AMD FirePro W7000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Comparison

The AMD FirePro W7000 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA card across every shared benchmark, but the older AMD workstation card still holds relevance in specific legacy contexts. The RTX 2070 delivers roughly 4.5 times the OpenCL performance and 3.75 times the Vulkan performance of the FirePro W7000, making it the clear choice for anyone prioritizing raw compute power. However, the FirePro W7000 occupies a distinct niche as a single-slot, lower-power workstation solution that may appeal to users with specific form factor or compatibility requirements.

The Verdict

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 wins both head-to-head tests against the AMD FirePro W7000, and wins them by massive margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2070 scores 79,966 versus the FirePro W7000’s 17,808, a 77.7% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap is similarly stark: 82,521 versus 22,001, a 73.3% lead. The RTX 2070 also carries a higher average benchmark score of 18,789 compared to the FirePro W7000’s 19,905, though this is misleading—the average includes different test suites, and the head-to-head results tell the real story.

Who should pick which? The RTX 2070 is the obvious choice for any workload involving modern APIs, ray tracing, or high-resolution compute. Its 36 RT cores and 288 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware that the FirePro W7000 lacks entirely. The FirePro W7000, by contrast, is only defensible in situations where its single-slot form factor and 150 W TDP are absolute requirements, or where legacy DisplayPort 1.2 outputs are needed. Its 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs is actually higher than the RTX 2070’s 63rd percentile, but this reflects the broader benchmark pool, not direct performance. For nearly all users, the RTX 2070 is the superior product.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two cards is profound. The FirePro W7000 uses the Pitcairn chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 28 nm process. It packs 2,800 million transistors into a 212 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2 million per square millimeter. The RTX 2070, in contrast, uses the TU106 chip on NVIDIA’s Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process. It contains 10,800 million transistors across a 445 mm² die, achieving 24.3 million transistors per square millimeter—nearly double the density.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The FirePro W7000 ships with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth at 4.8 Gbps effective. The RTX 2070 offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus width but achieves 448.0 GB/s—nearly three times the bandwidth—at 14 Gbps effective. The RTX 2070’s memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, compared to the FirePro W7000’s 1200 MHz.

Compute resources tell a similar story of generational leap. The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2070 nearly doubles those figures with 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Crucially, the RTX 2070 adds 36 RT cores and 288 tensor cores, dedicated hardware for real-time ray tracing and AI acceleration that simply does not exist on the older AMD card. The RTX 2070’s pixel rate of 103.7 GPixel/s dwarfs the FirePro W7000’s 30.40 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 233.3 GTexel/s is more than triple the older card’s 76.00 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 7.465 TFLOPS versus 2.432 TFLOPS, and the RTX 2070 adds 14.93 TFLOPS of FP16 via 2:1 ratio, a capability the FirePro W7000 lacks entirely.

The API support reflects the respective eras. The FirePro W7000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer NVIDIA card also offers more modern display outputs: one DVI, one HDMI 2.0, two DisplayPort 1.4a, and one USB Type-C, versus the FirePro W7000’s four DisplayPort 1.2 connections.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head benchmarks paint a consistent picture of NVIDIA dominance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2070 scores 79,966 against the FirePro W7000’s 17,808. That is a delta of -77.7% from the AMD card’s perspective, meaning the RTX 2070 outperforms the FirePro W7000 by roughly 4.49 times. This result aligns with the raw compute specifications: the RTX 2070’s 7.465 TFLOPS FP32 and 448 GB/s bandwidth versus the FirePro W7000’s 2.432 TFLOPS and 153.6 GB/s.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an even wider absolute gap. The RTX 2070 posts 82,521, while the FirePro W7000 manages 22,001, a 73.3% delta. The RTX 2070’s Vulkan 1.4 support and dedicated RT/tensor cores likely contribute to this result, though the benchmark itself is compute-focused. Notably, the FirePro W7000’s Vulkan score of 22,001 is higher than its OpenCL score of 17,808, suggesting the older GCN architecture handles Vulkan’s low-level command processing reasonably well relative to its own OpenCL performance. However, neither score approaches the RTX 2070’s output.

The RTX 2070 wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record in the winsA/winsB tally. There are no benchmark categories where the FirePro W7000 emerges victorious. The FirePro W7000’s nearest rivals in the overall database—the NVIDIA Tesla K40m at 19,885 (0.1% delta) and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT at 19,765 (0.7% delta)—highlight its positioning among mid-range GPUs from its era. The RTX 2070, meanwhile, sits near the NVIDIA Tesla K80 at 18,866 (-0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT at 18,685 (0.6% delta), placing it in a different performance tier entirely.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 dominates, delivering 7.465 TFLOPS FP32 and 14.93 TFLOPS FP16, compared to the AMD FirePro W7000’s 2.432 TFLOPS FP32 with no FP16 capability.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the AMD FirePro W7000 wins?

A: No. In the two head-to-head tests available—Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan—the RTX 2070 wins both, with deltas of -77.7% and -73.3% respectively.

Q: What are the memory differences between these cards?

A: The FirePro W7000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 2070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 256-bit bus.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 support ray tracing hardware?

A: Yes, it includes 36 dedicated RT cores and 288 tensor cores. The FirePro W7000 has no such hardware, as it predates ray tracing acceleration.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The FirePro W7000 has a 150 W TDP and uses a 6-pin power connector, while the RTX 2070 has a 175 W TDP and requires an 8-pin connector. Both recommend a 450 W power supply.

Q: Which card is physically larger?

A: The FirePro W7000 is a single-slot card measuring 242 mm in length, while the RTX 2070 is dual-slot, measuring 229 mm in length, 113 mm in height, and 35 mm in width.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 wins in every measurable performance category, but the nature of those wins varies. Its greatest advantage lies in compute-heavy workloads like OpenCL and Vulkan, where its 3.07 times higher shading unit count and 2.92 times higher memory bandwidth produce the 77.7% and 73.3% deltas seen in the benchmarks. The RTX 2070 also wins decisively on features: DirectX 12 Ultimate support, Vulkan 1.4, ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and FP16 compute are all absent from the older AMD card. For gaming, 3D rendering, AI inference, or any modern GPU compute task, the RTX 2070 is categorically superior.

The AMD FirePro W7000 wins only on physical and power characteristics. Its single-slot design, 150 W TDP, and 6-pin power connector make it easier to integrate into space-constrained or power-limited systems. Its four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs may be preferable for certain multi-display workstation setups that require that specific connector type. The card also has a higher percentile ranking (65th versus 63rd) among all GPUs in the database, though this reflects its average score of 19,905 across a different benchmark suite that includes no head-to-head wins. Its 2,800 million transistor count on a 28 nm process means it produces less heat density than the RTX 2070’s 10,800 million transistors on 12 nm, though the RTX 2070 still manages a lower TDP per transistor.

For users with legacy software that requires GCN 1.0 architecture or specific DisplayPort 1.2 signaling, the FirePro W7000 remains a functional option. Its launch MSRP was 899 USD, compared to the RTX 2070’s 499 USD, though both cards are now end-of-life products. The RTX 2070’s successor, the GeForce 30 series, and the FirePro W7000’s successor, Radeon Pro Polaris, indicate that both product lines have moved on. Ultimately, the data supports only one conclusion: the RTX 2070 is the superior performer in every shared test, and the FirePro W7000’s advantages are limited to physical form factor and legacy connectivity.