AMD Instinct MI100 vs AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between the AMD Instinct MI100 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II in this dataset is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisively one-sided. The MI100 scores 139,035 points against the Pro Vega II’s 99,048 points, a 40.4% advantage. That is not a marginal lead; it is a generational gap expressed in raw compute throughput. For context, the MI100 sits 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (138,063) and 0.9% ahead of the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731) in the same test. The Pro Vega II, by contrast, trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 by 1% (110,725) and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile by 3.8% (113,944) — both of which are far below the MI100’s score. In short, the OpenCL result places the MI100 in the 96th percentile of all GPUs, while the Pro Vega II sits at the 94th percentile, but the absolute delta between them is the real story.

Breaking down the score components explains why. The MI100 produces 23.07 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, whereas the Pro Vega II manages only 14.09 TFLOPS — a 63.7% higher raw floating-point throughput. In FP16, the gap narrows proportionally: 46.14 TFLOPS versus 28.18 TFLOPS, both at a 2:1 ratio. Texture rate further amplifies the difference: 721.0 GTexel/s for the MI100 versus 440.3 GTexel/s for the Pro Vega II. Pixel rates tell a different story, though: the Pro Vega II actually wins at 110.1 GPixel/s versus 96.13 GPixel/s for the MI100. That is a 14.5% pixel-rate advantage for the older card, driven by its higher boost clock. Still, in the aggregate OpenCL workload, compute shader throughput dominates, and the MI100’s 7,680 shading units versus 4,096 give it a 87.5% unit count advantage that no clock speed can offset.

The Pro Vega II does have a counterpoint in the API-specific tests, but only because the MI100 lacks those entries entirely. The Pro Vega II scores 130,183 in Geekbench Metal and 99,621 in Geekbench Vulkan. Those numbers are not comparable to the MI100, which has no display outputs and no API support (DirectX, OpenGL, Vulkan all listed as N/A). The MI100 is a compute accelerator, not a graphics card, and that distinction matters more than any single benchmark delta.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between these two is fundamental. The MI100 uses the Arcturus chip built on CDNA 1.0, AMD’s first compute-focused architecture. The Pro Vega II uses Vega 20 on GCN 5.1, a graphics-first design. Both are fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process, but the transistor budgets diverge sharply. The MI100 packs 25,600 million transistors across a 750 mm² die, yielding a density of 34.1M transistors per mm². The Pro Vega II has 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, with a higher density of 40.0M per mm². That density difference is counterintuitive: the smaller chip is denser, but the MI100’s massive die area gives it nearly double the transistor count.

Memory subsystems follow similar logic. Both cards have 32 GB of HBM2 with a 4096-bit bus, but the MI100 runs its memory at 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective), producing 1.23 TB/s of bandwidth. The Pro Vega II’s memory clocks at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective), yielding 825.3 GB/s. That is a 49.1% bandwidth advantage for the MI100, which is critical for compute workloads that stream large datasets. Clock speeds invert the comparison: the Pro Vega II boosts to 1720 MHz, while the MI100 boosts to 1502 MHz. The Pro Vega II’s 14.5% higher boost clock helps it win pixel rate, but the MI100’s raw execution resources overwhelm that advantage in throughput-bound tasks.

Feature sets are where the two diverge most starkly. The MI100 has no display outputs, no graphics API support, and no power connector listed beyond two 8-pin inputs. The Pro Vega II offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt outputs, plus DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3 support. The MI100 is a pure compute device for servers and accelerators; the Pro Vega II is a workstation card for Mac Pro systems, using the Apple MPX bus interface rather than standard PCIe. The MI100 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, which is newer and faster than the MPX form factor’s underlying PCIe 3.0 lanes, though the MPX interface is tailored to Apple’s chassis. Power draw reflects their roles: the MI100 is rated at 300 W with a 700 W suggested PSU, while the Pro Vega II consumes 475 W and requires an 850 W PSU. The Pro Vega II is also physically larger — quad-slot versus dual-slot — and the MI100 measures 267 mm in length, while the Pro Vega II has no listed dimensions.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear separation of purpose. For pure compute, the MI100 is the superior part. It wins the only shared benchmark by 40.4%, has 63.7% higher FP32 throughput, 49.1% more memory bandwidth, and double the shading units. Its 96th percentile ranking versus the Pro Vega II’s 94th percentile is a small overall gap, but the OpenCL delta of 40.4% is the largest head-to-head margin in this comparison. Any workload that stresses FP32/FP16 math, texture filtering, or memory bandwidth will favor the MI100 decisively.

For graphics and display-centric tasks, the Pro Vega II is the only viable option — not because it scores better, but because the MI100 cannot render to a screen. The Pro Vega II’s Metal score of 130,183 and Vulkan score of 99,621 are meaningful only in that context. If a user needs HDMI or Thunderbolt output, DirectX or Vulkan support, or a card that can both compute and display, the MI100 is disqualified by design. The Pro Vega II’s launch MSRP is 2,199 USD, which is worth noting as a reference point, though the MI100 has no listed launch price.

The verdict is not about which card is “better” in absolute terms; it is about which card fits the intended workload. The MI100 is a compute accelerator with no graphics capabilities, and it dominates in that domain. The Pro Vega II is a workstation graphics card with compute capability, and it wins by default in any task requiring visual output or API-level graphics support. For a server room or a headless compute cluster, the MI100 is the clear choice. For a Mac Pro workstation that needs to drive displays and run OpenCL alongside graphics workloads, the Pro Vega II is the only one that works at all.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035 versus the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II’s 99,048, giving the MI100 a 40.4% advantage.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 32 GB of HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus, but the MI100’s bandwidth is 1.23 TB/s versus 825.3 GB/s for the Pro Vega II.

Q: Can the MI100 output video to a display?

A: No. The MI100 has no display outputs, while the Pro Vega II has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt ports.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The MI100 delivers 23.07 TFLOPS of FP32, while the Pro Vega II delivers 14.09 TFLOPS, making the MI100 63.7% faster in single-precision compute.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The MI100 has a 300 W TDP with a 700 W suggested PSU, while the Pro Vega II has a 475 W TDP with an 850 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which GPU supports more graphics APIs?

A: The Pro Vega II supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The MI100 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI100 wins in every compute-oriented metric that matters. Its 40.4% OpenCL lead over the Pro Vega II is the headline, but the underlying numbers reinforce it. FP32 throughput is 23.07 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS, FP16 is 46.14 TFLOPS versus 28.18 TFLOPS, and texture rate is 721.0 GTexel/s versus 440.3 GTexel/s. Memory bandwidth favors the MI100 at 1.23 TB/s versus 825.3 GB/s, a 49.1% margin. The MI100 also wins on shading units (7,680 vs. 4,096) and transistor count (25,600 million vs. 13,230 million). Its 96th percentile ranking and proximity to the Tesla V100 family (0.7% and 0.9% ahead) place it squarely in high-end accelerator territory. For any headless compute job — AI inference, scientific simulation, data processing — the MI100 is the clear winner.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins in every graphics and display-related category, but only because the MI100 is absent from those fields. The Pro Vega II’s pixel rate of 110.1 GPixel/s beats the MI100’s 96.13 GPixel/s, a 14.5% edge. Its boost clock of 1720 MHz is 14.5% higher than the MI100’s 1502 MHz. It has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 4x Thunderbolt), full graphics API support (DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.3), and an Apple MPX bus interface for Mac Pro integration. Its Metal score of 130,183 and Vulkan score of 99,621 are the only benchmarks where it has a presence. The Pro Vega II also wins on transistor density (40.0M per mm² vs. 34.1M per mm²) and pixel rate, but those are secondary to its exclusive graphics functionality. For a workstation that must drive multiple 5K displays or run macOS graphics stacks, the Pro Vega II is the only choice — not because it outperforms the MI100, but because the MI100 cannot do the job at all.