AMD FirePro W7000 vs AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison shows a clear overall winner: the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP. It wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks, with a 66.6% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 75.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The RX 580 2048SP also holds a higher average benchmark score of 23061 compared to the FirePro W7000's 19905, a difference of roughly 15.8%. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 68, versus 65 for the FirePro W7000. For any user prioritizing raw compute performance in the recorded tests, the RX 580 2048SP is the data-backed choice.

The AMD FirePro W7000, however, is not without merit. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (0.7% behind), the AMD FirePro D300 (1.4% behind), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (1.5% behind). This places it in a competitive mid-range bracket for its generation. It also offers a single-slot form factor and four DisplayPort outputs, which may appeal to specific workstation setups that prioritize board layout over peak performance.

For the RX 580 2048SP, its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc B580 (0.2% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.5% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.7% ahead), and the NVIDIA P106-100 (0.8% behind). This clustering suggests the RX 580 2048SP sits in a performance tier that includes some much newer and more expensive hardware, which is notable given its older Polaris architecture.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 580 2048SP wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads as measured by Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan. The OpenCL score of 29668 versus 17808 represents a 66.6% advantage, while the Vulkan score of 38666 versus 22001 represents a 75.7% advantage. These are substantial margins, indicating that the RX 580 2048SP is the stronger card for general-purpose compute, GPU-accelerated rendering, and modern graphics APIs.

The FirePro W7000 wins in the domain of physical design. It is a single-slot card, whereas the RX 580 2048SP is dual-slot. It also provides four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, which is more than the RX 580 2048SP's combination of one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. For multi-display workstation configurations where slot spacing and output count matter, the FirePro W7000 has a structural advantage. Its power connector is also simpler: a single 6-pin versus the RX 580 2048SP's single 8-pin.

The FirePro W7000 also has a lower memory clock at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) compared to the RX 580 2048SP's 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective), but both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. The RX 580 2048SP's memory bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s for the FirePro W7000, a 45.8% difference that contributes to its compute advantage.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different generations of the same Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. The RX 580 2048SP uses GCN 4.0 with the Polaris 20 chip, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The FirePro W7000 uses GCN 1.0 with the Pitcairn chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This node difference explains a significant portion of the performance gap: the RX 580 2048SP packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, while the FirePro W7000 holds 2,800 million transistors in a 212 mm² die. The resulting transistor density is 24.6 million per mm² for the RX 580 2048SP versus 13.2 million per mm² for the FirePro W7000.

The shading engine configuration also differs. The RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro W7000 has 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. This gives the RX 580 2048SP 60% more shading units and 60% more TMUs, while the ROP count stays identical. In terms of throughput, the RX 580 2048SP delivers 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, whereas the FirePro W7000 delivers 2.432 TFLOPS. The RX 580 2048SP also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (5.259 TFLOPS), while the FirePro W7000 has no listed FP16 capability.

API support differs as well. The RX 580 2048SP supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The FirePro W7000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The newer Vulkan version and higher DirectX feature level on the RX 580 2048SP align with its stronger Vulkan benchmark result.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average benchmark score of 23061, while the AMD FirePro W7000 has an average score of 19905. This places the RX 580 2048SP in the 68th percentile of all GPUs and the FirePro W7000 in the 65th percentile.

Q: How much faster is the RX 580 2048SP in OpenCL?

A: The RX 580 2048SP scores 29668 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to 17808 for the FirePro W7000. This is a 66.6% advantage for the RX 580 2048SP.

Q: Does the FirePro W7000 have any physical advantages?

A: Yes. The FirePro W7000 is a single-slot card with four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The RX 580 2048SP is dual-slot and provides one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: Both cards have 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. The RX 580 2048SP runs its memory at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro W7000 runs at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) for 153.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card is more power-hungry?

A: Both cards have a TDP of 150 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The RX 580 2048SP uses a single 8-pin power connector, while the FirePro W7000 uses a single 6-pin connector.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card in the database?

A: For the RX 580 2048SP, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc B580 (0.2% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.5% behind), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.7% ahead), and NVIDIA P106-100 (0.8% behind). For the FirePro W7000, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (0.1% ahead), AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (0.7% behind), AMD FirePro D300 (1.4% behind), and NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (1.5% behind).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data covers two tests, and the RX 580 2048SP wins both. The first test is Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 580 2048SP scores 29668 and the FirePro W7000 scores 17808. The delta is 66.6% in favor of the RX 580 2048SP. This is a substantial gap that reflects the underlying hardware differences: the RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units versus 1280, and 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 2.432 TFLOPS. The OpenCL workload appears to scale well with shading unit count and raw FP32 throughput.

The second test is Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 580 2048SP scores 38666 and the FirePro W7000 scores 22001. The delta is 75.7%, an even larger margin than the OpenCL result. The RX 580 2048SP's Vulkan 1.3 support, compared to the FirePro W7000's Vulkan 1.2.170, may contribute to this result, as newer API versions often include optimizations for modern driver stacks and hardware features. The higher memory bandwidth of the RX 580 2048SP (224.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s) also likely plays a role in Vulkan workloads, which can be memory-bandwidth sensitive.

The largest single win for the RX 580 2048SP is in Vulkan, where the 75.7% lead exceeds the 66.6% OpenCL lead. This suggests that the RX 580 2048SP's architectural advantages, including its newer GCN 4.0 design and higher clock speeds (base 1168 MHz, boost 1284 MHz, versus no listed base or boost clocks for the FirePro W7000), translate especially well to modern graphics API workloads. The FirePro W7000 has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data, so its strengths are confined to physical form factor and display output flexibility rather than benchmark performance.

The avgBenchmarkScore values align with the head-to-head results. The RX 580 2048SP averages 23061 across its recorded benchmarks, while the FirePro W7000 averages 19905. The RX 580 2048SP's nearest rival, the Intel Arc B580, sits only 0.2% ahead at 23021, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 0.5% behind at 23172. This tight clustering indicates that the RX 580 2048SP performs in a league with much more modern cards. The FirePro W7000's nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, is only 0.1% ahead at 19885, and the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is 0.7% behind at 19765, placing the FirePro W7000 in a lower performance bracket.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The process node is 14 nm for the RX 580 2048SP versus 28 nm for the FirePro W7000. The RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, while the FirePro W7000 uses the Pitcairn chip with GCN 1.0. Transistor count is 5,700 million versus 2,800 million, and die size is 232 mm² versus 212 mm². Transistor density is 24.6 million per mm² versus 13.2 million per mm².

Clock speeds differ significantly. The RX 580 2048SP has a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1284 MHz. The FirePro W7000 has no listed base or boost clock. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the RX 580 2048SP versus 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) for the FirePro W7000. Memory bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s.

Compute resources differ as well. The RX 580 2048SP has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro W7000 has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Pixel rate is 41.09 GPixel/s versus 30.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 164.4 GTexel/s versus 76.00 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 5.259 TFLOPS versus 2.432 TFLOPS. FP16 is 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1) for the RX 580 2048SP, with no listed FP16 for the FirePro W7000.

The slot width differs: dual-slot for the RX 580 2048SP, single-slot for the FirePro W7000. Power connectors are 1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin, though both share a 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 580 2048SP, versus 4x DisplayPort 1.2 for the FirePro W7000. API support differs in DirectX (12_0 versus 11_1) and Vulkan (1.3 versus 1.2.170), but both support OpenGL 4.6. The RX 580 2048SP is 241 mm long, while the FirePro W7000 is 242 mm long and 111 mm tall. The RX 580 2048SP released on 2018-10-14, while the FirePro W7000 released on 2012-06-12. The FirePro W7000 has a recorded launch MSRP of 899 USD.