AMD FirePro W7100 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

The AMD FirePro W7100 and NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly seven years of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a clear and overwhelming performance gap, with the RTX A5000 Mobile winning both head-to-head tests decisively. This analysis walks through the numerical evidence, contextualizes each card’s standing among its peers, and breaks down the architectural and specification differences that explain the results.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is brief but unambiguous, featuring only two shared benchmark tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile scores 110,877, while the AMD FirePro W7100 manages 24,182. This represents a delta of -78.2% for the AMD card, meaning the NVIDIA GPU delivers roughly 4.6 times the compute performance in this workload. The gap is not marginal; it is a generational chasm. The FirePro W7100’s score places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, which sounds respectable until you see that the RTX A5000 Mobile sits at the 70th percentile — nearly identical standing, yet the raw scores are worlds apart. This discrepancy highlights how the percentile metric can obscure massive absolute differences when comparing cards from different performance tiers.

The Vulkan results tell a similar story, though with a slightly smaller margin. The RTX A5000 Mobile scores 88,144, while the FirePro W7100 reaches 27,529, yielding a -68.8% delta. Even in this API, where the older AMD architecture shows relatively stronger results compared to its OpenCL showing, the NVIDIA card still more than triples the FirePro’s output. Notably, the FirePro W7100’s Vulkan score (27,529) is actually higher than its OpenCL score (24,182), suggesting the GCN 3.0 architecture handles the newer API reasonably well for its era. The RTX A5000 Mobile, conversely, scores lower in Vulkan (88,144) than in OpenCL (110,877), a reversal that hints at driver optimization differences or the Ampere architecture’s particular strengths in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads.

Looking at the average benchmark scores across all tests, the gap narrows somewhat but remains decisive. The FirePro W7100 averages 25,856 across its two benchmarks, while the RTX A5000 Mobile averages 24,763 across its nine benchmarks. This is a curious inversion: despite winning both head-to-head tests by huge margins, the RTX A5000 Mobile’s average is actually lower than the FirePro’s. This is explained by the Passmark scores included in the RTX A5000 Mobile’s suite, which are uniformly low — DirectX 10 at 115, DirectX 11 at 133, DirectX 12 at 72, DirectX 9 at 169, G2D at 629, G3D at 15,779, and GPU compute at 6,945. These Passmark numbers drag the average down significantly, even though the Geekbench scores are stellar. The FirePro W7100, lacking any Passmark results, is not penalized by such low outliers.

When placed against their nearest rivals, both cards occupy similar percentile territory. The FirePro W7100’s nearest rival is the AMD FirePro D700, which averages 25,842 — a mere 0.1% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile trails by 0.5%, and the Radeon Pro W5700 is also 0.5% behind. For the RTX A5000 Mobile, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 590 at 24,744 (0.1% difference), followed by the Intel Arc A350M at 0.5%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 1.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 at 2%. These rival comparisons show that while the RTX A5000 Mobile is a top-tier performer in absolute terms, its average benchmark score is competitive with mid-range desktop cards from the same era, not the absolute fastest.

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is the superior performer in every shared benchmark, and by margins that are not merely incremental but transformative. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 358% relative to the FirePro W7100’s score; in Vulkan, the lead is 220%. If the choice is between these two cards for any task that relies on raw compute throughput, the RTX A5000 Mobile is the only rational selection. The FirePro W7100, despite its respectable percentile ranking, simply cannot compete with the Ampere architecture’s sheer output.

However, the verdict must be nuanced by context. The FirePro W7100 is an end-of-life product from 2014, built on a 28 nm process, while the RTX A5000 Mobile is also end-of-life but from 2021, on an 8 nm node. The RTX A5000 Mobile is a mobile part, meaning its power envelope of 150 W is identical to the FirePro W7100’s desktop TDP of 150 W — a remarkable feat of efficiency. For a user constrained to a legacy workstation with PCIe 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, the FirePro W7100 might still function adequately for its era’s workloads. But for anyone who can accommodate a PCIe 4.0 mobile GPU, the RTX A5000 Mobile is categorically better in compute performance, memory bandwidth, and feature support. The verdict, strictly from the data, is that the RTX A5000 Mobile wins decisively on performance, while the FirePro W7100 offers nothing that the data suggests is competitive.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark results, the RTX A5000 Mobile wins every single shared test, so there is no benchmark category where the FirePro W7100 comes out ahead. That said, the FirePro W7100 does have a structural advantage in one area: its average benchmark score of 25,856 is higher than the RTX A5000 Mobile’s 24,763. This is entirely due to the inclusion of seven Passmark tests in the NVIDIA card’s suite, all of which score below 1,000 except for G3D (15,779) and GPU compute (6,945). If the comparison were limited to Geekbench tests, the RTX A5000 Mobile would have a higher average. But as the data stands, the FirePro W7100 has the higher average across all recorded benchmarks, which could matter in a database that weights average scores heavily.

The RTX A5000 Mobile’s wins are concentrated in compute-heavy APIs. Its OpenCL score of 110,877 is nearly 4.6 times the FirePro’s 24,182, and its Vulkan score of 88,144 is 3.2 times the FirePro’s 27,529. These results suggest the RTX A5000 Mobile is the clear choice for OpenCL-based rendering, scientific computing, or any workload that leverages Vulkan’s compute shaders. The FirePro W7100, meanwhile, shows relative strength in Vulkan compared to its own OpenCL performance, but this is a small consolation. For users of legacy applications that only support OpenCL 1.2 or DirectX 12 (12_0), the FirePro W7100 might still run those workloads, but the RTX A5000 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, making it more future-proof for API advancements.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile scores 110,877, which is 78.2% higher than the AMD FirePro W7100’s 24,182.

Q: What is the average benchmark score of each card?

A: The AMD FirePro W7100 has an average benchmark score of 25,856, while the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile averages 24,763. The FirePro’s average is higher because the RTX A5000 Mobile’s suite includes seven low-scoring Passmark tests.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The FirePro W7100 is 0.1% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700 and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. The RTX A5000 Mobile is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 590 and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile has 6,144 shading units, compared to 1,792 on the AMD FirePro W7100 — a 3.4 times difference.

Q: What memory configurations do the two cards use?

A: The FirePro W7100 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A5000 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the TDP of each card?

A: Both cards have a TDP of 150 W, despite the RTX A5000 Mobile being a mobile part and the FirePro W7100 being a desktop card.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark. The AMD FirePro W7100 uses the Tonga chip based on GCN 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 5,000 million transistors into a 366 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.7 million per mm². The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip based on Ampere architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 17,400 million transistors in a 392 mm² die, for a density of 44.4 million per mm² — more than three times the FirePro’s density. This density advantage directly enables the RTX A5000 Mobile’s higher core counts and feature set.

The RTX A5000 Mobile introduces hardware features that simply did not exist in the FirePro W7100 era. It has 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, which are absent entirely from the FirePro W7100. These dedicated units enable real-time ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads, respectively. The shading unit count tells the story of raw compute: the RTX A5000 Mobile has 6,144 shading units versus 1,792 on the FirePro, a 3.4x increase. Texture mapping units are 192 versus 112, and ROPs are 96 versus 32. The pixel rate of 151.2 GPixel/s on the RTX A5000 Mobile dwarfs the FirePro’s 29.44 GPixel/s, and the texture rate of 302.4 GTexel/s is nearly triple the FirePro’s 103.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 19.35 TFLOPS versus 3.297 TFLOPS, a 5.9x gap, with both cards offering 1:1 FP16.

API support also diverges. The FirePro W7100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX A5000 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer DirectX 12 Ultimate includes features like ray tracing and mesh shaders, which the FirePro cannot access. The process node difference — 28 nm versus 8 nm — is the root cause of the FirePro’s lower clock speeds and efficiency. The FirePro’s memory clock is 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the RTX A5000 Mobile runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), contributing to the latter’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 160.0 GB/s.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The process node is 28 nm for the AMD FirePro W7100 versus 8 nm for the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, with different foundries (TSMC versus Samsung). Transistor count is 5,000 million versus 17,400 million, and die size is 366 mm² versus 392 mm². The RTX A5000 Mobile has a base clock of 900 MHz and a boost clock of 1575 MHz, while the FirePro W7100 has no listed base or boost clocks in the data. Memory differs in size (8 GB versus 16 GB), type (GDDR5 versus GDDR6), and bandwidth (160.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s), though the bus width is identical at 256 bits.

Core counts are dramatically different: shading units (1,792 versus 6,144), TMUs (112 versus 192), and ROPs (32 versus 96). The RTX A5000 Mobile adds 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, which the FirePro lacks entirely. Pixel rate is 29.44 GPixel/s versus 151.2 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 103.0 GTexel/s versus 302.4 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 compute are both 3.297 TFLOPS on the FirePro versus 19.35 TFLOPS on the RTX A5000 Mobile. TDP is identical at 150 W, but the power connector setup differs: the FirePro uses a single 6-pin connector, while the RTX A5000 Mobile has none (being mobile). The FirePro is single-slot with dimensions of 241 mm length and 111 mm height, while the RTX A5000 Mobile has no listed dimensions. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the FirePro versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX A5000 Mobile. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.2 on the FirePro versus “Portable Device Dependent” on the RTX A5000 Mobile. Release dates are August 2014 for the FirePro and April 2021 for the RTX A5000 Mobile. The FirePro’s predecessor is FirePro Terascale and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris; the RTX A5000 Mobile’s predecessor is Quadro Turing-M and its successor is Ada-MW.