AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs AMD Radeon Pro 580 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmark data?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580 wins the only head-to-head test available. In Geekbench Metal, it scores 39213 versus 33951 for the AMD Radeon HD 7950, a 15.5% advantage.

Q: How do these two cards compare to their nearest rivals in the database?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 has an average benchmark score of 40318, placing it 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. The Radeon HD 7950 averages 33951, sitting 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 480, 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S, and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each card?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 217.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon HD 7950 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 delivers 5.530 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, nearly double the 2.867 TFLOPS of the Radeon HD 7950. The Pro 580 also supports FP16 at 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1), while the HD 7950 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Q: What are the production statuses and release dates?

A: Both cards are end-of-life. The Radeon Pro 580 was released on 2017-06-04, while the Radeon HD 7950 came out on 2012-01-30.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel and texture fill rate?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 achieves 38.40 GPixel/s and 172.8 GTexel/s. The Radeon HD 7950 achieves 25.60 GPixel/s and 89.60 GTexel/s. The Pro 580 leads in both categories.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between the two cards, though only one test appears in the head-to-head comparison. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 wins the only recorded head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench Metal, by 15.5%. That single result, combined with its higher average score, gives the Pro 580 a clear overall performance edge.

The Radeon HD 7950 does not win any recorded head-to-head test. Its strengths in the database are limited to specific specification areas. It has a wider 384-bit memory bus versus the Pro 580's 256-bit bus, which contributes to its higher memory bandwidth of 240.0 GB/s compared to 217.0 GB/s. It also has a longer physical footprint as a dual-slot card with 2x 6-pin power connectors, while the Pro 580 is an integrated form factor (IGP) with no power connectors. For users prioritizing memory bandwidth per the recorded data, the HD 7950 holds that specific advantage.

The Radeon Pro 580 wins on nearly every compute metric. Its shading unit count of 2304 exceeds the HD 7950's 1792. Its texture units number 144 versus 112. Its FP32 throughput of 5.530 TFLOPS is almost double the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 38.40 GPixel/s and texture rate of 172.8 GTexel/s both outpace the HD 7950's 25.60 GPixel/s and 89.60 GTexel/s. The Pro 580 also has more memory capacity at 8 GB versus 3 GB.

The use-case split follows these numbers. The Pro 580 is the choice for compute-heavy workloads and modern API support, with DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The HD 7950, with its older GCN 1.0 architecture and more limited API support (DirectX 12 (11_1), Vulkan 1.2.170), is better positioned for scenarios where the wider memory bus and higher bandwidth matter, though no benchmark in the database confirms a win for it.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next design. The Radeon Pro 580 uses GCN 4.0 architecture on the Ellesmere chip, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The Radeon HD 7950 uses GCN 1.0 architecture on the Tahiti chip, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. This process difference is substantial: 14 nm versus 28 nm, which affects transistor density and efficiency.

Transistor counts reflect the architectural gap. The Pro 580 packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.6M per mm². The HD 7950 contains 4,313 million transistors on a much larger 352 mm² die, giving a density of just 12.3M per mm². The Pro 580 crams more than twice the transistors per square millimeter.

The generations also differ in their product families. The Pro 580 belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (500 Series) generation, while the HD 7950 belongs to Southern Islands (HD 7900). The HD 7950 has recorded predecessors and successors: Northern Islands before it and Sea Islands after it. The Pro 580 has no recorded predecessor or successor in the database.

API support diverges meaningfully. The Pro 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Pro 580 also has FP16 capability at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the HD 7950 has no FP16 data recorded. This indicates a more modern compute feature set on the Pro 580.

Physical design differs completely. The Pro 580 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The HD 7950 is a dual-slot card measuring 278 mm (10.9 inches) in length, 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height, and 38 mm (1.5 inches) in width, requiring 2x 6-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU.

Specification Differences

The Radeon Pro 580 and Radeon HD 7950 differ across nearly every recorded specification.

• Process node: Pro 580 on 14 nm (GlobalFoundries), HD 7950 on 28 nm (TSMC).
• Transistors: Pro 580 at 5,700 million, HD 7950 at 4,313 million.
• Die size: Pro 580 at 232 mm², HD 7950 at 352 mm².
• Transistor density: Pro 580 at 24.6M / mm², HD 7950 at 12.3M / mm².
• Base clock: Pro 580 at 1100 MHz, HD 7950 has no recorded base clock.
• Boost clock: Pro 580 at 1200 MHz, HD 7950 has no recorded boost clock.
• Memory clock: Pro 580 at 1695 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective), HD 7950 at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective).
• Memory size: Pro 580 at 8 GB, HD 7950 at 3 GB.
• Memory bus width: Pro 580 at 256 bit, HD 7950 at 384 bit.
• Memory bandwidth: Pro 580 at 217.0 GB/s, HD 7950 at 240.0 GB/s.
• Shading units: Pro 580 at 2304, HD 7950 at 1792.
• Texture mapping units: Pro 580 at 144, HD 7950 at 112.
• ROPs: Both at 32.
• Pixel rate: Pro 580 at 38.40 GPixel/s, HD 7950 at 25.60 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: Pro 580 at 172.8 GTexel/s, HD 7950 at 89.60 GTexel/s.
• FP32: Pro 580 at 5.530 TFLOPS, HD 7950 at 2.867 TFLOPS.
• FP16: Pro 580 at 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1), HD 7950 has no recorded FP16.
• TDP: Pro 580 at 185 W, HD 7950 at 200 W.
• Slot width: Pro 580 at IGP, HD 7950 at dual-slot.
• Power connectors: Pro 580 has none, HD 7950 uses 2x 6-pin.
• Suggested PSU: Pro 580 has none recorded, HD 7950 lists 550 W.
• Display outputs: Pro 580 is portable-device dependent, HD 7950 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.
• DirectX support: Pro 580 at 12 (12_0), HD 7950 at 12 (11_1).
• Vulkan support: Pro 580 at 1.3, HD 7950 at 1.2.170.
• Dimensions: Pro 580 has none recorded, HD 7950 measures 278 mm x 111 mm x 38 mm.
• Release date: Pro 580 on 2017-06-04, HD 7950 on 2012-01-30.
• Launch MSRP: The HD 7950 launched at 449 USD. The Pro 580 has no recorded launch MSRP.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench Metal. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 39213, and the AMD Radeon HD 7950 scores 33951. The Pro 580 wins by 15.5%.

This 15.5% gap in Geekbench Metal aligns with the broader compute difference between the two architectures. The Pro 580's FP32 throughput of 5.530 TFLOPS is 93% higher than the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 172.8 GTexel/s is 93% higher than 89.60 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate of 38.40 GPixel/s is 50% higher than 25.60 GPixel/s. The benchmark delta is smaller than these raw compute deltas, which suggests that the HD 7950's higher memory bandwidth (240.0 GB/s versus 217.0 GB/s) partially compensates in real workloads.

The Pro 580's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 40318, versus 33951 for the HD 7950, a difference of about 18.8%. The Pro 580 also holds a higher percentile rank at 82 versus 78 for the HD 7950. The Pro 580's nearest rivals cluster tightly around its score: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 at 40377 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40870 (1.4% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 40063 (0.6% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile at 39568 (1.9% behind). The HD 7950's rivals also cluster tightly: the AMD Radeon RX 480 at 33997 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT at 34133 (0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB at 34154 (0.6% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 7700S at 33849 (0.3% behind).

The wins tally is 1 for the Pro 580 and 0 for the HD 7950. No other head-to-head tests exist in the database, so the comparison rests on this single Metal result plus the specification differences.

The Verdict

The recorded data points to the AMD Radeon Pro 580 as the faster card. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 15.5%, holds a higher average score (40318 versus 33951), and ranks in a higher percentile (82 versus 78). Its compute advantages are decisive: nearly double the FP32 throughput, 93% higher texture rate, 50% higher pixel rate, more shading units, more texture units, and double the memory capacity.

Buyers who need modern API support should choose the Pro 580. It offers DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the HD 7950 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Pro 580 also supports FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio, which the HD 7950 lacks entirely. Its 14 nm process and higher transistor density (24.6M / mm² versus 12.3M / mm²) indicate a more efficient design, reflected in its lower TDP of 185 W versus 200 W despite far higher performance.

The HD 7950 retains one meaningful specification advantage: memory bandwidth. Its 384-bit bus delivers 240.0 GB/s versus the Pro 580's 217.0 GB/s. For workloads that are heavily bandwidth-bound, the HD 7950's wider bus could matter, though no benchmark in the database confirms this. Its dual-slot design with 2x 6-pin connectors and 550 W suggested PSU also makes it a conventional add-in card, unlike the Pro 580's IGP form factor with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent outputs.

The HD 7950 also has a recorded launch MSRP of 449 USD, but no such figure exists for the Pro 580. The Pro 580 is an integrated part with no standalone retail dimensions, while the HD 7950 is a full-length 278 mm card.

For compute performance, modern API support, and efficiency, the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is the clear choice from the data. For memory bandwidth and a traditional card form factor, the AMD Radeon HD 7950 has specific, though unverified in benchmarks, advantages. The performance classification is straightforward: the Pro 580 wins the head-to-head, and the HD 7950 does not win any recorded test.