AMD FirePro W8000 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA RTX A5000 across every shared benchmark. In the two tests where both cards have recorded scores, the RTX A5000 wins both, with the largest margin appearing in OpenCL compute workloads.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A5000 scores 157,905 against the AMD FirePro W8000’s 24,440. That is a delta of 546.1% in favor of the NVIDIA card. This is not a marginal lead; it is a performance gap of more than five times the AMD card’s output. The OpenCL test stresses general-purpose compute, and the data indicates the RTX A5000’s architecture handles this workload with far greater efficiency. For context, the RTX A5000’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 33,622, placing it at the 78th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The FirePro W8000’s average is 29,211, at the 75th percentile. Despite the smaller gap in average scores, the head-to-head OpenCL result shows how much the NVIDIA card pulls ahead in specific compute-heavy scenarios.

The second shared test, Geekbench Vulkan, also goes to the RTX A5000, with a score of 137,828 versus 33,981. The delta here is 305.6%. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API, and the NVIDIA card’s lead is substantial, though less extreme than in OpenCL. The FirePro W8000’s Vulkan score of 33,981 is closer to its OpenCL result, suggesting a more consistent level of performance across APIs, but that consistency does not compensate for the sheer numerical advantage of the RTX A5000. The NVIDIA card’s Vulkan score is roughly four times higher than the AMD card’s.

The wins tally reflects this dominance: the RTX A5000 has 2 wins in head-to-head comparisons, while the FirePro W8000 has 0. No benchmark in the database shows the AMD card ahead of the NVIDIA card. This includes the broader benchmark suite where the RTX A5000 has recorded scores in additional tests. For example, the RTX A5000 posts 22,541 in Passmark G3D, 12,455 in Passmark GPU Compute, and 1,032 in Passmark G2D. The FirePro W8000 has no recorded scores in those specific Passmark tests, so no direct comparison is possible, but the existing head-to-head data already establishes a clear pattern.

One way to frame this is through the nearest rivals listed in the database. The RTX A5000’s average score of 33,622 is only 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB’s 33,694, and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7700S’s 33,849. This places the RTX A5000 in a performance tier with mid-range consumer cards from a later era. The FirePro W8000’s average of 29,211 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29,197, delta 0%) and only 0.1% ahead of the Intel Arc A370M (29,175). That puts the FirePro W8000 in a much lower performance bracket, closer to entry-level or integrated-class GPUs. The head-to-head results are consistent with this positioning: the RTX A5000 operates at a fundamentally higher performance level.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 wins with a score of 157,905 against the AMD FirePro W8000’s 24,440, a delta of 546.1%.

Q: Does the AMD FirePro W8000 win any head-to-head benchmark?

A: No. The database records 2 wins for the NVIDIA RTX A5000 and 0 wins for the AMD FirePro W8000 across the shared Geekbench tests.

Q: How do the two cards compare in average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX A5000 has an average benchmark score of 33,622, while the FirePro W8000 averages 29,211. The RTX A5000 sits at the 78th percentile of all GPUs, and the FirePro W8000 sits at the 75th percentile.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX A5000 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus with 768.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro W8000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 176.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are there differences in API support?

A: Yes. The RTX A5000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The FirePro W8000 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX A5000 has 8,192 shading units, while the FirePro W8000 has 1,792. The NVIDIA card also has 256 TMUs and 96 ROPs, compared to 112 TMUs and 32 ROPs on the AMD card.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different eras and design philosophies. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 is built on the GA102 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It integrates 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². The AMD FirePro W8000 uses the Tahiti chip with the GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It has 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, for a density of 12.3 million per mm². The transistor count difference is stark: the NVIDIA chip has roughly 6.5 times as many transistors as the AMD chip, and it packs them into a die that is nearly twice as large.

The RTX A5000 includes dedicated hardware that the FirePro W8000 lacks entirely. The NVIDIA card has 64 ray tracing cores and 256 tensor cores. The AMD card has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed in the database. This means the RTX A5000 can accelerate ray-traced workloads and AI inference tasks through specialized hardware, while the FirePro W8000 must rely on its general-purpose shader units for all compute. The RTX A5000’s shading unit count of 8,192 is also more than four times the FirePro W8000’s 1,792, and its texture mapping units (256 vs 112) and ROPs (96 vs 32) are similarly higher.

The memory subsystems reflect the generational gap. The RTX A5000 uses GDDR6 memory running at 16 Gbps effective, with a 384-bit bus and 768.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro W8000 uses GDDR5 memory at 5.5 Gbps effective, with a 256-bit bus and 176.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card offers more than four times the memory bandwidth, which directly impacts texture-heavy workloads and large data sets. The RTX A5000 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the FirePro W8000 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. This affects data transfer rates between the GPU and the host system.

The process node difference is a key factor in efficiency and feature support. The 8 nm Samsung process allows for a much denser transistor layout, which enables the higher core counts and specialized units. The 28 nm TSMC process used for the FirePro W8000 is an older generation, and the GCN 1.0 architecture predates many modern graphics features. The RTX A5000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like variable rate shading and mesh shaders, while the FirePro W8000 only supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6, but the Vulkan versions differ: the RTX A5000 supports Vulkan 1.4, and the FirePro W8000 supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification difference is memory capacity. The RTX A5000 has 24 GB of GDDR6, while the FirePro W8000 has 4 GB of GDDR5. This affects the maximum working set for large models, simulations, or multi-display configurations. The bus width also differs: 384 bit for the NVIDIA card, 256 bit for the AMD card. The resulting bandwidth is 768.0 GB/s versus 176.0 GB/s.

The core configuration is another major differentiator. The RTX A5000 has 8,192 shading units, 256 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 64 RT cores, and 256 tensor cores. The FirePro W8000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. The pixel rate is 162.7 GPixel/s for the RTX A5000 versus 28.80 GPixel/s for the FirePro W8000. The texture rate is 433.9 GTexel/s versus 100.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 27.77 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card versus 3.226 TFLOPS for the AMD card. The RTX A5000 also has an FP16 rate of 27.77 TFLOPS (1:1), while the FirePro W8000 has no recorded FP16 performance.

Clock speeds differ in the database. The RTX A5000 has a base clock of 1170 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. The FirePro W8000 has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card’s memory clock is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). Power consumption is similar: the RTX A5000 has a TDP of 230 W, and the FirePro W8000 has a TDP of 225 W. Both cards are dual-slot and require a 550 W power supply. The power connectors differ: the RTX A5000 uses 1x 8-pin, while the FirePro W8000 uses 2x 6-pin.

Physical dimensions are close. The RTX A5000 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long and 112 mm (4.4 inches) tall. The FirePro W8000 is 279 mm (11 inches) long and 111 mm (4.4 inches) tall. The display outputs are the same count (4x DisplayPort), but the RTX A5000 uses DisplayPort 1.4a, while the FirePro W8000 uses DisplayPort 1.2 plus an SDI output. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 on the NVIDIA card versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the AMD card. The release dates are far apart: the RTX A5000 launched in April 2021, and the FirePro W8000 launched in June 2012. The FirePro W8000 has a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, while the RTX A5000 has no launch MSRP recorded.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 outperforms the AMD FirePro W8000 in every recorded head-to-head test, with deltas of 546.1% in OpenCL and 305.6% in Vulkan. The RTX A5000’s average benchmark score of 33,622 is higher than the FirePro W8000’s 29,211, and its percentile ranking (78th vs 75th) reflects a higher position in the overall GPU distribution. The RTX A5000 also offers more memory, higher bandwidth, more shading units, and dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores.

For any workload where compute performance, large memory capacity, or modern API features are relevant, the RTX A5000 is the clear choice from the data. The FirePro W8000’s only advantage in the database is its launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, but the RTX A5000 has no launch MSRP recorded, so no direct price comparison is possible. The performance gap is so large that the FirePro W8000 cannot compete in the same class of work.

The FirePro W8000 does hold a 75th percentile average score, which is not far behind the RTX A5000’s 78th percentile despite the massive head-to-head deltas. This is because the FirePro W8000 has only two recorded benchmarks, both in Geekbench, while the RTX A5000 has ten recorded benchmarks across a wider range of tests. The average scores are not directly comparable in scope, but the head-to-head results remain the most reliable point of comparison.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A5000 wins in every area where the database provides direct comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 546.1% ahead, which points to compute-heavy tasks like rendering, simulation, or data processing. In Geekbench Vulkan, it is 305.6% ahead, covering modern graphics workloads that use the Vulkan API. The RTX A5000 also has additional strengths visible in its own benchmark suite: a Passmark G3D score of 22,541, a Passmark GPU Compute score of 12,455, and a Passmark G2D score of 1,032. These numbers suggest strong performance in general 3D rendering, compute acceleration, and 2D desktop tasks, respectively.

The RTX A5000’s 24 GB memory and 768.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large data sets that would exceed the FirePro W8000’s 4 GB capacity. The presence of 64 RT cores and 256 tensor cores means the RTX A5000 can accelerate ray tracing and AI inference, workloads that the FirePro W8000 cannot accelerate through dedicated hardware. The newer DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 also give the RTX A5000 access to newer rendering features.

The AMD FirePro W8000 has no benchmark wins in the database. Its two recorded scores, 24,440 in OpenCL and 33,981 in Vulkan, are both far below the RTX A5000’s corresponding scores. The FirePro W8000’s nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 470 (average 28,996, delta 0.7%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (average 28,874, delta 1.2%), which places it in a performance tier that is competitive with older or lower-end consumer cards, not with the RTX A5000. The FirePro W8000’s strengths lie in its older GCN architecture, which may have specific driver optimizations for legacy professional software, but the recorded data does not show any benchmark where it outperforms the RTX A5000.