AMD FirePro W8000 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell Comparison

The AMD FirePro W8000 and NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell are separated by more than a decade of GPU architecture, and the benchmark data reflects a decisive generational shift. In the only shared test — Geekbench Vulkan — the NVIDIA card delivers a score of 194,168 against the AMD’s 33,981, a performance gap of 82.5 percent in NVIDIA’s favor. The FirePro W8000 holds a 75th percentile rank among all GPUs, while the RTX PRO 4000 sits at the 72nd percentile, but that percentile similarity masks the fact that the NVIDIA card is competing in a far more demanding modern benchmark environment. For any task leveraging Vulkan, the verdict is unambiguous: the RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is the superior choice.

Where Each One Wins

The data splits cleanly by era and workload. The AMD FirePro W8000 wins in legacy compatibility and raw availability of a specific feature set: it supports 4x DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI outputs, making it a specialist for older broadcast or multi-display setups that require SDI connectivity. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 176.0 GB/s of bandwidth, figures that were competitive at its 2012 release but are now entry-level. Its only recorded benchmarks are Geekbench OpenCL (24,440) and Geekbench Vulkan (33,981), the latter being its sole head-to-head comparison with the NVIDIA card — a matchup it loses by a wide margin.

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell wins every modern compute and graphics scenario. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 194,168 is 5.7 times higher than the AMD’s, and it also posts strong results in Passmark suites: 28,427 in G3D, 14,805 in GPU Compute, and 1,265 in G2D. The card features 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads that the FirePro W8000 cannot even attempt. With 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, bandwidth reaches 672.0 GB/s — 3.8 times the AMD’s figure. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD tops out at DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. For any workload involving ray tracing, tensor operations, or modern API features, the RTX PRO 4000 is the only viable option.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD FirePro W8000 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The die measures 352 mm² and contains 4,313 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell uses the GB203 chip on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, also built at TSMC but on a 5 nm process. Its die is slightly larger at 378 mm² but packs 45,600 million transistors — over 10 times more — for a density of 120.6M per mm².

The compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The AMD card has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. The NVIDIA card has 8,960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, plus 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores. This translates to peak FP32 performance of 3.226 TFLOPS for the AMD versus 36.83 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA — an 11.4x advantage. The NVIDIA card also offers FP16 at 36.83 TFLOPS (1:1), while the AMD has no listed FP16 capability. Texture and pixel rates tell the same story: the AMD manages 100.8 GTexel/s and 28.80 GPixel/s, while the NVIDIA reaches 575.4 GTexel/s and 197.3 GPixel/s.

Memory architecture is another generational leap. The AMD uses 4 GB GDDR5 at 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus. The NVIDIA uses 24 GB GDDR7 at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) on a 192-bit bus. Although the NVIDIA bus is narrower, the much faster memory clocks produce over 3.8 times the bandwidth. Power efficiency also favors the newer card: the NVIDIA has a TDP of 140 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the AMD draws 225 W and requires a 550 W PSU. The NVIDIA achieves 6.2 times the FP32 throughput per watt.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one benchmark appears in both cards’ result sets: Geekbench Vulkan. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell scores 194,168, while the AMD FirePro W8000 scores 33,981. The delta is 82.5 percent in NVIDIA’s favor, meaning the AMD card achieves roughly 17.5 percent of the NVIDIA’s score. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a complete wipeout. In absolute terms, the NVIDIA card’s score is 160,187 points higher.

Context from nearest rivals reinforces the NVIDIA’s standing. The RTX PRO 4000’s average benchmark score is 27,135, placing it just 1.1 percent behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27,425) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27,435), and 1.6 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27,565). It leads the NVIDIA RTX A4000 (26,683) by 1.7 percent. The FirePro W8000’s average score is 29,211, which is effectively tied with the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29,197) and only 0.7 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996). In other words, the 2012 AMD card is competitive with mid-range GPUs from 2016-2018, while the 2025 NVIDIA card trades blows with high-end cards from the Ampere generation.

The FirePro’s OpenCL score of 24,440 is its second recorded result, but no direct comparison exists in the head-to-head data. Its Vulkan result, however, is telling: a score of 33,981 places it far below the NVIDIA’s 194,168, and also below the RTX PRO 4000’s own Passmark G3D score of 28,427 — meaning the NVIDIA card’s older DirectX 10 and 11 tests (scores of 173 and 276, respectively) are not directly comparable, but its modern API performance is undeniably superior.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The AMD FirePro W8000 uses a 28 nm process; the NVIDIA uses 5 nm. Transistor count is 4,313 million versus 45,600 million. Die size is 352 mm² versus 378 mm². Transistor density is 12.3M / mm² versus 120.6M / mm². The AMD has no base or boost clock listed; the NVIDIA has a base clock of 1230 MHz and a boost of 2055 MHz. Memory size is 4 GB versus 24 GB; type is GDDR5 versus GDDR7; bus width is 256-bit versus 192-bit; bandwidth is 176.0 GB/s versus 672.0 GB/s. Memory clock is 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

Shading units are 1,792 versus 8,960; TMUs are 112 versus 280; ROPs are 32 versus 96. The NVIDIA adds 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores; the AMD has none. Pixel rate is 28.80 GPixel/s versus 197.3 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 100.8 GTexel/s versus 575.4 GTexel/s. FP32 is 3.226 TFLOPS versus 36.83 TFLOPS; FP16 is absent versus 36.83 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP is 225 W versus 140 W. Slot width is dual-slot versus single-slot. Power connectors are 2x 6-pin versus 1x 16-pin. Suggested PSU is 550 W versus 300 W. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI versus 4x DisplayPort 2.1b. DirectX support is 12 (11_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2); Vulkan is 1.2.170 versus 1.4; OpenGL is 4.6 on both. Length is 279 mm (11 inches) versus 241 mm (9.5 inches); height is identical at 111 mm (4.4 inches); the NVIDIA adds a width of 20 mm (0.8 inches). Production status is end-of-life versus active. Release dates are June 2012 versus March 2025. The AMD’s launch MSRP was 1,599 USD; the NVIDIA has no listed launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell, at 672.0 GB/s, compared to the AMD FirePro W8000’s 176.0 GB/s — a 3.8x advantage.

Q: Does the AMD FirePro W8000 support ray tracing?

A: No. The AMD card has no RT cores listed, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell includes 70 RT cores.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The NVIDIA card delivers 36.83 TFLOPS, while the AMD delivers 3.226 TFLOPS, making the NVIDIA roughly 11.4 times faster in single-precision compute.

Q: How do the cards compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The NVIDIA scores 194,168 against the AMD’s 33,981, a delta of 82.5 percent in NVIDIA’s favor.

Q: Which card has a lower power draw?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell has a TDP of 140 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, versus the AMD’s 225 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU.

Q: Are both cards currently in production?

A: No. The AMD FirePro W8000 is end-of-life, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is listed as active.

The Verdict

The data supports only one conclusion for modern workloads: the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is the superior GPU in nearly every category. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark by 82.5 percent, offers 10 times the transistor count, 11.4 times the FP32 throughput, and nearly 4 times the memory bandwidth, all while drawing 85 W less power and occupying a single slot instead of two. Its 24 GB of GDDR7 memory and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 make it suitable for current and future software, and its 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores open up ray tracing and AI capabilities that the AMD card structurally cannot provide.

The AMD FirePro W8000 should only be considered by users with a specific, legacy requirement: its SDI display output is unique in this comparison, and its 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs may match older monitor infrastructure. Its performance level, however, is comparable to GPUs from the RX 470 era, and its 4 GB memory is a hard limit for modern datasets. The NVIDIA card’s nearest rivals include the GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 4070 Mobile, which places it in high-end territory. For any professional workload that can use Vulkan, DirectX 12, or compute APIs, the RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is the only defensible choice. The FirePro W8000 is a historical artifact; the RTX PRO 4000 is a current tool.