AMD FirePro W7000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes only two directly comparable benchmark tests between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and the AMD FirePro W7000, and the results are decisively one-sided. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2080 scores 91,313 against the FirePro W7000's 17,808, a delta of 412.8%. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a fivefold performance gap in raw compute throughput as measured by this workload. The Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RTX 2080 posting 107,797 versus 22,001, a 390% advantage. Both wins belong to the NVIDIA card, giving it a clean 2-0 record in the head-to-head suite.

Context from the database's broader averages reinforces the scale of the gap. The RTX 2080 carries an average benchmark score of 22,895 across all recorded tests, while the FirePro W7000 averages 19,905. That is a 15% overall difference, but the head-to-head deltas are far larger, which suggests the two cards diverge most sharply in compute-oriented and modern API workloads. The RTX 2080's nearest rivals in the database, such as the Intel Arc B580 at 23,021 (-0.5% relative to the RTX 2080) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP at 23,061 (-0.7%), sit very close to its average, indicating the RTX 2080 is competitively placed within its own performance tier. The FirePro W7000, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (19,885, +0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (19,765, +0.7%), a much lower performance neighborhood.

The percentile rankings tell a nuanced story. The RTX 2080 sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the FirePro W7000 sits at the 65th percentile. Despite the enormous head-to-head deltas, the percentile gap is only three points, which indicates that the FirePro W7000 still outperforms a majority of the database's GPU population, even if it is thoroughly outclassed by the RTX 2080. The FirePro W7000's nearest rivals are professional and workstation-class cards, including the AMD FirePro D300 (19,637, +1.4%) and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19,602, +1.5%), which suggests its performance profile aligns more with older workstation parts than with modern consumer gaming hardware.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 wins with a score of 91,313 against the AMD FirePro W7000's 17,808, a delta of 412.8%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX 2080 scores 107,797, while the FirePro W7000 scores 22,001, giving the NVIDIA card a 390% advantage in this test.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The RTX 2080 has an average benchmark score of 22,895 across all recorded tests, and the FirePro W7000 averages 19,905.

Q: How do these cards rank against all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 2080 is at the 68th percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W7000 is at the 65th percentile.

Q: Which cards are the closest competitors to each model based on average score?

A: For the RTX 2080, the closest rivals are the Intel Arc B580 (23,021, -0.5%), the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23,061, -0.7%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22,729, +0.7%). For the FirePro W7000, the closest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (19,885, +0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (19,765, +0.7%), and the AMD FirePro D300 (19,637, +1.4%).

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and the AMD FirePro W7000 are listed as end-of-life products in the database.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is the superior performer in every directly comparable measurement. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 412.8% higher, and its Vulkan score is 390% higher. For any workload that relies on compute performance or modern graphics APIs, the RTX 2080 is the clear choice. Its 68th percentile ranking, while not dramatically higher than the FirePro W7000's 65th, still places it above its rival in the overall distribution of all GPUs.

The AMD FirePro W7000 is not without merit, but its strengths lie outside the measured head-to-head tests. It posts an average benchmark score of 19,905, which places it in the company of workstation cards like the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 and the AMD FirePro D300. For users who specifically need a single-slot card with multiple DisplayPort outputs, the FirePro W7000 offers a form factor and display configuration that the RTX 2080 does not: the FirePro W7000 is single-slot with 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the RTX 2080 is dual-slot with 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. However, in raw performance terms, the RTX 2080 dominates.

The RTX 2080 should be the pick for anyone prioritizing compute throughput, modern API support, or gaming performance. The FirePro W7000 may still be relevant for legacy workstation environments that value its specific output configuration and lower power draw, but the benchmark data offers no performance scenario where it outpaces the RTX 2080.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The RTX 2080 uses a 12 nm process with 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, while the FirePro W7000 uses a 28 nm process with 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die. Transistor density is 25.0M per mm² for the RTX 2080 versus 13.2M per mm² for the FirePro W7000.

Memory configurations diverge substantially. The RTX 2080 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro W7000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 2080's memory clock is listed at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective, while the FirePro W7000's memory clock is 1200 MHz with 4.8 Gbps effective.

Compute resources follow the same pattern. The RTX 2080 has 2,944 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 46 ray tracing cores, and 368 tensor cores. The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores listed. Pixel rate is 109.4 GPixel/s for the RTX 2080 versus 30.40 GPixel/s for the FirePro W7000. Texture rate is 314.6 GTexel/s versus 76.00 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 10.07 TFLOPS versus 2.432 TFLOPS. The RTX 2080 also lists FP16 performance of 20.14 TFLOPS (2:1), while the FirePro W7000 has no recorded FP16 figure.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The RTX 2080 has a 215 W TDP, requires a 550 W suggested PSU, uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, and is dual-slot with dimensions of 267 mm length, 116 mm height, and 35 mm width. The FirePro W7000 has a 150 W TDP, requires a 450 W suggested PSU, uses a single 6-pin connector, and is single-slot with 242 mm length and 111 mm height. Display outputs differ as well: the RTX 2080 offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the FirePro W7000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.2.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is generational. The RTX 2080 is built on NVIDIA's Turing architecture, using the TU104 chip, and belongs to the GeForce 20-series. The FirePro W7000 uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture on the Pitcairn chip, belonging to the FirePro GCN (Wx000) generation. The RTX 2080 was released on 2018-09-19, while the FirePro W7000 was released on 2012-06-12, a gap of roughly six years.

API support reflects the architectural gap. The RTX 2080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The FirePro W7000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2080's inclusion of dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores is a defining architectural feature absent from the FirePro W7000 entirely, which lists no such hardware.

Both cards use the same PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface and are produced by TSMC, but the manufacturing process differs: 12 nm for the RTX 2080 versus 28 nm for the FirePro W7000. The transistor counts are starkly different, 13,600 million versus 2,800 million, and the die sizes are 545 mm² versus 212 mm². The RTX 2080's predecessor is the GeForce 10 series and its successor is the GeForce 30 series. The FirePro W7000's predecessor is the FirePro Terascale line and its successor is the Radeon Pro Polaris line. Both cards are end-of-life, but the RTX 2080 carries a launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the FirePro W7000 carried a launch MSRP of 899 USD.