AMD FirePro W5100 vs NVIDIA Tesla K10 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data separates these two professional GPUs into distinct roles. The NVIDIA Tesla K10 is the compute-oriented card, delivering a single Geekbench OpenCL score of 14,029 against the AMD FirePro W5100's 11,888, an 18% advantage in that test. The FirePro W5100, meanwhile, counters with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 13,805, a test the Tesla K10 does not appear in the database with. The verdict from the measurements is straightforward: choose the Tesla K10 for raw OpenCL compute throughput, and choose the FirePro W5100 for any workload that relies on Vulkan acceleration, as the K10 has no recorded Vulkan result at all.

The Tesla K10 also holds a higher overall percentile rank, sitting at the 55th percentile against all GPUs, while the FirePro W5100 sits at the 52nd percentile. Its average benchmark score of 14,029 also exceeds the FirePro's average of 12,847 across the tests where each has data. However, the FirePro W5100 brings a display output suite with 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the Tesla K10 has no outputs, making the FirePro the only viable option for a workstation that needs to drive monitors directly. The data suggests the Tesla K10 is a headless accelerator, while the FirePro W5100 is a full workstation card.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural lineages. The Tesla K10 uses the GK104 chip built on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0M per mm². The FirePro W5100 uses AMD's Bonaire chip based on GCN 2.0, also on TSMC's 28 nm node, but with 2,080 million transistors on a much smaller 160 mm² die, giving a higher density of 13.0M per mm². The Kepler design is the older of the two, released in April 2012, while the GCN 2.0 card arrived in March 2014. The Tesla K10's predecessor is listed as Tesla Fermi, with Tesla Maxwell as its successor; the FirePro W5100 follows FirePro Terascale and leads to Radeon Pro Polaris.

The compute resources differ sharply. The Tesla K10 has 1,536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro W5100 has half the shading units at 768, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This resource gap explains the Tesla's higher peak pixel rate of 23.84 GPixel/s versus 14.88 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 95.36 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s. Floating-point output also favors the Tesla: 2.289 TFLOPS FP32 against the FirePro's 1,428.5 GFLOPS. Neither card lists FP16 or ray tracing cores, and both lack tensor cores.

The memory subsystems differ in bus width and bandwidth. The Tesla K10 runs 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The FirePro W5100 also has 4 GB of GDDR5 but on a 128-bit bus, giving 96.00 GB/s at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The Tesla's wider bus gives it a 67% bandwidth advantage, which matters for memory-bound compute tasks. API support also varies: the Tesla K10 lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the FirePro W5100 lists DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows a clear split by workload type. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla K10 beats the FirePro W5100 by 18%, scoring 14,029 versus 11,888. This is the only head-to-head test recorded, and the Tesla wins it outright. The FirePro's Vulkan score of 13,805, however, has no counterpart in the Tesla's records, so for Vulkan-based rendering or compute, the FirePro W5100 is the only option with measured data. The Tesla K10's lack of display outputs means it cannot drive a monitor, so any interactive workstation task that needs on-screen output goes to the FirePro by default.

For power-sensitive installations, the FirePro W5100 draws a 50 W TDP versus the Tesla K10's 225 W, and it requires no power connectors, while the Tesla needs 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin. The suggested PSU for the FirePro is 250 W, compared to 550 W for the Tesla. The FirePro is also a single-slot card at 173 mm (6.8 inches) long, while the Tesla is dual-slot and 272 mm (10.7 inches) long. The FirePro's lower power draw and smaller footprint make it the more flexible choice for multi-GPU or constrained chassis, although the Tesla's compute lead is substantial in OpenCL. The data indicates the Tesla K10 wins where raw throughput is the sole criterion, and the FirePro W5100 wins where connectivity, power efficiency, and Vulkan support matter.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla K10 scores 14,029, which is 18% higher than the AMD FirePro W5100's 11,888.

Q: Does the FirePro W5100 support Vulkan?

A: Yes, the FirePro W5100 has a recorded Geekbench Vulkan score of 13,805, and it lists Vulkan 1.2.170. The Tesla K10 lists Vulkan 1.2.175 but has no recorded Vulkan benchmark score.

Q: Can the Tesla K10 drive a display?

A: No, the Tesla K10 has no display outputs. The FirePro W5100 has 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla K10 has 160.0 GB/s on a 256-bit bus, while the FirePro W5100 has 96.00 GB/s on a 128-bit bus, giving the Tesla a 64 GB/s advantage.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Tesla K10 has a 225 W TDP and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors. The FirePro W5100 has a 50 W TDP and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The FirePro W5100 has a higher density at 13.0M transistors per mm², despite having fewer total transistors (2,080 million) than the Tesla K10 (3,540 million).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the Tesla K10 wins decisively. The Tesla scores 14,029 against the FirePro's 11,888, a delta of 18%. This is a significant margin, and it aligns with the Tesla's hardware advantages: 1,536 shading units versus 768, 128 TMUs versus 48, and 32 ROPs versus 16. The Tesla's peak FP32 throughput of 2.289 TFLOPS is roughly 60% higher than the FirePro's 1,428.5 GFLOPS, and its pixel rate of 23.84 GPixel/s is about 60% higher than 14.88 GPixel/s. The texture rate also favors the Tesla by a similar ratio, 95.36 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s.

The FirePro's Vulkan score of 13,805 is worth noting, but without a Tesla Vulkan result, it cannot be compared directly. Still, that score places the FirePro reasonably close to its own OpenCL score, suggesting balanced performance across APIs. The Tesla's nearest rivals in the database include the GeForce GTX 680 at 14,150 (a 0.9% difference), the Radeon RX 570X at 13,871 (1.1% higher), and the RTX A2000 Mobile at 13,821 (1.5% higher). The FirePro's nearest rivals are the Radeon Pro 455 at 12,831 (0.1% higher), the GeForce GTX 590 at 12,830 (0.1% higher), and the Radeon 740M at 12,870 (0.2% lower). These proximity figures show that both cards sit in a tight performance cluster around their respective score levels, but the Tesla K10's cluster is about 1,200 points higher on average.

The broader database context reinforces the OpenCL gap. The Tesla K10's average benchmark score is 14,029, while the FirePro's average across its two recorded tests is 12,847. That difference of roughly 1,182 points is consistent with the 18% head-to-head delta. The FirePro's Vulkan score actually pulls its average up from the OpenCL result, meaning its OpenCL deficit relative to the Tesla is even larger than the average gap suggests. For users prioritizing OpenCL compute, the Tesla K10 is the stronger choice by a clear margin, even though the FirePro's Vulkan performance offers a separate avenue of capability.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measured specification. The process node is identical at 28 nm from TSMC, but the die sizes diverge: the Tesla K10 is 294 mm² versus the FirePro's 160 mm². Transistor counts follow, with the Tesla at 3,540 million and the FirePro at 2,080 million, though the FirePro's density of 13.0M per mm² edges out the Tesla's 12.0M per mm². Memory clocks differ, with the Tesla at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) and the FirePro at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective), but the Tesla's 256-bit bus versus the FirePro's 128-bit bus results in 160.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. Both have 4 GB of GDDR5.

The compute pipelines differ sharply: 1,536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the Tesla, versus 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs for the FirePro. Pixel rate is 23.84 GPixel/s versus 14.88 GPixel/s, texture rate is 95.36 GTexel/s versus 44.64 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 2.289 TFLOPS versus 1,428.5 GFLOPS. The Tesla K10 draws 225 W and requires a 550 W PSU, while the FirePro draws 50 W and suggests a 250 W PSU. The Tesla is dual-slot with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors; the FirePro is single-slot with no power connectors. Lengths differ at 272 mm versus 173 mm, and the FirePro has a listed height of 111 mm while the Tesla has none. Display outputs are absent on the Tesla and 4x DisplayPort 1.2 on the FirePro. DirectX support is 12 (11_0) for the Tesla and 12 (12_0) for the FirePro, Vulkan is 1.2.175 versus 1.2.170, and OpenGL is 4.6 for both. The Tesla's launch MSRP was 5,099 USD; the FirePro has no recorded launch MSRP.