AMD FirePro V8700: High-End Workstation Graphics
AMD’s RV770 graphics processor, so well-known for its use in gaming variants of the Radeon HD 4870, is now being used in the company’s workstation graphics cards. At the same time, AMD has stepped away from its well-known FireGL brand; the most current professional graphics adapters now carry a FirePro label. Tom’s Hardware has been lucky enough to score an early production model, the FirePro V8700, for comprehensive benchmarking.
The FirePro boards also mark a complete switchover by AMD from 80 to 55 nanometer manufacturing technology. Buyers should rejoice in that this means reduced power consumption, and correspondingly quieter cooling fans. But can a smaller die size and related technological advancements also improve performance?
Price is certainly a key factor here. At a price of $930 at Newegg, the V8700 is an astounding $284 cheaper than its predecessor, the FireGL V8600. Until this product hit the market, AMD’s ATI division had always placed great emphasis on maintaining price-performance ratios across similar products of its own design.
Nvidia has historically been able to outperform similar ATI products at the highest end of its product offerings. These days, Nvidia buyers must be willing to settle for performance parity instead—for example, see our previous article, «Pro Graphics: Seven Cards Compared».
It’s not completely clear to us why ATI has suddenly dropped the GL suffix from its Fire brand names, replacing that portion of that name with «Pro» instead. In discussions with product managers at ATI, we were repeatedly informed that «Pro» stands for «Professional» and thus better speaks to the goals of the workstation graphics group. Nevertheless, we believe that it can be risky to mess around with established brand names. Perhaps it makes more sense to see this move as a way of de-emphasizing differences between OpenGL and DirectX technologies? Either way, ATI has decided to switch its branding completely from FireGL to FirePro.
Market Overview
| Workstation Graphics Cards and their Mainstream Equivalents | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workstation-Model | Chip-Basis | Fab | Mainstream-Equivalent | Graphics RAM | 3-Pin Stereo | Display Port |
| ATI FirePro V8700 | RV770 | 55 nm | Radeon HD 4870 | 1024 MB GDDR5 | yes | yes |
| ATI FireGL V8600 | R600 | 80 nm | Radeon HD 2900 XT | 1024 MB GDDR4 | yes | no |
| ATI FireGL V7700 | RV670 | 55 nm | Radeon HD 3850 | 512 MB GDDR4 | yes | yes |
| ATI FireGL V7600 | R600 | 80 nm | Radeon HD 2900 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | no |
| ATI FireGL V5600 | RV630 | 65 nm | Radeon HD 2600 XT | 512 MB GDDR4 | no | no |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 | G80 | 90 nm | GeForce 8800 | 1536 MB GDDR3 | yes | no |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 4600 | G80 | 90 nm | GeForce 8800 | 768 MB GDDR3 | yes | no |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 1700 | G84 | 80 nm | GeForce 8600 | 512 MB DDR2 | yes | no |
| Workstation-Model | MemoryBandwidth | DirectX | OpenGL | Shader Model | Core Clock | Memory Clock | Pixel and Vertex Processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATI FirePro V8700 | 115 GB/s | 10. 1 |
2.1 | 4.0 | 750 MHz | 900 MHz | 800 SPUs |
| ATI FireGL V8600 | 111 GB/s | 10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 675 MHz | 868 MHz | 320 SPUs |
| ATI FireGL V7700 | 72.0 GB/s | 10.1 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 775 MHz | 1125 MHz | 320 SPUs |
| ATI FireGL V7600 | 51.0 GB/s | 10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 500 MHz | 510 MHz | 320 SPUs |
| ATI FireGL V5600 | 35.1 GB/s | 10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 800 MHz | 1100 MHz | 120 SPUs |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 | 76.8 GB/s | 10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 600 MHz | 800 MHz | 112 SPUs |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 4600 | 67.2 GB/s | 10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 500 MHz | 700 MHz | 112 SPUs |
| Nvidia Quadro FX 1700 | 12. 8 GB/s |
10 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 460 MHz | 400 MHz | 32 SPUs |
Legend: SPUs = Stream Processing Units
In this context, we also think it’s wise to describe a couple of interesting software initiatives. When it comes to Nvidia’s CUDA (Computer Unified Device Architecture) we can offer a comprehensive article. On the other hand, the competition offers its own AMD Stream Computing. We dig into this more deeply on the next page, and do likewise for the ATI FirePro V8700 hardware details.
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Introduction
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FirePro V8700 — Technical City
ATI
FirePro V8700
Buy
- Interface PCIe 2.0 x16
- Core clock speed 750 MHz
- Max video memory 1024 MB
- Memory type GDDR5
- Memory clock speed 3400 MHz
- Maximum resolution
Summary
ATI started FirePro V8700 sales 11 September 2008 at a recommended price of $1,499.
This is TeraScale architecture desktop card based on 55 nm manufacturing process and primarily aimed at designers. 1 GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 3.4 GHz are supplied, and together with 256 Bit memory interface this creates a bandwidth of 108.8 GB/s.
Compatibility-wise, this is dual-slot card attached via PCIe 2.0 x16 interface. Its manufacturer default version has a length of 254 mm. Two 6-pin power connectors are required, and power consumption is at 151 Watt.
We have no data on FirePro V8700 benchmark results.
General info
Of FirePro V8700’s architecture, market segment and release date.
| Place in performance rating | not rated | |
| Architecture | TeraScale (2005−2013) | |
| GPU code name | RV770 | |
| Market segment | Workstation | |
| Release date | 11 September 2008 (14 years ago) | |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,499 | |
| Current price | $118 (0. 1x MSRP) |
of 49999 (A100 SXM4) |
Technical specs
FirePro V8700’s general performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU base clock, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of FirePro V8700’s performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider its benchmark and gaming test results.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 800 | of 18432 (AD102) |
| Core clock speed | 750 MHz | of 2610 (Radeon RX 6500 XT) |
| Number of transistors | 956 million | of 14400 (GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile) |
| Manufacturing process technology | 55 nm | of 4 (GeForce RTX 4080 Ti) |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 151 Watt | of 900 (Tesla S2050) |
| Texture fill rate | 30. 00 |
of 939.8 (h200 SXM5) |
| Floating-point performance | 1,200.0 gflops | of 16384 (Radeon Pro Duo) |
Compatibility, dimensions and requirements
Information on FirePro V8700’s compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it’s interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | |
| Length | 254 mm | |
| Width | 2-slot | |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin |
Memory
Parameters of memory installed on FirePro V8700: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Note that GPUs integrated into processors have no dedicated memory and use a shared part of system RAM instead.
| Memory type | GDDR5 | |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | of 128 (Radeon Instinct MI250X) |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | of 8192 (Radeon Instinct MI250X) |
| Memory clock speed | 3400 MHz | of 21000 (GeForce RTX 3090 Ti) |
| Memory bandwidth | 108.8 GB/s | of 14400 (Radeon R7 M260) |
Video outputs and ports
Types and number of video connectors present on FirePro V8700. As a rule, this section is relevant only for desktop reference graphics cards, since for notebook ones the availability of certain video outputs depends on the laptop model, while non-reference desktop models can (though not necessarily will) bear a different set of video ports.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x S-Video |
API support
APIs supported by FirePro V8700, sometimes including their particular versions.
| DirectX | 10.1 (10_1) | |
| Shader Model | 4.1 | |
| OpenGL | 3.3 | of 4.6 (GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile) |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | |
| Vulkan | N/A |
Benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance of FirePro V8700. Note that overall benchmark performance is measured in points in 0-100 range.
We have no data on FirePro V8700 benchmark results.
NVIDIA equivalent
We believe that the nearest equivalent to FirePro V8700 from NVIDIA is Quadro K4000.
Quadro
K4000
Compare
Similar GPUs
Here is our recommendation of several graphics cards that are more or less close in performance to the one reviewed.
Recommended processors
These processors are most commonly used with FirePro V8700 according to our statistics.
Xeon
E5440
50%
Core i7
4800MQ
50%
User rating
Here you can see the user rating of the graphics card, as well as rate it yourself.
Questions and comments
Here you can ask a question about FirePro V8700, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
specs overview and gaming performance tests
The FirePro V8700 video card was released by ATI, release date: 11 September 2008. At the time of release, the video card cost $1,499. The video card is designed for workstation computers and is built on the TeraScale architecture, codenamed RV770.
Core frequency — 750 MHz. Texturing speed — 30 GTexel / s. Number of shader processors — 800. Floating point performance — 1,200.0 gflops. Technological process — 55 nm. Number of transistors — 956 million. Power consumption (TDP) — 151 Watt.
Memory type: GDDR5. The maximum memory size is 1 GB. Memory bus width — 256 Bit. Memory frequency — 3400 MHz. The memory bandwidth is 108.8 GB / s.
Benchmarks
| GFXBench 4.0 T-Rex |
|
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| GFXBench 4.0 T-Rex |
|
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| PassMark G2D Mark |
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| PassMark G3D Mark |
|
000 Fps | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex | 8543 Frames |
GFXBench 4. 0 — T-Rex |
152.600 Fps |
| PassMark — G2D Mark | 527 |
| PassMark — G3D Mark | 1539 |
Features
| Architecture | TeraScale |
| Codename | RV770 |
| Production date | 11 September 2008 |
| Price at first issue date | $1,499 |
| Place in the ranking | 319 |
| Type | Workstation |
| Core frequency | 750MHz |
| Floating point performance | 1,200. 0 gflops |
| Process | 55nm |
| Number of shaders | 800 |
| Texturing speed | 30 GTexel/s |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 151 Watt |
| Number of transistors | 956 million |
| Video connectors | 1x DVI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x S-Video |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 254mm |
| Additional power connectors | 2x 6-pin |
| DirectX | 10. 1 |
| OpenGL | 3.3 |
| Maximum memory size | 1GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 108.8 GB/s |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit |
| Memory frequency | 3400 MHz |
| Memory type | GDDR5 |
Navigation
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Video card FirePro V8700 — Technical City
ATI
FirePro V8700
- PCIe 2.
0 x16 interface - Core frequency 750 MHz
- Video memory size 1024 MB
- Memory type GDDR5
- Memory frequency 3400 MHz
- Maximum resolution
Description
ATI launched the FirePro V8700 on September 11, 2008 at a suggested price of $1,499. This is a desktop video card based on the TeraScale architecture and 55 nm manufacturing process, primarily aimed at designers. It has 1 GB of GDDR5 memory at 3.4 GHz, and coupled with a 256-bit interface, this creates a bandwidth of 108.8 Gb / s.
In terms of compatibility, this is a two-slot PCIe 2.0 x16 card. The length of the reference version is 254 mm. The connection requires two 6-pin additional power cables, and the power consumption is 151 watts.
We don’t have test results for the FirePro V8700.
General
Information about the type (desktop or laptop) and architecture of the FirePro V8700, as well as when sales started and cost at that time.
Compatibility and dimensions
Information on FirePro V8700 compatibility with other computer components. Useful for example when choosing the configuration of a future computer or to upgrade an existing one. For desktop video cards, these are the interface and connection bus (compatibility with the motherboard), the physical dimensions of the video card (compatibility with the motherboard and case), additional power connectors (compatibility with the power supply).
90 Ti)
Video
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1
1
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1
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Types and number of video connectors present on the FirePro V8700. As a rule, this section is relevant only for desktop reference video cards, since for laptop ones the availability of certain video outputs depends on the laptop model.
| Video connectors | ||
| OpenCl | 1. 1 |
|
| Vulkan | N/A |
