AMD FirePro W5130M vs AMD Radeon HD 8790M Comparison

AMD Radeon HD 8790M and AMD FirePro W5130M are both mobile graphics solutions built on the same GCN 1.0 architecture and 28 nm process from TSMC, but the data shows they occupy different performance tiers. The Radeon HD 8790M edges out the FirePro W5130M in the only head-to-head benchmark recorded, with a 2.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, yet the FirePro W5130M counters with a substantially larger hardware configuration, including 512 shading units versus 384, and double the pixel rate. Benchmark results indicate that the Radeon HD 8790M holds a slight overall advantage in raw compute scores, but the FirePro W5130M’s specifications suggest it was designed for workloads that benefit from higher fill rates and parallel throughput. The recorded data places the Radeon HD 8790M at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W5130M sits at the 29th percentile, a modest but consistent gap across the database.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs share the same foundational architecture, GCN 1.0, and are fabricated on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, but their physical implementations diverge significantly. The Radeon HD 8790M uses the Mars chip, a smaller die measuring 77 mm² with 950 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The FirePro W5130M employs the larger Tropo chip, which spans 123 mm² and packs 1,500 million transistors, for a nearly identical density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. This die size difference translates directly into resource allocation: the FirePro W5130M features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units, while the Radeon HD 8790M is limited to 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The FirePro W5130M thus offers 33% more shading units and double the ROP count, which explains its higher pixel rate of 14.80 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s for the Radeon HD 8790M.

Clock speeds also favor the FirePro W5130M, with a base frequency of 900 MHz and a boost of 925 MHz, compared to 850 MHz base and 900 MHz boost on the Radeon HD 8790M. Both cards use the same memory subsystem: 2 GB of GDDR5 over a 128-bit bus, delivering 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective 4 Gbps. Memory clocks are identical at 1000 MHz. The interface differs, with the Radeon HD 8790M using an MXM-A (3.0) slot and the FirePro W5130M using PCIe 3.0 x16, though both are mobile-oriented solutions. API support is identical, with DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The FirePro W5130M’s compute potential is higher on paper, with FP32 performance of 947.2 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS for the Radeon HD 8790M, and texture rate of 29.60 GTexel/s compared to 21.60 GTexel/s.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8790M records an average benchmark score of 5691, while the AMD FirePro W5130M averages 4904. The Radeon HD 8790M leads by 16.0% in this aggregate measure.

Q: How do the two compare in OpenCL performance?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Radeon HD 8790M scores 5017, and the FirePro W5130M scores 4904. This gives the Radeon HD 8790M a 2.3% advantage in the only head-to-head benchmark available.

Q: What are the key differences in shading units and ROPs?

A: The FirePro W5130M has 512 shading units and 16 ROPs, whereas the Radeon HD 8790M has 384 shading units and 8 ROPs. The FirePro W5130M offers 33% more shading units and double the ROPs.

Q: Is there a difference in memory bandwidth between the two?

A: No, both GPUs use 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, with identical bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s and an effective memory speed of 4 Gbps.

Q: Which GPU has higher pixel and texture rates?

A: The FirePro W5130M achieves a pixel rate of 14.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 29.60 GTexel/s. The Radeon HD 8790M delivers 7.200 GPixel/s and 21.60 GTexel/s, meaning the FirePro W5130M is roughly 2x faster in pixel throughput and 37% faster in texture throughput.

Q: How do their transistor counts and die sizes compare?

A: The FirePro W5130M uses 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the Radeon HD 8790M uses 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die. The FirePro W5130M’s die is 60% larger.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct comparison between these two GPUs: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this benchmark, the AMD Radeon HD 8790M scores 5017, while the AMD FirePro W5130M scores 4904. The Radeon HD 8790M wins by 2.3%, a narrow margin that falls within run-to-run variance for many workloads. This result is noteworthy because the FirePro W5130M has a materially larger compute configuration: 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs versus 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Additionally, the FirePro W5130M runs at higher clocks (900 MHz base, 925 MHz boost) and produces 947.2 GFLOPS of FP32 throughput compared to 691.2 GFLOPS for the Radeon HD 8790M. Despite this 37% theoretical FP32 advantage, the FirePro W5130M still trails in the OpenCL score, suggesting that the Radeon HD 8790M’s driver optimizations or memory access patterns provide a real-world edge in this test.

The Radeon HD 8790M also holds a slight lead in average benchmark score, at 5691 versus 4904 for the FirePro W5130M, a 16.0% difference. This aggregate figure includes the Geekbench Vulkan score of 6365 for the Radeon HD 8790M, which has no corresponding FirePro W5130M result in the database. The percentile rankings reinforce the same ordering: the Radeon HD 8790M sits at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W5130M is at the 29th percentile. Looking at nearest rivals, the Radeon HD 8790M is essentially tied with the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 (delta -0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX (delta -0.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (delta -0.7%), while it is 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M500M. The FirePro W5130M, by contrast, is statistically level with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (delta 0.2%), and it trails the AMD Radeon R7 M265 and AMD Radeon R7 M360 by 0.5% each. These rival comparisons place both cards in the lower-midrange of mobile GPUs, with the Radeon HD 8790M operating just above the FirePro W5130M in measured performance.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon HD 8790M is the stronger performer. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with a 2.3% margin, and its average benchmark score of 5691 is 16.0% higher than the FirePro W5130M’s 4904. The Radeon HD 8790M also ranks higher in the database percentile, at 33rd versus 29th, and it possesses a Vulkan score of 6365, a metric for which the FirePro W5130M has no recorded result. Users seeking maximum compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan applications should favor the Radeon HD 8790M, as the data shows it delivers better real-world scores despite lower raw specifications.

However, the FirePro W5130M is not without merit. Its larger chip, with 1,500 million transistors and 512 shading units, provides a theoretical peak that is significantly higher: 947.2 GFLOPS FP32 versus 691.2 GFLOPS, and a pixel rate of 14.80 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s. These figures indicate that the FirePro W5130M may be better suited for tasks that are heavily fill-rate bound, such as certain rendering or compositing workloads, even though the benchmark does not capture that advantage. The FirePro W5130M also has double the ROP count, which historically aids in high-resolution output and anti-aliasing. For a buyer optimizing purely for the database’s compute benchmarks, the Radeon HD 8790M is the clear pick. For workloads that demand high pixel throughput, the FirePro W5130M’s specification sheet suggests it could close the gap, but the evidence from the head-to-head test does not support a performance victory.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in several hardware fields. The chip is Mars for the Radeon HD 8790M and Tropo for the FirePro W5130M. Transistor count is 950 million versus 1,500 million, and die size is 77 mm² versus 123 mm². Transistor density is nearly identical at 12.3M per mm² and 12.2M per mm², respectively. Base clock is 850 MHz for the Radeon HD 8790M and 900 MHz for the FirePro W5130M, with boost clocks of 900 MHz and 925 MHz. Shading units are 384 versus 512, TMUs are 24 versus 32, and ROPs are 8 versus 16. Pixel rate is 7.200 GPixel/s for the Radeon HD 8790M and 14.80 GPixel/s for the FirePro W5130M, while texture rate is 21.60 GTexel/s versus 29.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 691.2 GFLOPS versus 947.2 GFLOPS. The bus interface differs, with the Radeon HD 8790M using MXM-A (3.0) and the FirePro W5130M using PCIe 3.0 x16. The slot width is listed as MXM Module for the Radeon HD 8790M and is not specified for the FirePro W5130M. Release dates differ as well: the Radeon HD 8790M released on 2013-03-31, and the FirePro W5130M on 2015-10-01. Memory size, type, bus width, bandwidth, and effective speed are identical for both.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 8790M wins in the benchmark arena. It leads in Geekbench OpenCL with 5017 versus 4904, a 2.3% advantage. It also has a higher average benchmark score of 5691 versus 4904, and it is the only one of the two with a Vulkan score, recording 6365. In percentile terms, the Radeon HD 8790M ranks 33rd among all GPUs versus 29th for the FirePro W5130M. The Radeon HD 8790M also has a closer set of rivals, with deltas of -0.4% to -0.7% against three NVIDIA and Intel parts, suggesting it is well-centered in its performance class.

The AMD FirePro W5130M wins on raw specification superiority. It provides 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, compared to 384, 24, and 8 for the Radeon HD 8790M. Its pixel rate of 14.80 GPixel/s is more than double, and its texture rate of 29.60 GTexel/s is 37% higher. FP32 throughput is 947.2 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS, a 37% advantage. The FirePro W5130M also runs at higher base and boost clocks. For users whose applications are bound by fill rate or parallel shading units, the FirePro W5130M offers a hardware foundation that could outperform in non-benchmarked scenarios, even though the measured OpenCL score trails. The FirePro W5130M’s larger die and transistor budget also indicate a more complex design that may handle sustained professional workloads differently, though the database does not provide direct evidence for that claim.