AMD FirePro W5130M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB Comparison

# AMD FirePro W5130M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB

This comparison pits a 2015 mobile workstation GPU, the AMD FirePro W5130M, against a 2022 desktop enthusiast card, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB. The data shows two products separated by generations, process nodes, and market segments. The FirePro W5130M targets professional mobile workloads with modest power requirements, while the RTX 3080 12 GB delivers massive compute throughput for high-end gaming and content creation. Benchmark results place both near the 28th–29th percentile of all GPUs, but the raw specification gap is enormous, making the equal percentile ranking a quirk of the different benchmark suites used for each card.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W5130M scores 4904 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB scores 4791 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The FirePro leads by 113 points, though the tests measure different workloads and API paths.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The FirePro W5130M sits within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon R7 M360 and R7 M265, and just 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB. The RTX 3080 12 GB trails the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX by 1.1%, leads the AMD Radeon R5 M255 by 0.1%, and is 1.3% behind the GeForce GTX 560M.

Q: What memory configurations do these cards offer?

A: The FirePro W5130M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 64.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 12 GB packs 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth — roughly 14 times higher memory throughput.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB includes 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores as part of its Ampere architecture. The FirePro W5130M, based on GCN 1.0, has no RT cores or tensor cores listed in the data.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The FirePro W5130M uses a 28 nm process at TSMC with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The RTX 3080 12 GB uses Samsung's 8 nm process, packing 28,300 million transistors onto a 628 mm² die — a transistor density of 45.1M/mm² versus 12.2M/mm².

Q: When were these cards released?

A: The FirePro W5130M launched in October 2015, while the RTX 3080 12 GB arrived in January 2022. Both are now end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast. The FirePro W5130M uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm TSMC process, featuring 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. Its transistor count stands at 1,500 million on a 123 mm² die, yielding a density of 12.2M/mm². The RTX 3080 12 GB employs NVIDIA's Ampere architecture on Samsung's 8 nm node, with 8,960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Its 28,300 million transistors occupy a 628 mm² die, reaching 45.1M/mm² density.

The RTX 3080 12 GB introduces dedicated hardware that the FirePro lacks entirely: 70 RT cores for ray tracing and 280 tensor cores for AI acceleration. These features fundamentally change what workloads each card can handle. The FirePro's GCN design has no equivalent hardware, relying on traditional shader-based computation.

Clock behavior differs substantially. The FirePro runs at a 900 MHz base and 925 MHz boost, while the RTX 3080 12 GB operates at 1260 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. Memory technology also diverges: the FirePro uses GDDR5 at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective), whereas the RTX 3080 12 GB uses GDDR6X at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The memory bus width jumps from 128-bit to 384-bit, and the resulting bandwidth scales from 64.00 GB/s to 912.4 GB/s.

API support marks another generational leap. The FirePro supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 3080 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card also connects via PCIe 4.0 x16, double the interface bandwidth of the FirePro's PCIe 3.0 x16.

Where Each One Wins

The FirePro W5130M wins on efficiency of architecture for its era and on the specific Geekbench OpenCL workload. Its 4904 score in that test reflects a card designed for professional mobile workstations — compact, low-power, and adequate for compute tasks prevalent in 2015. The 512 shading units and 16 ROPs deliver 14.80 GPixel/s pixel fill and 29.60 GTexel/s texture fill, figures suited to modest resolution displays and professional 2D/3D CAD work.

The RTX 3080 12 GB wins overwhelmingly in raw compute capability. Its 30.64 TFLOPS FP32 performance dwarfs the FirePro's 947.2 GFLOPS — a 32-fold difference. The 164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 478.8 GTexel/s texture rate represent 11x and 16x improvements, respectively. The 12 GB GDDR6X frame buffer with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth enables high-resolution texture streaming and large dataset handling that the 2 GB FirePro cannot attempt.

In gaming, the RTX 3080 12 GB's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and RT/tensor cores provide features like ray tracing and DLSS that the FirePro cannot execute. For content creation, the 280 tensor cores accelerate AI denoising and upscaling. The FirePro's advantage lies in its professional pedigree — FirePro drivers historically target workstation apps — but the data shows no benchmark beyond Geekbench OpenCL for it.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. Process node: 28 nm (TSMC) versus 8 nm (Samsung). Transistors: 1,500 million versus 28,300 million. Die size: 123 mm² versus 628 mm². Transistor density: 12.2M/mm² versus 45.1M/mm². Base clock: 900 MHz versus 1260 MHz. Boost clock: 925 MHz versus 1710 MHz. Memory clock: 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) versus 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity: 2 GB versus 12 GB. Memory type: GDDR5 versus GDDR6X. Bus width: 128-bit versus 384-bit. Bandwidth: 64.00 GB/s versus 912.4 GB/s. Shading units: 512 versus 8,960. TMUs: 32 versus 280. ROPs: 16 versus 96. RT cores: none versus 70. Tensor cores: none versus 280.

Pixel rate: 14.80 GPixel/s versus 164.2 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 29.60 GTexel/s versus 478.8 GTexel/s. FP32: 947.2 GFLOPS versus 30.64 TFLOPS. FP16: not specified versus 30.64 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP: not specified versus 350 W. Slot width: not specified versus dual-slot. Power connectors: not specified versus 1x 12-pin. Suggested PSU: not specified versus 750 W.

Bus interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. DirectX: 12 (11_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan: 1.2.170 versus 1.4. Dimensions: not specified versus 285 mm length, 112 mm height, 40 mm width. Release date: October 2015 versus January 2022. The RTX 3080 12 GB also lists display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a) and a launch MSRP of 799 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark table contains no direct comparison entries, so the analysis relies on each card's standalone benchmark results and their nearest rivals. The FirePro W5130M's Geekbench OpenCL score of 4904 places it 29th percentile among all GPUs. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB at 4901, a 0.1% delta. The AMD Radeon R7 M265 (4929) and R7 M360 (4931) both sit slightly ahead at 0.5% higher scores. The GeForce GTS 450 trails at 4893, 0.2% behind.

The RTX 3080 12 GB's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791 puts it at the 28th percentile. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R5 M255 at 4788, a 0.1% advantage. The AMD Radeon R5 M335 scores 4752, 0.8% behind, while the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844) leads by 1.1% and the GeForce GTX 560M (4855) is 1.3% ahead.

These percentile rankings appear counterintuitive given the specification gap, but the benchmark workloads differ fundamentally. Geekbench OpenCL measures general compute throughput using OpenCL kernels, which can favor the FirePro's simpler architecture at low resolutions. 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 stresses modern DirectX 12 features, geometry processing, and memory bandwidth — areas where the RTX 3080 12 GB should excel but scores lower in this specific test.

The FirePro's 947.2 GFLOPS FP32 output, while tiny compared to the RTX 3080 12 GB's 30.64 TFLOPS, represents a balanced ratio for its 512 shading units. The RTX 3080 12 GB's massive 8,960 shading units require sophisticated scheduling that may not fully engage in the Steel Nomad workload. Additionally, the FirePro's 64.00 GB/s bandwidth aligns with its 2 GB frame buffer, while the RTX 3080 12 GB's 912.4 GB/s serves a 12 GB pool — the bandwidth-to-capacity ratio favors the FirePro for small working sets.

The data indicates these cards occupy different performance tiers despite similar percentile rankings. The FirePro competes with entry-level mobile GPUs from 2015–2016, while the RTX 3080 12 GB's spec sheet suggests it should outperform its benchmark result. The lack of direct head-to-head tests prevents definitive verdicts, but the architectural evidence points to the RTX 3080 12 GB being the superior card for demanding workloads, particularly those leveraging RT cores, tensor cores, and the 14x memory bandwidth advantage.