AMD FirePro W5170M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes two shared benchmark tests between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and the AMD FirePro W5170M. In both cases, the GTX 1070 emerges as the clear winner. The largest margin appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the GTX 1070 scores 44,700 against the FirePro W5170M's 8,140, a delta of 449.1%. This is not a marginal difference; the NVIDIA part delivers more than five times the raw compute throughput in this particular workload. The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap somewhat, but the GTX 1070 still leads with 22,121 points versus 9,050, a 144.4% advantage. The data shows the GTX 1070 winning both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record in direct comparisons.

Context from the database's nearest rival analysis helps frame these results. The GTX 1070 holds an average benchmark score of 9,780 across all recorded tests, placing it at the 47th percentile among all GPUs. Its closest competitors in the database include the AMD FirePro W5000 (average score 9,803, delta -0.2%), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9,832, delta -0.5%), the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9,724, delta 0.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9,716, delta 0.7%). The GTX 1070 sits essentially at parity with these parts, oscillating within a single percentage point in either direction. This suggests that in the broader database, the GTX 1070 anchors a performance tier where small score differences separate adjacent products.

The FirePro W5170M, by contrast, records an average benchmark score of 8,595, placing it at the 44th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A380 (average 8,558, delta 0.4%), the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8,686, delta -1.1%), the AMD Radeon HD 8870M (8,462, delta 1.6%), and the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (8,458, delta 1.6%). The FirePro W5170M is likewise near parity with its immediate neighbors, but that entire cluster sits roughly 1,000 points below the GTX 1070's cluster. Looking at the head-to-head deltas, the 449.1% OpenCL gap and the 144.4% Vulkan gap are far larger than any delta between adjacent rivals. The implication is that these two cards do not compete in the same performance band, despite the percentile difference being only three points.

The GTX 1070 also holds a substantial lead in its own benchmark suite. Its Passmark G3D score reaches 13,498, while the Passmark G2D score is 846. The FirePro W5170M has no corresponding Passmark entries in the shared data, but its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan results are dwarfed by the GTX 1070's figures. The GTX 1070 additionally records a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,082, a Geekbench Metal score of 18,801, and Passmark scores of 197 in DirectX 9, 100 in DirectX 11, 82 in DirectX 10, and 48 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark GPU compute score is 6,102. None of these tests appear in the FirePro W5170M's recorded data, so direct comparisons are limited to the two shared workloads, but the pattern is consistent: the GTX 1070 dominates every measurable category where both cards have data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins decisively with a score of 44,700 versus the AMD FirePro W5170M's 8,140, a 449.1% advantage.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1070 in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The GTX 1070 scores 22,121 while the FirePro W5170M scores 9,050, giving the NVIDIA card a 144.4% lead.

Q: Where do these two GPUs rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: The GTX 1070 sits at the 47th percentile with an average benchmark score of 9,780, while the FirePro W5170M sits at the 44th percentile with an average score of 8,595.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GTX 1070 in the database?

A: The nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 (average 9,803, delta -0.2%), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9,832, delta -0.5%), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9,724, delta 0.6%), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9,716, delta 0.7%).

Q: What are the closest rivals to the AMD FirePro W5170M?

A: The nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A380 (average 8,558, delta 0.4%), NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8,686, delta -1.1%), AMD Radeon HD 8870M (8,462, delta 1.6%), and NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (8,458, delta 1.6%).

Q: Does the GTX 1070 have any recorded benchmark losses to the FirePro W5170M?

A: No. In the two shared head-to-head tests, the GTX 1070 wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in direct comparisons.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 uses the GP104 chip built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 16 nm process node. The AMD FirePro W5170M uses the Tropo chip based on GCN 1.0, also produced by TSMC but on a 28 nm process. The process node difference is substantial: 16 nm versus 28 nm, which directly impacts transistor density. The GTX 1070 packs 7,200 million transistors into a die size of 314 mm², yielding a density of 22.9M transistors per mm². The FirePro W5170M, in contrast, contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 12.2M per mm². The Pascal part nearly doubles the transistor density of the older GCN design.

The compute resources also differ sharply. The GTX 1070 has 1,920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The FirePro W5170M has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. That is three times the shading units, three times the TMUs, and four times the ROPs on the NVIDIA side. The pixel rate tells the same story: 107.7 GPixel/s for the GTX 1070 versus 14.80 GPixel/s for the FirePro W5170M. Texture rate follows with 202.0 GTexel/s against 37.00 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is 6.463 TFLOPS (FP32) for the GTX 1070 versus 1,184.0 GFLOPS for the AMD part. The GTX 1070 also lists FP16 performance at 101.0 GFLOPS with a 1:64 ratio, while the FirePro W5170M has no recorded FP16 figure.

Memory architecture differs as well. The GTX 1070 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro W5170M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, for 72.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has four times the memory capacity and roughly 3.5 times the bandwidth. API support shows the GTX 1070 with DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The FirePro W5170M lists DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 1070 has a higher feature level for DirectX and a newer Vulkan version. The FirePro W5170M belongs to the FirePro Mobile (Wx100M) generation, while the GTX 1070 comes from the GeForce 10-series, with a release date of June 2016 for the NVIDIA part and August 2014 for the AMD part.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification gap is in memory. The GTX 1070 carries 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro W5170M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s. Clock speeds also differ: the GTX 1070 runs at 1506 MHz base and 1683 MHz boost, with memory at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The FirePro W5170M runs at 900 MHz base and 925 MHz boost, with memory at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card's boost clock is nearly double the AMD card's base clock.

The physical and power profiles diverge completely. The GTX 1070 has a TDP of 150 W, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and recommends a 450 W power supply. It is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with display outputs of 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The FirePro W5170M has no recorded TDP, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU figure. It is an MXM Module with an MXM-A (3.0) bus interface, and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The GTX 1070 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the FirePro W5170M uses the MXM-A form factor, reflecting its mobile workstation positioning.

Other differences include the process node (16 nm versus 28 nm), transistor count (7,200 million versus 1,500 million), die size (314 mm² versus 123 mm²), and transistor density (22.9M versus 12.2M per mm²). The GTX 1070 has a launch MSRP of 379 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the FirePro W5170M. The NVIDIA part's predecessor is the GeForce 900 series and its successor is the GeForce 20 series. The AMD part's predecessor is FirePro Mobility and its successor is Radeon Pro Mobile. Both are end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins every category where comparison data exists. In raw compute, the Geekbench OpenCL result of 44,700 versus 8,140 represents a 449.1% lead, making the GTX 1070 the only sensible choice for OpenCL-heavy workloads. In Vulkan, the 144.4% advantage (22,121 versus 9,050) shows the GTX 1070 also dominates modern graphics API performance. The GTX 1070's higher pixel rate (107.7 GPixel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s), texture rate (202.0 GTexel/s versus 37.00 GTexel/s), and FP32 throughput (6.463 TFLOPS versus 1,184.0 GFLOPS) reinforce this pattern across the board. Memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s means the GTX 1070 can feed its larger 8 GB frame buffer at a much higher rate, which matters for large textures and high resolutions.

The AMD FirePro W5170M does not win any recorded benchmark. Its only advantage is form factor: it is an MXM Module with no power connectors and "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs, making it a mobile workstation part. The GTX 1070 is a dual-slot desktop card requiring an 8-pin connector and a 450 W PSU. For a portable workstation scenario, the FirePro W5170M's MXM-A (3.0) interface might be the only option that fits, but in pure performance terms the database shows no scenario where the AMD part comes out ahead. The FirePro W5170M's nearest rivals are lower-tier parts like the Intel Arc A380 and the NVIDIA GeForce MX330, whereas the GTX 1070's rivals are the FirePro W5000 and Quadro M2000M, a higher performance tier.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 outperforms the AMD FirePro W5170M in every shared benchmark, with deltas of 449.1% in OpenCL and 144.4% in Vulkan. The GTX 1070 also has a higher average benchmark score (9,780 versus 8,595), a higher percentile ranking (47th versus 44th), and a superior specification sheet in memory capacity, bandwidth, shading units, TMUs, ROPs, clock speeds, and process node. Users who need maximum compute performance, especially in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, should pick the GTX 1070 without hesitation.

The FirePro W5170M's only appeal is its form factor. As an MXM module with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent outputs, it fits into mobile workstations where a dual-slot desktop card like the GTX 1070 (267 mm long, 40 mm wide, 150 W TDP) cannot be installed. For a laptop replacement or a compact mobile workstation that must use an MXM-A slot, the FirePro W5170M is the only one of the two that physically applies. But the performance gap is so large that anyone with the option to use the GTX 1070 should do so. The data shows a clear tier separation: the GTX 1070 competes with desktop workstation cards like the FirePro W5000 and Quadro M2000M, while the FirePro W5170M sits alongside entry-level parts like the MX330 and HD 8870M. Choose the GTX 1070 for performance, or the FirePro W5170M only when the MXM form factor is a hard requirement.