AMD FirePro W8000 vs AMD Radeon Pro Duo Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head OpenCL benchmark between the AMD Radeon Pro Duo and the AMD FirePro W8000. The Radeon Pro Duo posts a score of 35,860, while the FirePro W8000 trails at 24,440. That works out to a 46.7% advantage for the Radeon Pro Duo, a commanding lead in raw compute throughput.

The Radeon Pro Duo’s score places it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 at 35,520 (1% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile at 35,435 (1.2% behind), the NVIDIA T1000 at 36,289 (1.2% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 5300M at 36,529 (1.8% ahead). The Radeon Pro Duo sits in a tight cluster, trading blows with these cards within a narrow 2-point band.

The FirePro W8000, by contrast, lands in the 75th percentile. Its average benchmark score across OpenCL and Vulkan tests is 29,211, with its nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH at 29,197 (statistically tied), the Intel Arc A370M at 29,175 (0.1% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28,996 (0.7% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 28,874 (1.2% behind). The FirePro W8000 is essentially neck-and-neck with that group, but it is a full 46.7% behind the Radeon Pro Duo in the one test both cards share.

In the head-to-head tally, the Radeon Pro Duo wins the only recorded matchup. The FirePro W8000 does not secure a single win. That asymmetry is stark and reflects the generational gulf between the two products.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon Pro Duo is built on the Capsaicin chip, using GCN 3.0 architecture, while the FirePro W8000 uses the Tahiti chip with the older GCN 1.0 architecture. Both are fabricated on TSMC’s 28 nm process, but the transistor budgets diverge sharply. The Radeon Pro Duo packs 8,900 million transistors on a 596 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 14.9 million per square millimeter. The FirePro W8000 has 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, for a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources tell the story of the performance gap. The Radeon Pro Duo has 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The FirePro W8000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. That is 2.3 times the shading units, 2.3 times the texture units, and exactly double the ROPs on the newer card.

Memory configurations are fundamentally different. The Radeon Pro Duo uses 4 GB of HBM with a 4096-bit memory bus and a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The FirePro W8000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 176.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Duo’s memory clock is listed at 500 MHz with 1000 Mbps effective, while the FirePro W8000 runs at 1375 MHz with 5.5 Gbps effective. The bus width difference more than compensates for the lower clock speed, giving the Radeon Pro Duo nearly three times the memory bandwidth.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The Radeon Pro Duo achieves 64.00 GPixel/s and 256.0 GTexel/s, versus 28.80 GPixel/s and 100.8 GTexel/s for the FirePro W8000. Floating-point performance: the Radeon Pro Duo delivers 8.192 TFLOPS FP32, and it also matches that with 8.192 TFLOPS FP16 (at a 1:1 ratio). The FirePro W8000 has 3.226 TFLOPS FP32 and no recorded FP16 capability.

Power requirements scale with performance. The Radeon Pro Duo has a 350 W TDP, requires three 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 750 W power supply. The FirePro W8000 has a 225 W TDP, uses two 6-pin connectors, and suggests a 550 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards, and both use PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces.

Display outputs differ as well. The Radeon Pro Duo has one HDMI 1.4a port and three DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The FirePro W8000 has four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs plus one SDI output. Both support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, but the Radeon Pro Duo’s DirectX feature level is 12_0, while the FirePro W8000 is limited to 11_1.

Physical dimensions are close: the Radeon Pro Duo measures 277 mm (10.9 inches) in length, the FirePro W8000 is 279 mm (11 inches). Both are 111 mm (4.4 inches) tall.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 46.7% higher than the FirePro W8000’s 24,440. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark in the database.

Q: How do the memory systems compare?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo uses 4 GB of HBM on a 4096-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro W8000 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 176.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Duo has roughly three times the memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The Radeon Pro Duo is rated at 350 W and needs three 8-pin connectors with a 750 W suggested PSU. The FirePro W8000 is rated at 225 W, uses two 6-pin connectors, and suggests a 550 W power supply.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life in the database. The Radeon Pro Duo was released on 2016-04-25, and the FirePro W8000 on 2012-06-13. Both share the same successor, the Radeon Pro Polaris.

Q: How does the FirePro W8000 compare to its own rivals?

A: The FirePro W8000’s average score of 29,211 is within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH, Intel Arc A370M, AMD Radeon RX 470, and AMD Radeon RX 6800M. It is effectively tied with that group.

Q: What API feature levels do the two cards support?

A: Both support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Radeon Pro Duo supports DirectX 12 feature level 12_0, while the FirePro W8000 is capped at feature level 11_1.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Radeon Pro Duo is the faster card by a wide margin. Its 46.7% lead in OpenCL over the FirePro W8000 comes from a newer architecture, more than double the shading units, and nearly triple the memory bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Duo also sits in a higher overall percentile, 80th versus 75th, and its nearest rivals are much more recent products like the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile.

The FirePro W8000’s strengths are limited to power efficiency and connectivity. It draws 225 W versus 350 W, uses simpler power connectors, and offers an SDI output that the Radeon Pro Duo lacks. For workloads that need SDI output or a lower system power budget, the FirePro W8000 remains a functional option. For raw compute, the Radeon Pro Duo is the clear choice.

Pick the Radeon Pro Duo if the priority is maximum OpenCL throughput, as its score of 35,860 is nearly 47% higher. Pick the FirePro W8000 if the workload specifically requires SDI connectivity or if the 225 W power draw and 550 W PSU recommendation fit an existing system build. The Radeon Pro Duo’s 350 W TDP and 750 W PSU suggestion are heavier demands.

Both cards are end-of-life, so the choice is between two legacy products. The Radeon Pro Duo represents the newer GCN 3.0 design, while the FirePro W8000 is an older GCN 1.0 part. The Radeon Pro Duo also has the higher launch MSRP at 1,499 USD, compared to 1,599 USD for the FirePro W8000, though both are long out of production.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon Pro Duo | AMD FirePro W8000 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | Capsaicin | Tahiti |

| Architecture | GCN 3.0 | GCN 1.0 |

| Generation | Radeon Pro GCN | FirePro GCN (Wx000) |

| Transistors | 8,900 million | 4,313 million |

| Die Size | 596 mm² | 352 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 14.9M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective) | 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Type | HBM | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 176.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 256 | 112 |

| ROPs | 64 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 64.00 GPixel/s | 28.80 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 256.0 GTexel/s | 100.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.192 TFLOPS | 3.226 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 8.192 TFLOPS (1:1) | None recorded |

| TDP | 350 W | 225 W |

| Power Connectors | 3x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 1.4a, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 4x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x SDI |

| DirectX Feature Level | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_1) |

| Length | 277 mm (10.9 inches) | 279 mm (11 inches) |

| Release Date | 2016-04-25 | 2012-06-13 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,499 USD | 1,599 USD |

| Predecessor | FirePro GCN | FirePro Terascale |