AMD FirePro S9050

AMD’s FirePro S9050 is a dual-slot GPU from the FirePro Server (Sx000) generation, built around the Tahiti chip in a GCN 1.0 implementation. TSMC produced the chip on a 28 nm process; the die contains 4,313 million transistors across 352 mm², which works out to 12.3M transistors per mm². It was released on 2014-08-06 and is now end-of-life, with FirePro Terascale as the previous generation and Radeon Pro GCN as the next one. The database places it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, and no benchmark average is populated for it. That percentile is the central performance signal, while the specification sheet’s main asset is a large memory subsystem.

Who Should Consider It

The S9050 is a card for workloads where memory capacity outweighs peak throughput. At the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database, it sits exactly at the median, so it is not a top-tier performer. Its 12 GB GDDR5 frame buffer is large, and the 384-bit bus delivers 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For rendering to large frame buffers or holding sizeable datasets on the GPU, those numbers matter more than the compute peak.

The compute peak is 3.226 TFLOPS FP32, with 100.8 GTexel/s of texture fill and 28.80 GPixel/s of pixel fill. Those figures define the practical ceilings. A texture-heavy workload will press against the 100.8 GTexel/s rate, while a framebuffer-heavy workload will run into the 32 ROPs. At lower output resolutions or with reduced detail settings, those limits are less likely to bind. At high-detail settings with high-resolution output, the 12 GB capacity helps, but the 28.80 GPixel/s pixel rate and 32 ROPs will still constrain fill-intensive work.

The 1,792 shading units give the card a useful compute presence for GCN-era code. This is not a card for chasing high benchmark scores; it is a memory-capacity-oriented niche product. It belongs in a server context, as its own generation name indicates, and it has a single DisplayPort 1.2 output. Buyers or integrators who need 12 GB of VRAM and a simple dual-slot footprint are the natural audience, while those who need leading rasterization throughput should look elsewhere in the database.

Power and Cooling

Power delivery on the S9050 is straightforward. The TDP is 225 W, and the suggested PSU is 550 W. Power is supplied through a single 8-pin connector, and no additional 6-pin connector is listed. This is a modest power layout for a dual-slot card of this class.

The card occupies two expansion slots, so adjacent components need clearance. Its physical length is 254 mm (10 inches) and its height is 111 mm (4.4 inches), which determines the case space required. The cooling arrangement is dual-slot; the fact pack does not specify a cooler size beyond that slot width. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16. The single DisplayPort 1.2 output means there is no multi-display cabling or display-power load to plan around. In a system build, the 225 W TDP and 550 W PSU recommendation should be included in the total power budget. Since the product is end-of-life, the cooling solution is also a long-term maintenance consideration.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The S9050 has no dedicated ray tracing or tensor hardware. The fact pack does not list RT cores or tensor cores, so this GPU will not accelerate ray-traced scenes or tensor-based operations in the way later parts would. Its architecture is GCN 1.0, and the supported feature set is reflected in its API list.

The card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. DirectX 12 support is at the 11_1 feature level, which means later DirectX 12 feature-level requirements are not covered. Vulkan 1.2.170 provides a specific API version baseline. OpenGL 4.6 covers compatibility with modern OpenGL workloads.

The available processing resources are 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Those resources handle all non-accelerated rendering and compute. The lack of tensor cores means there is no dedicated path for tensor operations; such work would fall back to general-purpose FP32 compute. The lack of RT cores leaves ray-traced effects without hardware acceleration. This is a feature set built for GCN 1.0 compute and rasterization, not for hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

FAQ

Q: What architecture does this card use?

A: It uses the GCN 1.0 architecture with the Tahiti chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The die measures 352 mm² and contains 4,313 million transistors.

Q: Does the FirePro S9050 support ray tracing?

A: No. The database lists no RT cores and no tensor cores. API support is DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What power supply is required?

A: The suggested PSU is 550 W. The card has a TDP of 225 W and uses one 8-pin power connector.

Q: How much memory does it have?

A: It has 12 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The memory runs at 1375 MHz, or 5.5 Gbps effective, giving 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Is it still in production?

A: No, it is end-of-life. It was released on 2014-08-06, with FirePro Terascale as its predecessor and Radeon Pro GCN as its successor.

Q: Where does it sit in the benchmark database?

A: It sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs. Its benchmark score field is not populated, and no nearest rivals are listed.

How It Compares

There are no nearest rival entries for the FirePro S9050. This means there are no rival names, scores, or deltaPct values available for a direct comparison. The only relative position is the database-wide percentile of 50, which is the midpoint of all GPUs in the database. The card should therefore be understood as a median performer.

With no populated average benchmark score, there is no measured performance figure to anchor a head-to-head comparison. The predecessor and successor generations are known — FirePro Terascale and Radeon Pro GCN — but the data does not provide benchmark scores for either. Consequently, the S9050 has no rival-by-rival comparison in this database. Until nearest-rival data is populated, the 50th percentile is the only comparative metric available.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem is the defining specification of the FirePro S9050. It combines 12 GB of GDDR5, a 384-bit bus, and 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1375 MHz, which the data also states as 5.5 Gbps effective. The 384-bit bus is a wide memory interface, and the 12 GB capacity is large enough to hold substantial frame buffers and datasets.

For high-resolution rendering, the capacity helps prevent the GPU from running out of local memory. The bandwidth of 264.0 GB/s, however, caps how quickly data can move across that interface. The pixel rate is 28.80 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 100.8 GTexel/s; together with bandwidth, these numbers define the throughput envelope. A workload can fit its assets in the 12 GB frame buffer, but sustained reads and writes cannot exceed 264.0 GB/s.

The 32 ROPs are the final constraint for framebuffer writes. In memory-bound compute, the wide bus and bandwidth figure are the strongest reasons to consider the card. In compute-bound work, the 3.226 TFLOPS FP32 figure and 1,792 shading units determine the result. The memory subsystem is the most generous part of the S9050’s specification, and it gives the card its clearest purpose.