AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100

AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100: The Power of a Professional in a Compact Form Factor
April 2025
1. Architecture and Key Features
Architecture: The Radeon Pro WX 4100 is built on the updated RDNA 3 Pro architecture, optimized for workstations. This version combines energy efficiency with performance, thanks to TSMC's 5nm process technology.
Unique Features:
- FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 3.0 — an upscaling technology that enhances image detail in professional applications and games.
- Hybrid Ray Tracing — accelerated ray tracing for 3D rendering tasks, but without the hardware RT cores found in NVIDIA's offerings.
- Infinity Cache — 64 MB of third-level cache to reduce latency when working with large datasets.
The card also supports DisplayPort 2.1 (up to 8K@60 Hz) and hardware AV1 decoding, which is critical for video editing.
2. Memory: Speed and Impact on Tasks
Type and Volume: The WX 4100 is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus. The bandwidth is 224 GB/s, which is 40% higher than the previous generation.
For Professionals: This amount allows for working with heavy scenes in CAD applications (e.g., Autodesk Revit) and rendering projects in resolutions up to 4K without frequent data loading. However, for machine learning tasks, 8 GB may be insufficient — it's better to choose models with HBM.
3. Gaming Performance: Not the Main Focus, But Possible
While the WX 4100 is designed for professional tasks, it can also be used for gaming. For example, in Cyberpunk 2077 (2025 Edition):
- 1080p (medium settings, FSR 3.0): 45–55 FPS.
- 1440p (low settings): 30–35 FPS.
- 4K: Not recommended — frame rates drop below 25 FPS.
Ray Tracing: Without hardware RT cores, Hybrid Ray Tracing decreases performance by 50–60%, making it impractical to enable in games.
4. Professional Tasks: The Power of OpenCL and Vulkan
Video Editing: In DaVinci Resolve, the card handles 8-bit 4K material in real time, but for 12-bit HDR, a more powerful model (e.g., WX 7100) is needed.
3D Modeling: In Blender (using the Cycles engine), rendering a mid-level scene takes about 12 minutes compared to about 8 minutes for the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (thanks to CUDA).
Scientific Computing: Support for OpenCL 3.0 and ROCm 5.0 makes the WX 4100 suitable for simulations in MATLAB or ANSYS, but for neural networks, it's better to select cards with Tensor Cores.
5. Power Consumption and Cooling
TDP: 75 W — powered through a PCIe slot, with no additional cables required.
Thermal Output: Turbine cooling is effective even under load (maximum temperature is 72°C). For builds in compact cases (e.g., Fractal Design Node 304), the card is ideal, but it's important to ensure good airflow.
6. Comparison with Competitors
- NVIDIA RTX A2000 (12 GB): Higher rendering performance due to CUDA and DLSS 3.0, but priced $150–200 more (around $600).
- Intel Arc Pro A60: Better support for AV1 encoding, but weaker in OpenCL tasks.
- AMD Radeon Pro W6600: A budget alternative with 10 GB of memory, but based on the RDNA 2 architecture.
Conclusion: The WX 4100 excels in price ($399) and energy efficiency but falls short in specialized tasks.
7. Practical Tips
- Power Supply: A 400 W unit is sufficient (e.g., Corsair CX450M).
- Compatibility: Supports PCIe 4.0 x8 — works even on older platforms (with PCIe 3.0).
- Drivers: Use AMD Pro Edition — they are more stable for professional software but are updated less frequently than gaming ones.
OS: Best optimization for Windows 11 and Linux (with open-source AMDGPU drivers).
8. Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Compact size (half-height, length 170 mm).
- Energy efficiency.
- Support for professional APIs (OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenCL).
Cons:
- Limited memory volume for AI tasks.
- Lack of hardware RT cores.
- Average gaming performance.
9. Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the WX 4100?
This graphics card is an ideal choice for:
- Designers and engineers who need reliable performance in AutoCAD or SolidWorks on compact PCs.
- Editors working on Full HD/4K projects without complex effects.
- Scientists running simulations on OpenCL-compatible software.
If your budget is limited to $400 and your tasks do not require extreme power, the WX 4100 will be an optimal solution. However, for gaming or neural network computing, it is worth considering other options.
Prices are current as of April 2025. The listed price refers to new devices.