AMD FirePro W5100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct benchmark comparison between the AMD FirePro W5100 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the AMD FirePro W5100 scores 11888, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti scores 10690. The AMD card wins with an 11.2% performance advantage.

This is a clear, decisive margin. The FirePro W5100 does not just edge out the GTX 560 Ti; it beats it by more than a tenth of overall compute performance. For a workload that scales well across GPU compute units, that 11.2% delta translates into noticeably shorter render times or faster data processing.

Looking at the broader context, the FirePro W5100's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 12847. The GTX 560 Ti's average is 10690, which is exactly its single OpenCL score since no other benchmark results are recorded for it. The gap between their averages is 2157 points, or roughly 20% in favor of the AMD card.

The FirePro W5100 also holds a percentile advantage. It sits at the 52nd percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 560 Ti sits at the 49th percentile. That three-percentile spread might sound small, but it represents the difference between being slightly above the median and slightly below it.

When the FirePro W5100 is compared to its nearest rivals, it fits into a tight performance cluster. The AMD Radeon Pro 455 scores 12831, which is just 0.1% behind the FirePro W5100. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 scores 12830, also 0.1% behind. The AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870, which is 0.2% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 scores 12773, which is 0.6% behind. The FirePro W5100 is essentially dead center in this group, trading blows with cards that are generally considered more powerful in their respective generations.

The GTX 560 Ti's nearest rivals show a similar clustering, but with a different character. The AMD Radeon RX 6600S scores 10629, which is 0.6% behind the GTX 560 Ti. The NVIDIA Quadro K2200 scores 10761, which is 0.7% ahead. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X scores 10582, which is 1.0% behind. The AMD Radeon Pro 450 scores 10804, which is 1.1% ahead. The GTX 560 Ti sits in the middle of this group, but its absolute scores are notably lower than the FirePro W5100's competitive set.

It is notably the FirePro W5100 also has a Vulkan benchmark score of 13805, while the GTX 560 Ti has no recorded Vulkan result. This is not a direct comparison, but it does indicate that the AMD card supports modern Vulkan APIs to a degree that the NVIDIA card does not, at least in the database's measurements.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD FirePro W5100 is the faster card. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, and it wins by a meaningful 11.2% margin. For any workload that relies on OpenCL compute, the FirePro W5100 is the better choice.

The GTX 560 Ti is not without its strengths, but they do not show up in compute performance. Its texture rate is higher (52.67 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s), and its pixel rate is slightly lower (13.17 GPixel/s versus 14.88 GPixel/s). But raw compute, as measured by Geekbench OpenCL, favors the AMD card clearly.

Who should pick the FirePro W5100? Anyone running OpenCL workloads, GPU compute tasks, or professional applications that leverage the card's 4 GB of memory. The 4 GB GDDR5 frame buffer is four times larger than the GTX 560 Ti's 1 GB, which matters for large datasets or high-resolution textures.

Who should pick the GTX 560 Ti? The data suggests very few scenarios. Its only recorded advantage is in texture fill rate, which could theoretically benefit older games or specific texture-bound tasks. But with a 170 W TDP versus the FirePro W5100's 50 W, the GTX 560 Ti consumes more than three times the power. It also requires a 450 W suggested PSU versus 250 W for the AMD card. For most builders, the FirePro W5100 is the rational pick.

The GTX 560 Ti's launch MSRP was 249 USD, but this is historical data and not a current purchase consideration. Both cards are end-of-life, so the practical choice is about what you already have or what you can find used at the right price.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial, reflecting their different eras and design philosophies.

The AMD FirePro W5100 uses the Bonaire chip, built on GCN 2.0 architecture. It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 2,080 million transistors on a die size of 160 mm², giving it a transistor density of 13.0 million per mm². This is a modern, dense design that packs a lot of compute into a small physical footprint.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti uses the GF114 chip, built on Fermi 2.0 architecture. It is fabricated on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. The chip contains 1,950 million transistors on a die size of 332 mm², giving it a transistor density of 5.9 million per mm². The die is more than twice the physical size of the FirePro W5100's chip, yet it contains fewer transistors. This is a direct consequence of the older, less dense manufacturing process.

The compute resources differ significantly. The FirePro W5100 has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The GTX 560 Ti has 384 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. The AMD card has twice the shading units, while the NVIDIA card has more TMUs and ROPs. This explains why the GTX 560 Ti achieves a higher texture rate despite losing the compute benchmark.

The FirePro W5100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 560 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support recorded. This is a meaningful feature gap for modern applications that rely on Vulkan.

The bus interface also differs. The FirePro W5100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 560 Ti uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The newer PCIe standard offers higher bandwidth, which can matter for data transfer between the GPU and the rest of the system.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The table below highlights only the fields where they diverge.

| Specification | AMD FirePro W5100 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 2,080 million | 1,950 million |

| Die Size | 160 mm² | 332 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.0M / mm² | 5.9M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz, 6 Gbps effective | 1002 MHz, 4 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 128.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 384 |

| TMUs | 48 | 64 |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.88 GPixel/s | 13.17 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 44.64 GTexel/s | 52.67 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,428.5 GFLOPS | 1,263.4 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 50 W | 170 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.2 | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | None |

| Card Length | 173 mm (6.8 inches) | 229 mm (9 inches) |

| Release Date | 2014-03-30 | 2011-01-24 |

The FirePro W5100 is newer, smaller, cooler, and more power-efficient. The GTX 560 Ti has a wider memory bus and higher memory bandwidth, but its smaller frame buffer limits practical usage.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD FirePro W5100 scores 11888 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti scores 10690. The AMD card wins by 11.2%.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The AMD FirePro W5100 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti has 1024 MB (1 GB) of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti has a 256-bit memory bus and delivers 128.3 GB/s. The AMD FirePro W5100 has a 128-bit bus and delivers 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Do both cards support Vulkan?

A: No. The AMD FirePro W5100 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti has no Vulkan support recorded in the database.

Q: Which card consumes less power?

A: The AMD FirePro W5100 has a TDP of 50 W and requires a 250 W suggested PSU. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti has a TDP of 170 W and requires a 450 W suggested PSU.

Q: What is the release date difference?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti was released on 2011-01-24. The AMD FirePro W5100 was released on 2014-03-30. The AMD card is roughly three years newer.

Where Each One Wins

AMD FirePro W5100 wins on:

• OpenCL compute performance (11.2% ahead in Geekbench OpenCL)
• FP32 performance (1,428.5 GFLOPS versus 1,263.4 GFLOPS)
• Pixel fill rate (14.88 GPixel/s versus 13.17 GPixel/s)
• Memory capacity (4 GB versus 1 GB)
• Power efficiency (50 W TDP versus 170 W TDP)
• Physical size (173 mm versus 229 mm length, single-slot versus dual-slot)
• Modern API support (Vulkan 1.2.170, DirectX 12_0)
• Newer bus interface (PCIe 3.0 versus PCIe 2.0)
• Display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.2 versus 2x DVI and mini-HDMI)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti wins on:

• Texture fill rate (52.67 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s)
• Memory bandwidth (128.3 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s)
• Memory bus width (256-bit versus 128-bit)
• TMU count (64 versus 48) and ROP count (32 versus 16)

The GTX 560 Ti's wins are narrow and specialized. A higher texture rate helps in texture-heavy rendering pipelines, and higher bandwidth helps when streaming large textures. But the 1 GB frame buffer is a hard ceiling that modern workloads will hit quickly. The FirePro W5100's wins are broader and more impactful for compute, professional graphics, and sustained workloads.

For a builder choosing between these two end-of-life cards today, the data points clearly to the FirePro W5100. It is faster, cooler, smaller, and more capable in every meaningful compute metric. The GTX 560 Ti remains a historical footnote with a couple of narrow fill-rate advantages that do not compensate for its age, power draw, and limited memory.