AMD FirePro W7100 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

The AMD FirePro W7100 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile are separated by nearly seven years of GPU architecture, and the benchmark data reflects a complete generational shift. The RTX 3080 Mobile dominates the shared compute workloads tested, but the FirePro W7100 still holds relevance in specific legacy professional contexts. This analysis breaks down where each card wins, what separates them internally, and who should consider which based strictly on the available data.

Where Each One Wins

The data is unambiguous in raw performance: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile wins both head-to-head benchmarks, taking the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 104,831 against the FirePro’s 24,182, and the Geekbench Vulkan test with 104,066 versus 27,529. That is a 76.9% and 73.5% delta, respectively, in NVIDIA’s favor. There are no benchmark wins for the AMD card in the shared tests.

However, the FirePro W7100 wins on positioning. Its average benchmark score of 25,856 places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, slightly higher than the RTX 3080 Mobile’s 69th percentile, which averages 23,628. The FirePro’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (delta 0.5%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (delta 0.5%), showing it sits in a competitive band for its era. The RTX 3080 Mobile, by contrast, is within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 and 0.5% of the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. So while NVIDIA wins every direct race, AMD’s card holds a higher percentile rank due to consistency across its limited test set.

For use cases, the RTX 3080 Mobile is the clear choice for any modern compute workload, particularly those leveraging Vulkan or OpenCL. The FirePro W7100’s strengths are historical: it was built for stable professional output with four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and a single-slot design, making it a fit for legacy multi-monitor workstations. The data does not show a single workload where AMD wins, so its "win" is purely in form factor and professional feature set, not performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is massive. The FirePro W7100 uses the Tonga chip on GCN 3.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm TSMC process. It packs 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.7 million per mm². The RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm node. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a density of 44.4 million per mm². That is over three times the transistor density in a similar physical footprint.

Core counts diverge sharply. The FirePro has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. NVIDIA also adds 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, which AMD’s GCN 3.0 design lacks entirely. The FP32 compute throughput tells the story: 3.297 TFLOPS for AMD versus 18.98 TFLOPS for NVIDIA, a 5.75x difference. Both cards offer 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios, but the absolute numbers are far apart.

Memory systems differ in speed but not capacity. Both have 8 GB, but the FirePro uses GDDR5 at 5 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses GDDR6 at 14 Gbps effective on the same 256-bit bus, reaching 448.0 GB/s. The bus interface also advances from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x16. API support is a differentiator: AMD lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, while NVIDIA supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks show a total rout. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,831 versus the FirePro’s 24,182. That is a 76.9% deficit for AMD, meaning NVIDIA delivers roughly 4.3 times the OpenCL performance. The Vulkan test is nearly identical in margin: NVIDIA scores 104,066, AMD scores 27,529, a 73.5% gap. In both cases, the NVIDIA card’s score is close to 3.8–4.3x higher, which aligns with the FP32 throughput difference.

The FirePro’s performance is not anomalous for its class. Its average benchmark score of 25,856 is 0.1% above the AMD FirePro D700 (25,842) and only 0.5% below the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25,891). It also matches the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740) within 0.5%, which is remarkable for a 2014 card. But the RTX 3080 Mobile’s average of 23,628 is dragged down by its varied benchmark suite, which includes Passmark tests where it scores as low as 72 (DirectX 12) and 120 (DirectX 10). Those low scores are likely due to driver or compatibility quirks, not raw capability, since its Geekbench scores are so high.

The clear takeaway: in any modern compute API, the RTX 3080 Mobile is in a different league. The FirePro’s wins in percentile ranking (71 vs 69) are a statistical artifact of the limited test set, not a sign of competitive performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 has a higher average benchmark score of 25,856 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile’s 23,628. The FirePro also holds a higher percentile rank at 71 versus 69.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3080 Mobile in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,831 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 76.9% higher than the FirePro W7100’s 24,182. This translates to roughly 4.3 times the performance.

Q: Does the FirePro W7100 support ray tracing?

A: No. The FirePro W7100 has no ray tracing cores. The RTX 3080 Mobile includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely.

Q: What memory type and bandwidth does each card use?

A: The FirePro W7100 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both have a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. The FirePro W7100 has 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die. The RTX 3080 Mobile also has a much higher density at 44.4M / mm² versus 13.7M / mm².

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: The FirePro W7100’s closest rival is the AMD FirePro D700 (delta 0.1%), followed by the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (delta -0.1%). The RTX 3080 Mobile’s closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (delta -0.5%), with the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile at 0.5% delta.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every measurable specification. The FirePro W7100 is built on a 28 nm process by TSMC, while the RTX 3080 Mobile uses an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts are 5,000 million versus 17,400 million, and die sizes are 366 mm² versus 392 mm². The RTX 3080 Mobile has a base clock of 1110 MHz and a boost clock of 1545 MHz, while the FirePro has no listed base or boost clocks.

Memory clocks differ: the FirePro runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), and the RTX 3080 Mobile runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Bandwidth is 160.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s. Shading units are 1,792 versus 6,144, TMUs are 112 versus 192, and ROPs are 32 versus 96. The RTX 3080 Mobile adds 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 29.44 GPixel/s versus 148.3 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 103.0 GTexel/s versus 296.6 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 3.297 TFLOPS versus 18.98 TFLOPS.

The FirePro has a 150 W TDP and requires a 1x 6-pin power connector with a 450 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3080 Mobile has a 115 W TDP and no power connectors, being portable-device dependent. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.2 versus "Portable Device Dependent." The FirePro is single-slot and 241 mm long; the RTX 3080 Mobile has no listed dimensions. Release dates are August 2014 versus January 2021.

The Verdict

The data makes the choice straightforward for anyone building or buying today. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile wins every head-to-head benchmark by a massive margin, offers 5.75 times the FP32 compute, has 3.4 times the shading units, and delivers 2.8 times the memory bandwidth. It also supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, plus ray tracing and tensor cores. If you need raw performance for OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, this is the only rational pick. Its lower average benchmark score (23,628 vs 25,856) is misleading because its Passmark DirectX results are anomalously low; the Geekbench scores are the more reliable indicator.

The AMD FirePro W7100 is a card for a specific niche. Its 71st percentile ranking and average score of 25,856 are respectable for a 2014 product, and it matches the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile within 0.5% in average score. The single-slot form factor, 150 W TDP, and four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs make it viable for legacy multi-display professional setups where performance is secondary to stability and output count. It is also end-of-life, as is the RTX 3080 Mobile, so neither is a future-proof purchase.

The verdict is clear: for any modern workload, the RTX 3080 Mobile is superior by an order of magnitude. The FirePro W7100 only makes sense for someone maintaining an older workstation that needs GCN 3.0-specific driver support or a specific single-slot physical profile. The benchmark data offers no reason to choose AMD for performance, but the percentile and rival data show it was a competent card in its era. If you can tolerate its age, the FirePro works; if you want results, the RTX 3080 Mobile is the answer.