AMD FirePro W8000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and AMD FirePro W8000 represent two distinct generations of GPU design, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The data shows a decisive performance gap, with the RTX 2080 Ti leading by an average of 2% over the FirePro W8000 overall, but individual benchmark results reveal a far more lopsided contest in compute-oriented workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two cards share only two common benchmark results in the database: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both tests, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti delivers a crushing victory. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2080 Ti scores 128,171 points against the FirePro W8000’s 24,440 points, a delta of 424.4%. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap that maps directly to the differences in raw compute resources and memory bandwidth. The Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RTX 2080 Ti scoring 132,930 versus 33,981 for the AMD card, a 291.2% advantage. The RTX 2080 Ti wins both head-to-head benchmarks, giving it a 2-0 record over the FirePro W8000 in this comparison.

Context from the nearest rivals list reinforces the scale of this gap. The FirePro W8000’s average benchmark score of 29,211 places it within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 470 and 1.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6800M. The RTX 2080 Ti’s average of 29,783 sits within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 6800. While the averages are close, the individual compute tests show that the RTX 2080 Ti is operating in a different performance class, particularly when the workload scales across shading units and memory bandwidth.

The RTX 2080 Ti’s Pixel Rate of 136.0 GPixel/s is 4.7 times higher than the FirePro W8000’s 28.80 GPixel/s, and its Texture Rate of 420.2 GTexel/s is more than four times the AMD card’s 100.8 GTexel/s. These figures explain the benchmark results: the newer card is not just faster per clock, it has far more execution units working in parallel.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The RTX 2080 Ti uses the TU102 chip built on TSMC’s 12 nm process, packing 18,600 million transistors into a 754 mm² die. The FirePro W8000 uses the Tahiti chip on a 28 nm process, with 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die. Transistor density tells the story: the Turing chip achieves 24.7 million transistors per square millimeter, while the GCN 1.0 chip manages only 12.3 million per square millimeter. That is a doubling of density, which directly enables the RTX 2080 Ti’s larger shader array.

The RTX 2080 Ti has 4,352 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs. The FirePro W8000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also introduces dedicated hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely: 68 ray tracing cores and 544 tensor cores. These are absent from the FirePro W8000, which has no RT or tensor core support. The FP32 compute output is 13.45 TFLOPS for the RTX 2080 Ti versus 3.226 TFLOPS for the FirePro W8000, a 4.2x difference. The RTX 2080 Ti also offers FP16 compute at 26.90 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio); the FirePro W8000 lists no FP16 capability.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RTX 2080 Ti uses 11 GB of GDDR6 on a 352-bit bus, delivering 616.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro W8000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 176.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Clock speeds differ significantly as well: the RTX 2080 Ti runs at 1350 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost, while the FirePro W8000 has no listed base or boost clock, only a memory clock of 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The RTX 2080 Ti’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Both cards use a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, but the RTX 2080 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The FirePro W8000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6. The RTX 2080 Ti also includes a USB Type-C output alongside HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a, while the FirePro W8000 offers four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and one SDI connector. Power requirements are similar: the RTX 2080 Ti has a 250 W TDP with 2x 8-pin connectors and a suggested 600 W PSU, while the FirePro W8000 has a 225 W TDP with 2x 6-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 Ti wins in every measured benchmark and in every theoretical compute metric. Its 424.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 291.2% lead in Geekbench Vulkan are the two decisive data points. For any workload that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan compute—rendering, simulation, or machine learning inference—the RTX 2080 Ti is the obvious choice. The presence of tensor cores and ray tracing hardware further extends its reach into AI-accelerated and ray-traced workloads, areas where the FirePro W8000 has no corresponding feature. The 11 GB memory capacity and 616.0 GB/s bandwidth also give it a substantial advantage for large datasets or high-resolution textures.

The FirePro W8000 does not win any benchmark in this dataset. However, its specifications suggest a different use case. It has a lower TDP (225 W versus 250 W), uses 2x 6-pin power connectors instead of 2x 8-pin, and offers four DisplayPort outputs plus SDI, which could be relevant for multi-display professional setups. Its 4 GB memory and 176.0 GB/s bandwidth are modest, but the card was designed for workstation environments with specific display output needs. The 75th percentile ranking among all GPUs for both cards shows that neither is at the bottom of the performance stack, but the FirePro W8000’s 28.80 GPixel/s pixel rate and 100.8 GTexel/s texture rate place it firmly in an older performance tier.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29,783, while the AMD FirePro W8000 scores 29,211. The RTX 2080 Ti leads by 2% according to the nearest rivals data.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2080 Ti in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti scores 128,171 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 424.4% higher than the FirePro W8000’s 24,440.

Q: Does the FirePro W8000 support ray tracing?

A: No. The FirePro W8000 has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RTX 2080 Ti has 68 RT cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti provides 616.0 GB/s bandwidth from 11 GB GDDR6, whereas the FirePro W8000 provides 176.0 GB/s from 4 GB GDDR5. That is a 3.5x difference in bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has a transistor density of 24.7 million per square millimeter, compared to 12.3 million per square millimeter for the FirePro W8000.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life products. The RTX 2080 Ti was released in September 2018, and the FirePro W8000 in June 2012.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the superior card in every measurable way. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, has 4.2x the FP32 compute throughput, 3.5x the memory bandwidth, and 2.4x the shading units of the FirePro W8000. Its 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores provide hardware features that the AMD card cannot match, making it suitable for modern graphics APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 2080 Ti also carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD, which is lower than the FirePro W8000’s launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, though both cards are now end-of-life.

The FirePro W8000’s only advantages are its lower TDP (225 W versus 250 W), its 2x 6-pin power connector requirement, and its SDI output—none of which translate to better performance in the benchmark data. For a user choosing between these two cards, the RTX 2080 Ti is the clear pick for any compute, rendering, or gaming workload. The FirePro W8000 might appeal to a niche user with legacy display output requirements, but the benchmark results show that it is outclassed by an order of magnitude in compute performance. The RTX 2080 Ti’s 75th percentile ranking ties with the FirePro W8000, but the individual scores tell the real story: 128,171 versus 24,440 in OpenCL is not a contest. Choose the RTX 2080 Ti unless the specific SDI output or lower power draw of the FirePro W8000 is an absolute requirement.