AMD Instinct MI100 vs AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 Comparison

The Verdict

The data in this database comparison presents a clear generational divide between two AMD compute accelerators. The AMD Instinct MI100 is the decisive winner in compute performance, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 139,035 versus 71,094 for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, a lead of 95.6%. This makes the MI100 the obvious choice for anyone prioritizing raw compute throughput, machine learning workloads, or high-performance computing tasks that rely on OpenCL. Its 96th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it comfortably ahead of the Radeon Pro Vega 64, which sits at the 91st percentile. The MI100 also shows a 0.7% advantage over the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB and a 0.9% edge over the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB, indicating it competes at the very top of the accelerator tier. The Radeon Pro Vega 64, by contrast, is a legacy product from 2017, and its benchmark standing is much closer to mainstream workstation cards, with its average score of 72,379 placing it within 0.4% of the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition. For users with an existing Vega 64 ecosystem or those needing display outputs and a broad API stack, the older card has its place, but for pure compute, the MI100 is the superior part.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL workloads?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 is significantly faster, scoring 139,035 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to 71,094 for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64. This represents a 95.6% performance advantage for the MI100.

Q: How does the MI100 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The MI100 leads the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB by 0.7%, the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB by 0.9%, the AMD Radeon PRO V620 by 1.9%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo by 2.4%. These are close margins, but the MI100 consistently sits at the top.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The MI100 features 32 GB of HBM2 memory, while the Radeon Pro Vega 64 has 16 GB of HBM2. The MI100 also has a wider 4096-bit memory bus versus the Vega 64's 2048-bit bus.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro Vega 64 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The MI100 lists no API support for DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan, as it is designed for compute-only workloads.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No, both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The MI100 was released in 2020, and the Radeon Pro Vega 64 was released in 2017.

Q: What is the physical form factor of each card?

A: The MI100 is a dual-slot card with a length of 267 mm and uses two 8-pin power connectors. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors and no listed dimensions.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two accelerators is substantial, reflecting nearly a full decade of design evolution. The MI100 is built on the CDNA 1.0 architecture, using the Arcturus chip, while the Radeon Pro Vega 64 relies on the older GCN 5.0 architecture with the Vega 10 chip. The manufacturing process is a major differentiator: the MI100 uses a 7 nm node at TSMC, while the Vega 64 uses a 14 nm node at GlobalFoundries. This process shrink allows the MI100 to pack 25,600 million transistors into a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 34.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The Vega 64, in contrast, contains 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, with a density of 25.3 million per square millimeter.

The compute resource allocation also diverges sharply. The MI100 fields 7,680 shading units, 480 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Vega 64 has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Neither card includes dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, but the MI100's raw shader count is nearly double that of the Vega 64. Clock behavior is also notable: the MI100 has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1502 MHz, while the Vega 64 runs at a higher base of 1250 MHz but a lower boost of 1350 MHz. The MI100 compensates with far more compute units, leading to a peak FP32 throughput of 23.07 TFLOPS versus 11.06 TFLOPS for the Vega 64. FP16 performance scales similarly: 46.14 TFLOPS for the MI100 and 22.12 TFLOPS for the Vega 64, both at a 2:1 ratio. The MI100 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the Vega 64 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

Specification Differences

When comparing the two cards side by side, the differences are stark across nearly every specification category. The MI100 has a 7 nm process node from TSMC, while the Vega 64 uses a 14 nm node from GlobalFoundries. Transistor counts are 25,600 million versus 12,500 million, and die sizes are 750 mm² versus 495 mm². Memory configurations differ significantly: the MI100 offers 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1.23 TB/s bandwidth, while the Vega 64 offers 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth. The MI100's memory clock runs at 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective), while the Vega 64's memory clock is 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective).

Compute units are not directly listed, but the shading unit counts of 7,680 versus 4,096 and TMU counts of 480 versus 256 clearly indicate the MI100's larger pipeline. Pixel rates are close: 96.13 GPixel/s for the MI100 and 86.40 GPixel/s for the Vega 64. Texture rates, however, show a larger gap: 721.0 GTexel/s versus 345.6 GTexel/s. Power consumption is listed at 300 W for the MI100 and 250 W for the Vega 64, with the MI100 requiring a 700 W suggested PSU and two 8-pin connectors, while the Vega 64 has no power connectors and no suggested PSU. The MI100 has no display outputs, while the Vega 64 has outputs that are portable device dependent. The MI100 supports PCIe 4.0 x16, the Vega 64 supports PCIe 3.0 x16. API support is another clear divider: the MI100 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, while the Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The MI100 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, while the Vega 64 is an IGP with no listed physical dimensions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single head-to-head benchmark comparison between these two cards, and it is decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 scores 71,094. This yields a delta of 95.6%, meaning the MI100 nearly doubles the Vega 64's OpenCL performance. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a fundamental leap in compute capability. To put this in context, the MI100's score is 0.7% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB and 0.9% higher than the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB, both of which are established datacenter accelerators. The Vega 64, on the other hand, sits in a much lower performance band, with its average score of 72,379 placing it just 0.4% above the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and 0.9% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M. The nearest rival above the Vega 64 is the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition, which leads by 1.4%.

The MI100's victory in the head-to-head test is consistent with its architectural advantages. The larger die, the denser transistor packing, the doubled memory bandwidth, and the nearly doubled shading unit count all contribute to this outcome. The Vega 64's higher base clock of 1250 MHz versus 1000 MHz does not compensate for the MI100's greater parallel resources. The MI100's boost clock of 1502 MHz also exceeds the Vega 64's 1350 MHz, so the MI100 wins on both raw clock speed at the top end and on total compute throughput. The benchmark data shows a clean sweep: the MI100 wins the only recorded test, and the Vega 64 has zero wins in this comparison.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI100 wins in every metric that matters for compute-intensive workloads. Its 95.6% OpenCL performance advantage makes it the superior choice for tasks like scientific simulation, AI training, and large-scale data processing. The 32 GB memory capacity and 1.23 TB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for massive datasets that would exceed the Vega 64's 16 GB and 402.4 GB/s. The MI100's PCIe 4.0 interface also offers double the bandwidth of the Vega 64's PCIe 3.0 connection, which can reduce data transfer bottlenecks in multi-GPU systems. For users who live in a compute-only environment with no display output requirements, the MI100 is the clear winner. Its 96th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its competitive positioning against the Tesla V100 series underscore its status as a top-tier accelerator.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, while losing the compute battle, still holds value in specific scenarios. Its support for DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3 means it can function as a graphics-capable card, something the MI100 cannot do with its N/A API entries. The Vega 64 also has display outputs, making it usable in a workstation that needs to drive a monitor. Its lower power draw of 250 W versus 300 W and lack of external power connectors could make it easier to integrate into certain systems, though the MI100's dual-slot design and 267 mm length are still manageable. The Vega 64's 91st percentile ranking and its proximity to cards like the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal indicate it remains a capable performer for its era, but the database data shows it cannot match the MI100 in pure compute throughput. For legacy software that relies on GCN architecture optimizations or for systems requiring a single card that can both render and compute, the Vega 64 has a role. For everything else, the MI100 is the data-driven choice.