AMD FirePro W7100 vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile Comparison

AMD FirePro W7100 versus NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is not a contest in raw performance; it is a generational gap made visible through benchmark data. The RTX A4000 Mobile dominates every recorded head-to-head test, often by margins exceeding 60%, while the FirePro W7100 relies on its age and architectural heritage to remain a functional, if outdated, workstation option. The data in the database clearly separates these two, not just by score, but by the fundamental capabilities each GPU brings to a workstation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive metric in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, a measure of raw compute throughput. Here, the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 97,178 points, a figure that dwarfs the AMD FirePro W7100’s 24,182 points. This results in a delta of 75.1% in favor of the NVIDIA card, meaning the RTX A4000 Mobile delivers over four times the OpenCL performance of the FirePro. This is the largest single gap in the recorded data and sets the tone for the entire comparison. The FirePro’s score places it in a much lower performance tier, while the RTX A4000 Mobile’s result is indicative of a modern, high-throughput compute engine.

The second recorded test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a similar, though slightly less extreme, pattern. The RTX A4000 Mobile scores 73,002, against the FirePro W7100’s 27,529. The delta here is 62.3% in favor of NVIDIA. While the absolute gap is smaller than in OpenCL, the RTX A4000 Mobile still more than doubles the FirePro’s Vulkan performance. This consistent victory across both API frameworks demonstrates that the NVIDIA GPU’s advantage is not limited to a specific workload type, but rather reflects a comprehensive superiority in both compute and graphics rendering tasks. The data records two wins for the RTX A4000 Mobile and zero for the FirePro, a clean sweep.

It is important to contextualize these scores against the field. The FirePro W7100’s average benchmark score is 25,856, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro D700 (0.1% faster) and the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (0.1% slower), showing that the FirePro is competitive with its immediate peers from the same era. In contrast, the RTX A4000 Mobile has an average score of 21,379, which is lower than the FirePro’s average. This is a statistical artifact of the different benchmark suites included in each card’s profile. The RTX A4000 Mobile’s average is dragged down by its inclusion of PassMark DirectX tests, which score very low (e.g., 66 for DirectX 12) and are not present in the FirePro’s data. The RTX A4000 Mobile’s PassMark G3D score of 14,796 and GPU Compute score of 6,394 are substantial, but the average is skewed by the legacy API tests. This discrepancy does not change the head-to-head result, but it explains why the percentile ranking for the RTX A4000 Mobile (66th) is actually lower than the FirePro’s (71st), despite the NVIDIA card being vastly faster in the shared tests.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available benchmark data, the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile wins in every measurable category. Its OpenCL performance of 97,178 versus 24,182 makes it the clear choice for any compute-heavy workload, such as GPU-accelerated rendering, scientific simulation, or machine learning inference. The Vulkan score of 73,002 versus 27,529 further cements its lead in modern graphics APIs, making it superior for real-time 3D rendering and game development. The RTX A4000 Mobile is the definitive winner for any task that leverages current software stacks.

The AMD FirePro W7100, while losing all head-to-head tests, still holds a niche based on its historical profile. Its average benchmark score of 25,856 is higher than the RTX A4000 Mobile’s 21,379 average, though this is due to the different benchmark sets recorded for each card. The FirePro’s strong OpenCL score (24,182) is actually its closest competitor to the RTX A4000 Mobile, but it still loses by a massive margin. The FirePro’s only conceptual advantage is its status as a single-slot, 150W card with a 6-pin power connector, and its display outputs of four DisplayPort 1.2 connections. For a system that requires multiple legacy DisplayPort outputs from a single card, the FirePro W7100 offers a specific hardware configuration that the mobile RTX A4000 Mobile, with its "Portable Device Dependent" outputs, cannot match. This is a hardware connectivity advantage, not a performance one.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is significantly faster, scoring 97,178 compared to the AMD FirePro W7100’s 24,182, a 75.1% difference.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the AMD FirePro W7100 beats the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile?

A: No. The recorded head-to-head data shows the RTX A4000 Mobile winning both the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests. The FirePro W7100 records zero wins.

Q: How do these cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The RTX A4000 Mobile scores 73,002 in Vulkan, while the FirePro W7100 scores 27,529. The NVIDIA card leads by 62.3%.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 has an average benchmark score of 25,856, while the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile has an average of 21,379. Note that the RTX A4000 Mobile’s average includes low-scoring legacy PassMark tests not present in the FirePro’s profile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 sits in the 71st percentile, whereas the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is in the 66th percentile. This is due to the different benchmark suites included in each card’s average score calculation.

Q: Does the RTX A4000 Mobile support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: Yes, the RTX A4000 Mobile is equipped with 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores. The FirePro W7100 has no such hardware.

Specification Differences

The most obvious difference is in the fundamental compute hardware. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile has 5,120 shading units, a massive increase over the AMD FirePro W7100’s 1,792. This is mirrored in the texture mapping units (160 vs. 112) and ROPs (80 vs. 32). The raw compute output reflects this: the RTX A4000 Mobile delivers 17.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, versus the FirePro’s 3.297 TFLOPS. The pixel rate also favors NVIDIA at 134.4 GPixel/s against 29.44 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 268.8 GTexel/s versus 103.0 GTexel/s.

Memory bandwidth is another clear differentiator. While both cards have 8 GB of memory on a 256-bit bus, the RTX A4000 Mobile uses faster GDDR6 memory running at 12 Gbps effective, yielding a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The FirePro W7100 uses GDDR5 at 5 Gbps effective, resulting in 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card offers 2.4 times the memory bandwidth, which is critical for feeding its larger compute engine. The process technology also differs greatly: the RTX A4000 Mobile is built on Samsung’s 8 nm node, while the FirePro W7100 uses TSMC’s 28 nm node. This leads to a massive difference in transistor density (44.4M per mm² for NVIDIA vs. 13.7M per mm² for AMD). The power profiles are also distinct, with the RTX A4000 Mobile rated at 115W TDP and requiring no power connectors, while the FirePro W7100 is a 150W card that needs a 1x 6-pin connector.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The AMD FirePro W7100 is built on the GCN 3.0 architecture, using the Tonga chip, and belongs to the FirePro GCN (Wx100) generation. It does not feature dedicated RT cores or tensor cores. Its API support includes DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile, in contrast, is based on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, from the Ampere-MW (Ax000) generation. It is explicitly equipped with 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores, making it a modern GPU designed for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. Its API support is more advanced, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card also uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the FirePro is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The FirePro’s transistor count is 5,000 million on a 366 mm² die, while the RTX A4000 Mobile packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, illustrating the density advantage of the newer process. The release dates also show the generational distance: the FirePro W7100 was released in August 2014, while the RTX A4000 Mobile came in April 2021.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is the superior GPU for any performance-sensitive task. Its 75.1% lead in OpenCL and 62.3% lead in Vulkan over the AMD FirePro W7100 are insurmountable. Anyone requiring maximum compute throughput, modern API support, or hardware ray tracing and tensor core functionality should choose the RTX A4000 Mobile. Its higher memory bandwidth (384.0 GB/s vs. 160.0 GB/s) and greater FP32 throughput (17.20 TFLOPS vs. 3.297 TFLOPS) make it the only logical choice for contemporary workstation workloads.

The AMD FirePro W7100 is a historical artifact, a card from a previous era that is end-of-life. Its advantages are limited to its physical form factor and connectivity: it is a single-slot card with four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and a modest 150W TDP. For a legacy system that specifically requires those outputs from a card without auxiliary power beyond a single 6-pin connector, the FirePro W7100 could still serve a purpose. However, based purely on performance metrics, the RTX A4000 Mobile wins every recorded benchmark. The verdict is simple: for performance, choose the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile. For a specific, legacy hardware configuration need, the FirePro W7100 remains an option, but it cannot compete on speed.