AMD FirePro W7000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Comparison

The AMD FirePro W7000 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 occupy opposite ends of the hardware timeline. The FirePro W7000 is a workstation card from 2012, built on AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture with a 28 nm process. The RTX 4060 is a 2023 consumer GPU from NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace generation, fabricated on a 5 nm node. Their benchmark profiles do not overlap in any meaningful way, but a direct comparison still reveals how architectural generations shift performance priorities.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data shows a clean sweep for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 in every benchmark where both cards were measured. The head-to-head results contain only two tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. The RTX 4060 wins both. In OpenCL, the RTX 4060 scores 95,057 against the FirePro W7000’s 17,808, a difference of 81.3% in favor of the newer card. In Vulkan, the RTX 4060 posts 48,643 versus 22,001, a 54.8% lead. There are no benchmark wins for the AMD FirePro W7000 in this comparison.

The FirePro W7000 does hold a higher percentile ranking across all GPUs in the database. It sits at the 65th percentile, while the RTX 4060 ranks at the 61st. That ranking reflects the FirePro’s average benchmark score of 19,905 across its tested workloads, which is higher than the RTX 4060’s average of 17,639. This is a quirk of the database: the FirePro has fewer recorded benchmarks, and those specific tests (OpenCL and Vulkan) happen to favor it relative to the broader GPU population. The RTX 4060’s average is dragged down by a wider set of tests, including older DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 workloads where it scores lower.

In terms of raw architectural capabilities, the RTX 4060 leads in nearly every specification that matters for modern workloads. It has 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4060 also features 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, while the FirePro has none. The RTX 4060’s pixel rate is 118.1 GPixel/s, its texture rate is 236.2 GTexel/s, and its FP32 compute is 15.11 TFLOPS. The FirePro W7000 delivers 30.40 GPixel/s, 76.00 GTexel/s, and 2.432 TFLOPS. The RTX 4060 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (15.11 TFLOPS), while the FirePro has no listed FP16 capability.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the superior card for any application that uses OpenCL or Vulkan. Its lead in both head-to-head benchmarks is substantial, and its architectural features (ray tracing cores, tensor cores, higher shader count, newer process node) support workloads that the FirePro W7000 cannot handle at all. The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, compared to the FirePro’s 4 GB of GDDR5 with 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 4060 also boosts to 2460 MHz, while the FirePro’s boost clock is not listed.

The FirePro W7000 is not without arguments for specific use cases. Its single-slot design and 150 W TDP, paired with a 6-pin power connector, make it a lower-profile card for dense workstation builds. It also has four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, which is useful for multi-monitor setups. The RTX 4060 is dual-slot, consumes 115 W, uses a 12-pin connector, and offers one HDMI 2.1 plus three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The FirePro’s 65th percentile ranking, higher than the RTX 4060’s 61st, suggests that in the narrow set of tests where it was measured, it performs better relative to the entire GPU field. But that ranking does not translate to a win in any direct comparison with the RTX 4060.

For a buyer choosing between these two today, the RTX 4060 is the only rational pick for performance. It is faster in both benchmark tests, has more memory, higher bandwidth, and a modern feature set. The FirePro W7000 is end-of-life, launched in June 2012, while the RTX 4060 launched in May 2023. The RTX 4060’s predecessor is the GeForce 30 series, and its successor is the GeForce 50 series. The FirePro’s predecessor is FirePro Terascale, and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris. The generation gap is decisive.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap. The RTX 4060 scores 95,057, which is 81.3% higher than the FirePro W7000’s 17,808. The percentage delta is recorded from the perspective of the FirePro, meaning the older card is 81.3% behind. This test exercises general-purpose compute on the GPU, and the RTX 4060’s 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput versus the FirePro’s 2.432 TFLOPS explains the scale of the difference. The RTX 4060 also has 96 tensor cores that can accelerate certain compute tasks, though the OpenCL workload may not directly use them. The memory bandwidth advantage (272.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s) further contributes to the result.

The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap but still favors the RTX 4060. The score is 48,643 for the RTX 4060 and 22,001 for the FirePro W7000, a 54.8% difference. Vulkan is a lower-level graphics API, and the RTX 4060’s newer architecture (Ada Lovelace) supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 4060’s higher texture rate (236.2 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (118.1 GPixel/s) give it a clear edge in rasterization-heavy workloads. The FirePro’s GCN 1.0 architecture, designed for a different era, cannot match the per-clock efficiency of the 5 nm process.

The nearest rivals in the database provide context. The FirePro W7000’s closest competitor by average score is the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, with an average score of 19,885, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT sits 0.7% behind the FirePro’s 19,905 average. The FirePro D300 is 1.4% behind, and the Quadro K5200 is 1.5% behind. These are all older or midrange cards, which confirms that the FirePro’s average score is competitive for its generation but not for modern standards.

The RTX 4060’s nearest rivals are quite different. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 has an average score of 17,666, which is 0.2% higher than the RTX 4060’s 17,639. The AMD Radeon 780M (integrated graphics) is 0.3% behind, the Radeon Pro 560 is 0.5% behind, and the Radeon Pro 460 is 0.7% behind. This grouping shows that the RTX 4060’s average score is suppressed by its heavy benchmark load, which includes older DirectX tests where it scores low (Passmark DirectX 9 at 236, DirectX 10 at 103, DirectX 11 at 175, DirectX 12 at 76). The FirePro has no such low scores because it was only tested in OpenCL and Vulkan.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 wins with a score of 95,057, which is 81.3% higher than the AMD FirePro W7000’s 17,808.

Q: Does the AMD FirePro W7000 have any benchmark wins over the RTX 4060?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows zero wins for the FirePro W7000 and two wins for the RTX 4060 (OpenCL and Vulkan).

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The FirePro W7000 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the TDP values for these cards?

A: The FirePro W7000 has a TDP of 150 W and uses a single 6-pin power connector. The RTX 4060 has a TDP of 115 W and uses a single 12-pin connector.

Q: Which card has ray tracing cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 has ray tracing cores (24) and tensor cores (96). The AMD FirePro W7000 has neither.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card?

A: The FirePro W7000 ranks at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 ranks at the 61st percentile.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is the primary reason for the benchmark results. The FirePro W7000 uses AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip, codenamed Pitcairn, contains 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.2 million per mm². The RTX 4060 uses NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. The chip, AD107, packs 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, achieving a density of 118.9 million per mm². That is roughly nine times the transistor density, which explains how the RTX 4060 fits more compute units into a smaller physical area.

The FirePro W7000 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4060 has 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The shading unit count is more than double, and the TMU and ROP counts are higher by 20% and 50% respectively. The RTX 4060 also has dedicated hardware for ray tracing (24 RT cores) and AI acceleration (96 tensor cores), which the FirePro lacks entirely. The FP32 compute is 15.11 TFLOPS for the RTX 4060 versus 2.432 TFLOPS for the FirePro, a 6.2x difference. The FP16 throughput matches FP32 on the RTX 4060 (15.11 TFLOPS), while the FirePro has no listed FP16 figure.

Memory architecture differs as well. The FirePro uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 4060 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 4060 achieves 77% more bandwidth due to faster memory. The bus interface also changes: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the FirePro, PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4060. The newer PCIe standard provides higher per-lane bandwidth, so the x8 link may be comparable to the older x16.

API support shows the generational leap. The FirePro supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 4060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer DirectX feature level enables advanced rendering techniques that the FirePro cannot execute. Display outputs also differ: the FirePro has four DisplayPort 1.2 ports, while the RTX 4060 has one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports. The FirePro is single-slot (242 mm long, 111 mm tall), while the RTX 4060 is dual-slot (240 mm long, 111 mm tall, 40 mm wide). The FirePro’s dimensions allow it to fit in tighter chassis, but the RTX 4060’s lower TDP (115 W versus 150 W) and lower suggested PSU (300 W versus 450 W) offset that advantage.

The release dates confirm the gulf: the FirePro shipped in June 2012, the RTX 4060 in May 2023. The FirePro’s production status is end-of-life, as is the RTX 4060’s, but the RTX 4060 is a much more recent product. The FirePro’s launch MSRP was 899 USD, while the RTX 4060 launched at 299 USD. That price difference reflects the workstation positioning of the FirePro, but performance data shows the consumer card dominates it in every measured metric. The RTX 4060’s predecessor is the GeForce 30 series, and its successor is the GeForce 50 series. The FirePro’s predecessor is FirePro Terascale, and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris. Neither card has a future, but the RTX 4060 is the one with a present.