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FirePro D300 vs GeForce GTX 680

CPUCPUGPUGPU

FirePro D300

2014Core: 850 MHz
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VS
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 680

2012Core: 1006 MHzBoost: 1058 MHz
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FirePro D300 vs GeForce GTX 680 Performance Spectrum

FirePro D300
4 GB 150
5,722
+2.0%
brand logoRadeon R7 260X
brand logoRadeon 840M
brand logoRadeon R9 270
brand logoRadeon RX 5300M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 6600M
brand logoRadeon RX 7650 GRE
brand logoRadeon RX 7700
GeForce GTX 680
4 GB 195
5,609
0.0%
brand logoGeForce GTX 860M
brand logoGeForce MX450
brand logoGeForce GTX 880M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 1630
brand logoGeForce GTX 1060 3GB
brand logoGeForce RTX 2060
brand logoGeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile
brand logoRTX 4000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

FirePro D300 vs GeForce GTX 680: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

FirePro D300

2014

Why buy it

  • ✅Draws 150W instead of 195W, a 45W reduction.
  • ✅Measures 242mm instead of 256mm, a 14mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
  • ✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

GeForce GTX 680

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $1 less on MSRP ($499 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • ❌2012 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌30% higher power demand at 195W vs 150W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
FirePro D300 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2% in PassMark G3D (5,722 vs 5,609), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
FirePro D300 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2014 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
FirePro D300 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $1 more expensive on MSRP at $500 vs $499, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1.8% (11.4 vs 11.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

FirePro D300 vs GeForce GTX 680 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

FirePro D300

The FirePro D300 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 18 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,722 points.

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 680

The GeForce GTX 680 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 1006 MHz to 1058 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 195W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,609 points. Launch price was $499.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The FirePro D300 scores 5,722 and the GeForce GTX 680 reaches 5,609 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The FirePro D300 is built on GCN 1.0 while the GeForce GTX 680 uses Kepler, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,280 (FirePro D300) vs 1,536 (GeForce GTX 680). Raw compute: 2.176 TFLOPS (FirePro D300) vs 3.25 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 680).

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
G3D Mark Score
5,722+2%
5,609
Architecture
GCN 1.0
Kepler
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1280
1536+20%
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.176 TFLOPS
3.25 TFLOPS+49%
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
80
128+60%
L1 Cache
320 KB+150%
128 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 680 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The FirePro D300 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
NVIDIA Reflex
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the FirePro D300 and 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 680.

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit
256-bit+100%
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FirePro D300) vs 12 (FL 11_0) (GeForce GTX 680). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 4.

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
DirectX
12
12 (FL 11_0)
Vulkan
1.2+9%
1.1
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
6+50%
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (FirePro D300) vs NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 680). Decoder: UVD 4.0 vs PureVideo VP5. Supported codecs: H.264,MPEG-4,MPEG-2,VC-1 (FirePro D300) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 680).

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
Encoder
VCE 1.0
NVENC 1st gen
Decoder
UVD 4.0
PureVideo VP5
Codecs
H.264,MPEG-4,MPEG-2,VC-1
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The FirePro D300 draws 150W versus the GeForce GTX 680's 195W — a 26.1% difference. The FirePro D300 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (FirePro D300) vs 550W (GeForce GTX 680). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 242mm vs 256mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 98°C.

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
TDP
150W-23%
195W
Recommended PSU
350W-36%
550W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
2x 6-pin
Length
242mm
256mm
Height
111mm
111mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
80°C-18%
98°C
Perf/Watt
38.1+32%
28.8
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the FirePro D300 came in at $500, while the GeForce GTX 680 launched at $499. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 680 was 0.2% cheaper ($1 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 11.4 (FirePro D300) vs 11.2 (GeForce GTX 680) — the FirePro D300 offers 1.8% better value. The newer card here is FirePro D300 (2014 vs 2012).

FeatureFirePro D300GeForce GTX 680
MSRP
$500
$499
Performance per Dollar
11.4+2%
11.2
Codename
Pitcairn
GK104
Release
January 18 2014
March 22 2012
Ranking
#506
#410
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