AMD FirePro W7000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark data contains only two shared head-to-head tests, both of which are decisively won by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the FirePro W7000 scores 17,808 while the RTX 3060 Mobile reaches 79,483, a delta of -77.6% in favor of the NVIDIA part. The margin is enormous, representing roughly 4.5 times the raw score. In Geekbench Vulkan, the pattern repeats: the FirePro W7000 manages 22,001, while the RTX 3060 Mobile posts 80,344, a delta of -72.6%. The NVIDIA GPU is again close to 3.7 times faster in this API workload.

The overall win count confirms this imbalance: the FirePro W7000 records zero wins across the shared tests, while the RTX 3060 Mobile takes both. The average benchmark score for the FirePro W7000 is 19,905 against 18,159 for the RTX 3060 Mobile, which seems contradictory given the head-to-head results. This is explained by the fact that the FirePro W7000's average is derived from only two benchmarks, both OpenCL and Vulkan, whereas the RTX 3060 Mobile has ten benchmarks in the database, including several Passmark tests that score much lower in absolute terms. The Passmark DirectX 9 score of 146, DirectX 10 score of 90, DirectX 11 score of 110, and DirectX 12 score of 58 pull the average down significantly. The GeForce G3D score of 13,230 and GPU compute score of 5,718 are more representative of its gaming and compute performance, but the mix of low-level API tests drags the arithmetic mean.

The percentile rankings tell a similar story from a different angle. The FirePro W7000 sits at the 65th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 3060 Mobile sits at the 62nd percentile. Despite the massive head-to-head losses, the FirePro W7000's percentile is slightly higher because its two benchmark scores are both relatively strong for their respective tests, while the RTX 3060 Mobile's Passmark results include several very low scores that place it in a lower overall position. The nearest rivals for each card reinforce this context: the FirePro W7000's closest competitor is the NVIDIA Tesla K40m at 19,885 average score, a delta of only 0.1%, followed by the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT at 19,765 (0.7% delta), the AMD FirePro D300 at 19,637 (1.4% delta), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 at 19,602 (1.5% delta). The RTX 3060 Mobile's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 at 18,189 (-0.2% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER at 18,093 (0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 460 at 18,373 (-1.2% delta), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18,383 (-1.2% delta). These rival clusters show that the FirePro W7000, despite its age, holds its own against much newer professional GPUs in the database's aggregate scoring, while the RTX 3060 Mobile sits in a slightly lower aggregate tier.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different eras and design philosophies. The AMD FirePro W7000 uses the Pitcairn chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2,800 million transistors into a 212 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile uses the GA106 chip on Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, for a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The density difference is stark: the RTX 3060 Mobile fits more than three times as many transistors per square millimeter, reflecting the massive process node advantage.

The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The NVIDIA GPU also has 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, features completely absent from the FirePro W7000. These dedicated hardware units enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based tensor operations, capabilities the older AMD card cannot offer. The pixel rate for the FirePro W7000 is 30.40 GPixel/s, while the RTX 3060 Mobile reaches 68.40 GPixel/s. The texture rate is 76.00 GTexel/s for the FirePro W7000 and 171.0 GTexel/s for the RTX 3060 Mobile. FP32 throughput is 2.432 TFLOPS for the AMD card and 10.94 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card, a 4.5 times advantage. The RTX 3060 Mobile also has FP16 performance at 10.94 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the FirePro W7000 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory configurations diverge significantly. The FirePro W7000 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA part has more capacity and more than double the bandwidth despite the narrower bus. Memory clocks are 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) for the AMD card and 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA card. The RTX 3060 Mobile has a base clock of 900 MHz and a boost clock of 1425 MHz, while the FirePro W7000 has no base or boost clock listed in the database.

Power and interface differences are equally pronounced. The FirePro W7000 is a single-slot card with a 150 W TDP, one 6-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 450 W. It uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 3060 Mobile has an 80 W TDP, no power connectors (it is a mobile part), and uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The display outputs differ as well: the FirePro W7000 has 4x DisplayPort 1.2, while the RTX 3060 Mobile's outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its laptop-oriented design. API support also differs: the FirePro W7000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RTX 3060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card supports the newer DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. The RTX 3060 Mobile was released on 2021-01-11, while the FirePro W7000 was released on 2012-06-12. Both are end-of-life, but the FirePro W7000's predecessor is FirePro Terascale and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris, while the RTX 3060 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile and it has no listed successor.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for raw performance: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is dramatically faster in both shared benchmarks. The Geekbench OpenCL delta of -77.6% and the Geekbench Vulkan delta of -72.6% mean the RTX 3060 Mobile is between roughly 3.7 and 4.5 times faster than the FirePro W7000 in these workloads. The architecture comparison reinforces this: the RTX 3060 Mobile has three times the shading units, more than double the texture rate, more than double the pixel rate, 4.5 times the FP32 throughput, and more than double the memory bandwidth. It also has RT cores and tensor cores that the FirePro W7000 lacks entirely.

The FirePro W7000's only advantages in the recorded data are its higher percentile ranking (65th vs 62nd) and its higher average benchmark score (19,905 vs 18,159). These are aggregate statistics that include different benchmark suites, so they do not reflect direct competition. The FirePro W7000's nearest rivals cluster around the 19,600 to 19,900 average score range, while the RTX 3060 Mobile's rivals cluster around the 18,100 to 18,400 range. In the database's overall ranking, the FirePro W7000 sits slightly above the RTX 3060 Mobile, but this is a consequence of benchmark mix rather than actual performance parity.

For professional workloads using OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX 3060 Mobile is the clear choice based on the recorded data. The FirePro W7000 may be relevant for legacy compatibility with GCN 1.0-specific software or for systems requiring a single-slot PCIe 3.0 card with four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, but the performance gap is too large to recommend it for any compute-intensive task. The RTX 3060 Mobile's 80 W TDP versus 150 W TDP also makes it far more power-efficient per unit of performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD FirePro W7000 has an average benchmark score of 19,905, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile has an average of 18,159.

Q: What is the performance difference in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79,483 against the FirePro W7000's 17,808, a delta of -77.6% in favor of the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the FirePro W7000 support ray tracing?

A: No. The FirePro W7000 has no RT cores, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has 30 RT cores.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The FirePro W7000 has 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth from 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 336.0 GB/s from 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has a transistor density of 43.5M per mm², while the FirePro W7000 has 13.2M per mm².

Q: What is the difference in TDP?

A: The FirePro W7000 has a TDP of 150 W, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has a TDP of 80 W.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile wins every shared benchmark in the database. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 79,483 versus 17,808, and in Geekbench Vulkan it scores 80,344 versus 22,001. The RTX 3060 Mobile also wins on every architectural metric: more shading units (3,840 vs 1,280), more TMUs (120 vs 80), more ROPs (48 vs 32), higher pixel rate (68.40 GPixel/s vs 30.40 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (171.0 GTexel/s vs 76.00 GTexel/s), higher FP32 throughput (10.94 TFLOPS vs 2.432 TFLOPS), higher memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s vs 153.6 GB/s), and more VRAM (6 GB vs 4 GB). It also has RT cores and tensor cores that the FirePro W7000 completely lacks.

The AMD FirePro W7000 wins only in aggregate statistics: its percentile ranking is higher (65th vs 62nd), and its average benchmark score is higher (19,905 vs 18,159). It also has a higher launch MSRP of 899 USD, though this is not a performance metric. The FirePro W7000's nearest rivals include professional cards like the NVIDIA Tesla K40m and AMD FirePro D300, while the RTX 3060 Mobile's rivals include consumer and mobile parts like the RTX 2060 SUPER and RX 460. For users prioritizing the specific OpenCL or Vulkan workloads in the database, the RTX 3060 Mobile is the only rational choice. For users comparing aggregate database scores across mixed benchmark suites, the FirePro W7000 appears slightly ahead, but this is misleading given the direct head-to-head results.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field. The FirePro W7000 uses a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX 3060 Mobile uses 8 nm at Samsung. Transistor counts are 2,800 million versus 12,000 million, die sizes are 212 mm² versus 276 mm², and transistor densities are 13.2M per mm² versus 43.5M per mm². The FirePro W7000 has no base or boost clock listed, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has a 900 MHz base and 1425 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) for AMD and 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Memory size differs: 4 GB GDDR5 versus 6 GB GDDR6. Bus width is 256-bit for AMD and 192-bit for NVIDIA. Bandwidth is 153.6 GB/s versus 336.0 GB/s. Shading units are 1,280 versus 3,840. TMUs are 80 versus 120. ROPs are 32 versus 48. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores; the FirePro W7000 has none. Pixel rate is 30.40 GPixel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 76.00 GTexel/s versus 171.0 GTexel/s. FP32 is 2.432 TFLOPS versus 10.94 TFLOPS. The RTX 3060 Mobile has FP16 at 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1), while the FirePro W7000 has no FP16 listing.

TDP is 150 W for AMD and 80 W for NVIDIA. The FirePro W7000 is single-slot with one 6-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W; the RTX 3060 Mobile has no slot width, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD and PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.2 for AMD and "Portable Device Dependent" for NVIDIA. DirectX support is 12 (11_1) for AMD and 12 Ultimate (12_2) for NVIDIA. OpenGL is 4.6 for both. Vulkan is 1.2.170 for AMD and 1.4 for NVIDIA. The FirePro W7000 has dimensions of 242 mm length and 111 mm height; the RTX 3060 Mobile has no dimensions listed. Release dates are 2012-06-12 for AMD and 2021-01-11 for NVIDIA. The FirePro W7000 has a launch MSRP of 899 USD; the RTX 3060 Mobile has no launch MSRP listed.