AMD FirePro W7000 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a clear picture: the AMD FirePro W7000 wins both benchmark comparisons against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the FirePro W7000 scores 17,808, while the GTX 690 trails at 17,399. That is a modest 2.4% advantage for the AMD card, a margin that suggests near parity in general compute workloads. The Vulkan test tells a very different story. There, the FirePro W7000 achieves 22,001 points, a commanding 31.9% lead over the GTX 690's 16,675. This is not a close contest; it is a decisive gap in API-specific performance.

Looking at the broader database context, the FirePro W7000's average benchmark score is 19,905, placing it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 690's average is 17,037, which sits at the 60th percentile. The difference in average scores, roughly 2,868 points, aligns with the head-to-head results. The FirePro W7000's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla K40m at 19,885 (0.1% away), the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT at 19,765 (0.7% away), and the AMD FirePro D300 at 19,637 (1.4% away). The GTX 690, in contrast, is bracketed by the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17,019 (0.1% away) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 at 17,208 (1% away). These rival clusters show that the FirePro W7000 competes in a higher performance tier than the GTX 690, despite both being end-of-life products from the same era.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark wins are exclusively in favor of the AMD FirePro W7000, with two wins and zero for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690. The Vulkan result is the standout, as a 31.9% delta is substantial in any comparison. This suggests the FirePro W7000 has significantly better driver optimization or architectural efficiency for Vulkan workloads. The OpenCL result, while a win, is marginal at 2.4%, indicating that in traditional compute tasks, the two cards are nearly interchangeable.

For the GTX 690, the data offers no victories to highlight. Its Vulkan score of 16,675 is notably lower than its OpenCL score of 17,399, which is unusual since Vulkan typically scales well on modern architectures. This may point to a weakness in the Kepler architecture's Vulkan implementation or driver support. In contrast, the FirePro W7000's Vulkan score of 22,001 exceeds its OpenCL score of 17,808, suggesting that the GCN 1.0 architecture handles Vulkan's explicit control model more effectively. If a workload relies on Vulkan, the FirePro W7000 is the clear choice. For OpenCL-based tasks, either card would perform similarly, but the FirePro W7000 still holds a slight edge.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The AMD FirePro W7000 uses the Pitcairn chip based on GCN 1.0, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 uses the GK104 chip based on Kepler. Both are manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts diverge significantly. The FirePro W7000 has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 13.2 million per mm². The GTX 690 packs 3,540 million transistors onto a 294 mm² die, yielding a lower density of 12.0 million per mm². This means the GTX 690 has more transistors overall, but the FirePro W7000 uses its available area more efficiently.

The shading unit counts differ as well. The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, while the GTX 690 has 1,536. The GTX 690 also has more texture mapping units (128 versus 80), but both have 32 ROPs. Clock speeds are another differentiator. The GTX 690 has a base clock of 915 MHz and a boost clock of 1,019 MHz, while the FirePro W7000's base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database. Memory clocks show the GTX 690 at 1,502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), compared to the FirePro W7000's 1,200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective). The GTX 690's memory bandwidth of 192.3 GB/s exceeds the FirePro W7000's 153.6 GB/s, which is expected given the higher clock and same 256-bit bus width.

The API support reveals another split. The FirePro W7000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 690 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Vulkan version is slightly newer on the NVIDIA card, yet its Vulkan performance lags badly, suggesting the architecture itself is the limiting factor. Both cards lack ray tracing and tensor cores, as those features were not present in this generation.

Specification Differences

The physical and power characteristics diverge sharply. The AMD FirePro W7000 has a TDP of 150 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 draws 300 W, exactly double. The FirePro W7000 is a single-slot card with a single 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The GTX 690 is a dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin connectors and a 700 W PSU. This makes the FirePro W7000 far easier to integrate into a system, both in terms of power delivery and physical space.

Memory configurations also differ. The FirePro W7000 has 4 GB of GDDR5, while the GTX 690 has 2 GB. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the GTX 690's higher memory clock gives it more bandwidth (192.3 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s). The FirePro W7000's larger capacity is a clear advantage for memory-intensive workloads, even if the raw bandwidth is lower.

Display outputs are another contrast. The FirePro W7000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the GTX 690 provides 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The FirePro W7000's all-DisplayPort setup is more modern and suited for multi-monitor professional setups. Dimensions show the FirePro W7000 at 242 mm length and 111 mm height, while the GTX 690 is longer at 279 mm, with the same 111 mm height and a 38 mm width. The FirePro W7000 is the more compact card. The GTX 690 does have a higher FP32 performance at 3.130 TFLOPS versus the FirePro W7000's 2.432 TFLOPS, and a higher texture rate at 130.4 GTexel/s versus 76.00 GTexel/s, but the pixel rates are close at 32.61 GPixel/s versus 30.40 GPixel/s.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better OpenCL performance?

A: The AMD FirePro W7000 scores 17,808 in OpenCL, a 2.4% lead over the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690's 17,399.

Q: How significant is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: The FirePro W7000 scores 22,001 in Vulkan, which is 31.9% higher than the GTX 690's 16,675, a very large margin.

Q: Do both cards use the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes, both are built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the FirePro W7000 uses the Pitcairn chip (GCN 1.0) while the GTX 690 uses GK104 (Kepler).

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The FirePro W7000 has a 150 W TDP with a single 6-pin connector, while the GTX 690 has a 300 W TDP requiring two 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has more memory capacity?

A: The FirePro W7000 has 4 GB of GDDR5, double the GTX 690's 2 GB, though the GTX 690 has higher memory bandwidth at 192.3 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s.

Q: Are these cards still relevant in the current market?

A: Both are marked as end-of-life. The FirePro W7000 sits at the 65th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 690 is at the 60th percentile, so the AMD card ranks slightly higher.

The Verdict

The data points to the AMD FirePro W7000 as the stronger card in almost every measured category. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, has a higher average score, a higher percentile ranking, and doubles the memory capacity. Its 31.9% Vulkan advantage is the single most decisive figure in this comparison, making it the obvious pick for any Vulkan-based workload. The lower TDP of 150 W also makes it easier to deploy in dense systems or those with limited power budgets.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is not without merits. Its higher FP32 throughput (3.130 TFLOPS), faster texture rate, and greater memory bandwidth could benefit specific compute tasks, but the benchmark data does not show these advantages translating into wins. The lack of any head-to-head victory, combined with the 60th percentile ranking, places it behind the FirePro W7000 in the database's performance hierarchy.

For professional or workstation use, particularly with Vulkan or memory-heavy applications, the FirePro W7000 is the recommended choice. For legacy OpenCL workloads, the two cards are close, but the FirePro W7000 still holds a slight edge. The GTX 690's higher power draw and dual-slot design are additional drawbacks. Based strictly on recorded benchmarks and specifications, the AMD FirePro W7000 is the superior option.