FirePro D500 vs Radeon R9 M470

FirePro D500

2014Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon R9 M470

2016Core: 900 MHzBoost: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
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FirePro D500 vs Radeon R9 M470 Performance Spectrum

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 D500 vs Radeon R9 M470: 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 D500

2014

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

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.
  • 42.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $500 MSRPvs$350 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.5 vs 6.7 G3D/$ ($500 MSRP vs $350 MSRP).
  • 265.3% higher power demand at 274W vs 75W.

Radeon R9 M470

2016

Why buy it

  • Costs $150 less on MSRP ($350 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
  • Delivers 46.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.7 vs 4.5 G3D/$ ($350 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
  • Draws 75W instead of 274W, a 199W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2016 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R9 M470 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.6% in PassMark G3D (2,331 vs 2,272), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
FirePro D500 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R9 M470 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $150 cheaper on MSRP at $350 vs $500, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 46.6% (6.7 vs 4.5), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 M470 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, FirePro D500 has the stronger long-term case.

FirePro D500 vs Radeon R9 M470 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

FirePro D500

The FirePro D500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 18 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 274W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,272 points.

AMD

Radeon R9 M470

The Radeon R9 M470 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 15 2016. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 900 MHz to 1000 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,331 points.

Graphics Performance

The FirePro D500 scores 2,272 and the Radeon R9 M470 reaches 2,331 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The FirePro D500 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R9 M470 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (FirePro D500) vs 768 (Radeon R9 M470). Raw compute: 2.227 TFLOPS (FirePro D500) vs 1.536 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M470).

FeatureFirePro D500Radeon R9 M470
G3D Mark Score
2,272
2,331+3%
Architecture
GCN 1.0
GCN 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1536+100%
768
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.227 TFLOPS+45%
1.536 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+100%
16
TMUs
96+100%
48
L1 Cache
384 KB+100%
192 KB
L2 Cache
768 KB+200%
256 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureFirePro D500Radeon R9 M470
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the FirePro D500 and 128-bit on the Radeon R9 M470. L2 Cache: 768 KB (FirePro D500) vs 256 KB (Radeon R9 M470) — the FirePro D500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureFirePro D500Radeon R9 M470
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
768 KB+200%
256 KB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The FirePro D500 draws 274W versus the Radeon R9 M470's 75W — a 114% difference. The Radeon R9 M470 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (FirePro D500) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M470). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs Mobile.

FeatureFirePro D500Radeon R9 M470
TDP
274W
75W-73%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
Mobile
Length
279mm
Slots
2
Temp (Load)
75°C
Perf/Watt
8.3
31.1+275%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the FirePro D500 came in at $500, while the Radeon R9 M470 launched at $350. On MSRP, Radeon R9 M470 was 30% cheaper ($150 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.5 (FirePro D500) vs 6.7 (Radeon R9 M470) — the Radeon R9 M470 offers 48.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R9 M470 (2016 vs 2014).

FeatureFirePro D500Radeon R9 M470
MSRP
$500
$350-30%
Performance per Dollar
4.5
6.7+49%
Codename
Tahiti
Emerald
Release
January 18 2014
May 15 2016
Ranking
#484
#649

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