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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

FirePro D500

2014

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
405.1% HIGHER MSRP
$500 MSRPvs$99 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.5 vs 22.9 G3D/$ ($500 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
❌242.5% higher power demand at 274W vs 80W.
❌32.9% longer card at 279mm vs 210mm.

Radeon R7 250X

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $401 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 404.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 22.9 vs 4.5 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 274W, a 194W reduction.
✅Measures 210mm instead of 279mm, a 69mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

FirePro D500

2014

Radeon R7 250X

2014

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Costs $401 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 404.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 22.9 vs 4.5 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $500 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 274W, a 194W reduction.
✅Measures 210mm instead of 279mm, a 69mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
405.1% HIGHER MSRP
$500 MSRPvs$99 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.5 vs 22.9 G3D/$ ($500 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
❌242.5% higher power demand at 274W vs 80W.
❌32.9% longer card at 279mm vs 210mm.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Quick Answers

So, is FirePro D500 better than Radeon R7 250X?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 2,272 vs 2,269 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer FirePro D500 is the overall package: you are getting no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

FirePro D500 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting more VRAM at 4 GB instead of 2 GB and the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

FirePro D500 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. FirePro D500 is about 405.1% more expensive on MSRP at $500 MSRP versus $99 MSRP, and you are getting 0.1% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R7 250X really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon R7 250X still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R7 250X is 2014 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM, 2,269 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

FirePro D500 Benchmark Check

Radeon R7 250X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
1080p
low	102 FPS	22 FPS
medium	82 FPS	13 FPS
high	68 FPS	8 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	4 FPS
1440p
low	77 FPS	10 FPS
medium	61 FPS	5 FPS
high	51 FPS	3 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	1 FPS
4K
low	29 FPS	4 FPS
medium	27 FPS	2 FPS
high	18 FPS	1 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	1 FPS

Open FirePro D500 Open Radeon R7 250X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
1080p
low	90 FPS	51 FPS
medium	65 FPS	27 FPS
high	51 FPS	19 FPS
ultra	34 FPS	13 FPS
1440p
low	51 FPS	23 FPS
medium	34 FPS	13 FPS
high	25 FPS	8 FPS
ultra	18 FPS	6 FPS
4K
low	19 FPS	7 FPS
medium	12 FPS	4 FPS
high	10 FPS	3 FPS
ultra	7 FPS	2 FPS

Open FirePro D500 Open Radeon R7 250X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
1080p
low	102 FPS	102 FPS
medium	82 FPS	82 FPS
high	68 FPS	68 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	51 FPS
1440p
low	77 FPS	77 FPS
medium	61 FPS	61 FPS
high	51 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	38 FPS
4K
low	51 FPS	51 FPS
medium	41 FPS	41 FPS
high	34 FPS	34 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	26 FPS

Open FirePro D500 Open Radeon R7 250X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
1080p
low	102 FPS	102 FPS
medium	82 FPS	82 FPS
high	68 FPS	64 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	50 FPS
1440p
low	77 FPS	60 FPS
medium	61 FPS	47 FPS
high	51 FPS	38 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	51 FPS	34 FPS
medium	41 FPS	25 FPS
high	34 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	14 FPS

Open FirePro D500 Open Radeon R7 250X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of FirePro D500 and Radeon R7 250X

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.

Radeon R7 250X

The Radeon R7 250X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in February 13 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,269 points. Launch price was $99.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The FirePro D500 scores 2,272 and the Radeon R7 250X reaches 2,269 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The FirePro D500 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R7 250X uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (FirePro D500) vs 640 (Radeon R7 250X). Raw compute: 2.227 TFLOPS (FirePro D500) vs 1.216 TFLOPS (Radeon R7 250X).

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
G3D Mark Score	2,272	2,269
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536+140%	640
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.227 TFLOPS+83%	1.216 TFLOPS
ROPs	32+100%	16
TMUs	96+140%	40
L1 Cache	384 KB+140%	160 KB
L2 Cache	768 KB+200%	256 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
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)

The FirePro D500 comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R7 250X has 2 GB. The FirePro D500 offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 64-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 768 KB (FirePro D500) vs 256 KB (Radeon R7 250X) — the FirePro D500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
VRAM Capacity	4 GB+100%	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	768 KB+200%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FirePro D500) vs 12 (FL 11_1) (Radeon R7 250X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 2.

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
DirectX	12	12 (FL 11_1)
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	6+200%	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (FirePro D500) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R7 250X). Decoder: UVD 3.2 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (FirePro D500) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2 (Radeon R7 250X).

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
Encoder	VCE 1.0	VCE 1.0
Decoder	UVD 3.2	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The FirePro D500 draws 274W versus the Radeon R7 250X's 80W — a 109.6% difference. The Radeon R7 250X is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (FirePro D500) vs 400W (Radeon R7 250X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 279mm vs 210mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 70°C.

Feature	FirePro D500	Radeon R7 250X
TDP	274W	80W-71%
Recommended PSU	350W-13%	400W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	279mm	210mm
Height	—	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	75°C	70°C-7%
Perf/Watt	8.3	28.4+242%

💰

Value Analysis

The FirePro D500 launched at $500 MSRP, while the Radeon R7 250X launched at $99. The Radeon R7 250X costs 80.2% less ($401 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.5 (FirePro D500) vs 22.9 (Radeon R7 250X) — the Radeon R7 250X offers 408.9% better value.