AMD FirePro W7100 vs AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a decisive result: the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins both recorded head-to-head tests, leaving the AMD FirePro W7100 with zero wins. The most substantial margin appears in the Vulkan compute test, where the RX 580 2048SP scores 38,666 against the FirePro W7100's 27,529, a difference of 28.8 percent. This is not a narrow edge; it is a commanding lead that suggests the newer architecture handles Vulkan workloads with considerably more efficiency.

The OpenCL test tells a similar, though slightly less dramatic, story. The RX 580 2048SP records 29,668 points, while the FirePro W7100 manages 24,182, putting the RX 580 2048SP ahead by 18.5 percent. Both results point in the same direction: the Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the faster card in these compute-oriented benchmarks, and the gap is consistent across different API environments.

Looking at the database's average benchmark scores, the picture becomes more nuanced. The FirePro W7100 has an average score of 25,856, while the RX 580 2048SP averages 23,061. Despite losing both head-to-head tests, the FirePro W7100 holds a higher aggregate average. This discrepancy is explained by the different benchmark sets recorded for each card: the FirePro W7100 only has OpenCL and Vulkan scores, both of which are strong, while the RX 580 2048SP's average is pulled down by an additional DirectX 12 test (3DMark Steel Nomad) where it scores just 849. That low DirectX result drags its average down, even though it wins the two tests shared with the FirePro W7100.

The percentile rankings also reflect this split. The FirePro W7100 sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 580 2048SP ranks at the 68th percentile. So while the RX 580 2048SP wins the direct comparisons, the FirePro W7100 edges it out in overall standing, likely due to its consistent performance across the tests recorded for it.

Rival comparisons in the database further contextualize these scores. The FirePro W7100's average of 25,856 places it just 0.1 percent above the AMD FirePro D700 (25,842), and 0.5 percent above both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726). The RX 580 2048SP, with its 23,061 average, sits 0.2 percent above the Intel Arc B580 (23,021), 0.7 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22,895), and 0.5 percent below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23,172). These are tight margins, indicating that both cards are positioned in a dense cluster of mid-range to high-end performers.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the clear winner in raw compute benchmarks. Its Vulkan score of 38,666 is not just higher than the FirePro W7100's 27,529; it is a 28.8 percent improvement, a margin that would be noticeable in any GPU-bound workload. Similarly, its OpenCL score of 29,668 beats the FirePro W7100's 24,182 by 18.5 percent. For users prioritizing open-standard compute APIs, the RX 580 2048SP is the stronger choice.

The FirePro W7100, however, wins on consistency and aggregate standing. Its average benchmark score of 25,856 is higher than the RX 580 2048SP's 23,061, and it ranks in the 71st percentile versus the RX 580 2048SP's 68th. This suggests that the FirePro W7100 delivers more balanced performance across the tests recorded for it, without the severe dip that the RX 580 2048SP shows in DirectX 12. The FirePro W7100 also has double the memory capacity at 8 GB versus 4 GB, which is a qualitative advantage for large datasets, though the RX 580 2048SP compensates with higher memory bandwidth (224.0 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s) and faster effective memory speed (7 Gbps versus 5 Gbps).

In terms of raw throughput, the RX 580 2048SP is the clear leader. It delivers 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 3.297 TFLOPS for the FirePro W7100, a 59 percent advantage. Its texture fill rate is 164.4 GTexel/s versus 103.0 GTexel/s, and its pixel rate is 41.09 GPixel/s versus 29.44 GPixel/s. These are substantial margins in every category of shading and texturing capability.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for most users: the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the faster card in compute benchmarks, winning both recorded head-to-head tests with margins of 18.5 percent and 28.8 percent. It also offers significantly higher raw compute throughput, with 5.259 TFLOPS FP32, 128 texture units, and 2048 shading units. For anyone running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the RX 580 2048SP is the better performer.

The FirePro W7100, however, retains its own appeal. It holds a higher average benchmark score (25,856 versus 23,061) and a better percentile rank (71st versus 68th), indicating more consistent performance across its recorded tests. It also has 8 GB of VRAM, double the RX 580 2048SP's 4 GB, which could be decisive for memory-intensive tasks that exceed the smaller buffer. Its transistor count is lower (5,000 million versus 5,700 million), but its die is larger (366 mm² versus 232 mm²), reflecting an older, less dense manufacturing process.

For users who need maximum compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan, the Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the pick. For those who value consistent scores across a wider range of tests, or who need more video memory, the FirePro W7100 remains a viable option. The RX 580 2048SP wins the head-to-head, but the FirePro W7100 wins the aggregate.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 has a higher average benchmark score of 25,856, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's 23,061.

Q: How much faster is the Radeon RX 580 2048SP in the Vulkan benchmark?

A: The Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 38,666 in the geekbench Vulkan test, which is 28.8 percent higher than the FirePro W7100's 27,529.

Q: What is the difference in VRAM capacity between the two cards?

A: The FirePro W7100 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the Radeon RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The Radeon RX 580 2048SP delivers 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the FirePro W7100 delivers 3.297 TFLOPS.

Q: How do the cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon RX 580 2048SP has a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, while the FirePro W7100 has a bandwidth of 160.0 GB/s.

Q: What are the percentile rankings for each card?

A: The FirePro W7100 ranks in the 71st percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon RX 580 2048SP ranks in the 68th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD's GPU design. The FirePro W7100 is built on the Tonga chip using the GCN 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 chip with the GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This process shrink is significant: the RX 580 2048SP packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The FirePro W7100, by contrast, has 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die, yielding a density of 13.7 million per mm².

The newer 14 nm process allows the RX 580 2048SP to run at higher clock speeds, with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1284 MHz. The FirePro W7100's clock speeds are not recorded in the database, but its memory runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the RX 580 2048SP's memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The RX 580 2048SP also has more shading units (2048 versus 1792), more texture units (128 versus 112), and equal raster operations units (32 each).

The architectural differences extend to features and connectivity. The FirePro W7100 is a single-slot card with a 6-pin power connector, while the RX 580 2048SP is a dual-slot card with an 8-pin connector. Both have a suggested power supply of 450 W and a TDP of 150 W. The FirePro W7100 offers four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the RX 580 2048SP provides one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 580 2048SP supports Vulkan 1.3, while the FirePro W7100 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support DirectX 12 (12_0) and OpenGL 4.6.

The FirePro W7100 was released in August 2014 and is part of the FirePro GCN (Wx100) generation, with a predecessor in FirePro Terascale and a successor in Radeon Pro Polaris. The RX 580 2048SP was released in October 2018, belongs to the Polaris (RX 500) generation, and has Arctic Islands as its predecessor and Vega as its successor. Both cards are now end-of-life, but their architectural differences are substantial: one is a mature 28 nm GCN 3.0 design, the other a denser 14 nm GCN 4.0 implementation. The newer process and architecture give the RX 580 2048SP clear advantages in throughput and API support, while the FirePro W7100 counters with a larger memory pool and a more consistent benchmark profile.