AMD FirePro W7100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB Comparison

The AMD FirePro W7100 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB occupy very different positions in the hardware landscape, and the recorded benchmark data reflects that split clearly. In the two head-to-head tests available, each card claims one victory. The NVIDIA card takes the OpenCL test by a wide margin, while the AMD card dominates the Vulkan test with an even larger advantage. The story is not about an overall winner, but about workload specialization and generational design priorities.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head results show a decisive split. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB scores 32322 against the AMD FirePro W7100's 24182. That is a delta of -25.2% from the AMD card's perspective, meaning the GTX 1060 is roughly a third faster in this compute scenario. OpenCL workloads, which often rely on raw shader throughput and efficient scheduling, clearly favor the NVIDIA architecture here.

The Vulkan test flips the result completely. The AMD FirePro W7100 scores 27529, while the GTX 1060 6 GB manages only 18659. The delta of 47.5% in AMD's favor is substantial. This is not a small edge; it is a commanding lead that suggests the GCN 3.0 architecture handles Vulkan's explicit, low-overhead model particularly well, possibly due to its asynchronous compute capabilities and driver maturity in that API.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the asymmetry. The FirePro W7100 has an average score of 25856, while the GTX 1060 6 GB sits at 21856. The AMD card's average is higher because its Vulkan result is so far ahead, despite losing OpenCL. The percentile ranks tell a similar story: the FirePro W7100 is in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 1060 6 GB is in the 67th. So in aggregate, the AMD card appears slightly better positioned, but that aggregate hides the fact that each card wins in a different API environment.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different manufacturing generations and design philosophies. The AMD FirePro W7100 uses the Tonga chip built on GCN 3.0 architecture. It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 5,000 million transistors packed into a 366 mm² die. The transistor density is 13.7M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB uses the GP106 chip based on Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process at TSMC, with 4,400 million transistors on a much smaller 200 mm² die. Its transistor density is 22.0M per mm². The process node difference is significant: 16 nm allows nearly double the density, which explains how NVIDIA fits fewer transistors into a much smaller physical package.

The compute resources differ in composition. The FirePro W7100 has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 1060 6 GB has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. AMD runs more shaders and TMUs, while NVIDIA runs more ROPs. This partly explains the benchmark split: more shaders can help in compute-heavy Vulkan tasks, while more ROPs help with pixel throughput and rasterization.

Clock speeds also differ. The GTX 1060 6 GB has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1709 MHz. The FirePro W7100 has no base or boost clock listed in the database. The memory clocks differ as well: the FirePro W7100 runs its GDDR5 at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the GTX 1060 6 GB runs GDDR5 at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card's memory is faster in raw clock terms.

The FP16 and FP32 capabilities are wildly different. The FirePro W7100 delivers 3.297 TFLOPS FP32 and the same 3.297 TFLOPS FP16, a 1:1 ratio. The GTX 1060 6 GB delivers 4.375 TFLOPS FP32 but only 68.36 GFLOPS FP16, a 1:64 ratio. This means the AMD card can handle half-precision workloads at full speed, while the NVIDIA card is heavily optimized for single-precision and does FP16 at a tiny fraction of its FP32 rate.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 has an average score of 25856, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB has an average score of 21856.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: The FirePro W7100 scores 27529 in Geekbench Vulkan, versus 18659 for the GTX 1060 6 GB, a delta of 47.5% in AMD's favor.

Q: Does the GTX 1060 6 GB win any benchmark?

A: Yes, it wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 32322, compared to the FirePro W7100's 24182, a 25.2% lead.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The FirePro W7100 has 13.7M transistors per mm² on a 28 nm process, while the GTX 1060 6 GB has 22.0M per mm² on a 16 nm process.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The FirePro W7100 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1060 6 GB has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 192.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are both cards end-of-life?

A: Yes, both the FirePro W7100 and the GTX 1060 6 GB are listed as end-of-life products in the database.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The FirePro W7100 is built on GCN 3.0 with the Tonga chip, while the GTX 1060 6 GB uses Pascal with the GP106 chip. The process node is 28 nm versus 16 nm. Transistor count is 5,000 million versus 4,400 million. Die size is 366 mm² versus 200 mm². Transistor density is 13.7M per mm² versus 22.0M per mm².

Memory configuration differs: 8 GB versus 6 GB, 256-bit versus 192-bit bus, 160.0 GB/s versus 192.2 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1060 6 GB has higher bandwidth despite a narrower bus because its memory clock is much higher. The FirePro W7100 has 1792 shading units versus 1280, 112 TMUs versus 80, and 32 ROPs versus 48. Pixel rate is 29.44 GPixel/s versus 82.03 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 103.0 GTexel/s versus 136.7 GTexel/s. FP32 is 3.297 TFLOPS versus 4.375 TFLOPS. FP16 is 3.297 TFLOPS versus 68.36 GFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also diverge. The FirePro W7100 has a TDP of 150 W and is single-slot, while the GTX 1060 6 GB has a TDP of 120 W and is dual-slot. Both use a single 6-pin power connector, but the suggested PSU is 450 W for AMD and 300 W for NVIDIA. The FirePro W7100 has 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the GTX 1060 6 GB has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The FirePro W7100 is 241 mm long, the GTX 1060 6 GB is 250 mm; both are 111 mm high. The API support also differs: DirectX 12 (12_0) versus 12 (12_1), Vulkan 1.2.170 versus 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 for both.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded head-to-head tests tell a clear story of API-dependent performance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB wins with a score of 32322. The AMD FirePro W7100 trails at 24182. The delta is -25.2% from AMD's perspective. This is a substantial loss for the FirePro card in a widely used compute API. OpenCL has historically favored NVIDIA's driver optimization and higher FP32 throughput, and the numbers support that: the GTX 1060 6 GB delivers 4.375 TFLOPS FP32, which is about 33% higher than the FirePro W7100's 3.297 TFLOPS.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the result reverses dramatically. The AMD FirePro W7100 scores 27529, while the GTX 1060 6 GB scores 18659. The delta is 47.5% in AMD's favor. This is a far larger gap than the OpenCL difference. The FirePro W7100's 1:1 FP16 ratio and larger shader count likely contribute to its Vulkan strength. The GTX 1060 6 GB's FP16 throughput is negligible at 68.36 GFLOPS, which may handicap it in Vulkan workloads that use half-precision paths.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database provides context. The FirePro W7100's closest competitor is the AMD FirePro D700 with an average score of 25842, a delta of just 0.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile sits at 25740, a 0.5% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 is at 25726, also 0.5%. These are all extremely close scores, indicating the FirePro W7100 sits in a tight performance cluster. The GTX 1060 6 GB's rivals are similarly close: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 at 21629 (1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 22154 (-1.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 at 22170 (-1.4%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21379 (2.2%). Neither card is an outlier in its own peer group, but the two peer groups are separated by roughly 4,000 points in average score.

The Verdict

Choose the AMD FirePro W7100 if your work prioritizes Vulkan performance. The 47.5% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is the single largest margin in the entire comparison, and it drives the card's higher average score and higher percentile rank. The 8 GB memory capacity and 1:1 FP16 throughput also make it the better choice for workloads that need large framebuffers or half-precision compute. The card is single-slot, which may suit dense workstation builds.

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB if your workload runs primarily in OpenCL. The 25.2% lead in that test is decisive, and the card's higher FP32 throughput of 4.375 TFLOPS supports compute tasks that rely on single-precision math. The higher pixel rate of 82.03 GPixel/s and texture rate of 136.7 GTexel/s also suggest stronger traditional rasterization performance. The lower TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W make it the more power-efficient option on paper.

The database does not declare a single winner. Each card wins exactly one head-to-head test, and the margins are asymmetric. The FirePro W7100's Vulkan win is nearly twice as large as the GTX 1060 6 GB's OpenCL win. If forced to pick based on aggregate data, the FirePro W7100's higher average score of 25856 versus 21856 and its higher percentile rank of 71 versus 67 give it the overall edge. But for a specific application, the correct choice depends entirely on which API that application uses.