwidth advantage of nearly 2.7 times is consistent with its higher fill rates and shading power. Both cards support PCIe 3.0 x16, but their API support diverges: the GTX 1070 Ti reaches DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro W5100 is capped at DirectX 12_0, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Specification Differences

The recorded specification sheets show several key differences beyond the compute core counts. The GTX 1070 Ti has a base clock of 1607 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, whereas the FirePro W5100 lists no base or boost clock in the database, only its memory clock. The NVIDIA card’s TDP is 180 W, requiring a dual-slot cooler and a single 8-pin power connector, with a suggested power supply of 450 W. The FirePro W5100 is far more conservative at 50 W, using a single-slot design, no external power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 250 W. Physically, the GTX 1070 Ti measures 267 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, while the FirePro W5100 is shorter at 173 mm, similar in height at 111 mm, and has no recorded width. The GTX 1070 Ti also has a recorded launch MSRP of 399 USD, though the FirePro W5100 has no such field in the database.

The display outputs differ in both count and standard. The GTX 1070 Ti offers one DVI, one HDMI 2.0, and three DisplayPort 1.4a connections. The FirePro W5100 provides four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. This makes the AMD card more flexible for multi-display setups that exclusively use DisplayPort, while the NVIDIA card includes legacy DVI and a newer HDMI port for consumer displays. The release dates are also far apart: the GTX 1070 Ti launched on 2017-11-01, while the FirePro W5100 dates to 2014-03-30. Both are marked as end-of-life in production status. The GTX 1070 Ti’s predecessor is the GeForce 900 series and its successor is the GeForce 20 series, while the FirePro W5100’s predecessor is FirePro Terascale and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti scores 49,219 versus the AMD FirePro W5100’s 11,888, a 314% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in average score?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti averages 14,277, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14,315), 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14,352), and 0.7% below both the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (14,373) and AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14,385).

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

A: The GTX 1070 Ti provides 256.3 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the FirePro W5100 provides 96.00 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Does the FirePro W5100 require a power connector?

A: No, the FirePro W5100 uses no external power connectors and has a 50 W TDP, whereas the GTX 1070 Ti requires a single 8-pin connector and has a 180 W TDP.

Q: What is the FP32 throughput for each card?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti achieves 8.186 TFLOPS, while the FirePro W5100 reaches 1,428.5 GFLOPS (roughly 1.43 TFLOPS).

Q: Which card supports newer display outputs?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti includes DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.0, while the FirePro W5100 is limited to DisplayPort 1.2 across its four outputs.