AMD Instinct MI100 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 scores 334,370, while the AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035. The RTX 5090 leads by 58.4% in this test, making it the clear winner in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 uses HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus and delivers 1.23 TB/s, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 uses GDDR7 memory with a 512-bit bus and achieves 1.79 TB/s. The RTX 5090 provides roughly 45% more memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the architectural generation difference between these GPUs?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 is built on CDNA 1.0 architecture (chip codename Arcturus) and belongs to the Instinct (MIx) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 uses Blackwell 2.0 architecture (chip GB202) from the GeForce 50 generation. The MI100 was released in November 2020, while the RTX 5090 launched in January 2025.

Q: Are both cards the same physical size?

A: No. The AMD Instinct MI100 measures 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is longer and taller at 304 mm (12 inches) by 137 mm (5.4 inches), with a width of 40 mm (1.6 inches). Both are dual-slot cards.

Q: What are the production statuses of these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 is listed as end-of-life, meaning it is no longer in active production. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is listed as active, indicating it is currently in production and available on the market.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has 21,760 shading units and 680 TMUs, compared to the AMD Instinct MI100's 7,680 shading units and 480 TMUs. The RTX 5090 also has 176 ROPs versus 64 on the MI100.

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a stark contrast between these two GPUs, but the comparison is complicated by their different design purposes and release timelines. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant performer in the single shared benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a score of 334,370 against the MI100's 139,035, a 58.4% advantage.

The AMD Instinct MI100, despite being an end-of-life product from 2020, still holds a respectable position in the overall GPU landscape. Its percentile rank of 96 against all GPUs places it above the RTX 5090's percentile of 92. The MI100's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (0.7% behind), the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (0.9% behind), and AMD's Radeon PRO V620 (1.9% behind). This clustering indicates the MI100 sits in a well-populated performance tier among compute-focused accelerators.

The RTX 5090's nearest rivals tell a different story. It sits within 1.4% of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (which is 1.4% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% lower), and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% lower). The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842 is dragged down by its inclusion of legacy DirectX tests, where it scores as low as 185 points in Passmark DirectX 12 and 226 in Passmark DirectX 10, while its Passmark G3D score reaches 39,650 and its GPU Compute score hits 26,756.

For buyers today, the choice is clear if the workload is compatible with consumer gaming and graphics APIs. The RTX 5090 delivers vastly superior raw compute in OpenCL, supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and includes 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The MI100, with no display outputs and no supported graphics APIs, is purely an accelerator for compute workloads in server environments.

For anyone needing a current-generation card with active production status, driver support, and modern API compatibility, the RTX 5090 is the only sensible pick. The MI100's end-of-life status and lack of consumer-facing features make it unsuitable for new deployments, despite its strong showing in the overall percentile rankings relative to its 2020 contemporaries.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one benchmark appears in the direct head-to-head comparison between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the AMD Instinct MI100 records a score of 139,035, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves 334,370. The delta percentage is 58.4% in favor of the RTX 5090, meaning the NVIDIA card is more than twice as fast in this particular workload.

This margin is substantial and reflects the generational leap in compute capability. The RTX 5090's FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is more than four times the MI100's 23.07 TFLOPS. The RTX 5090 also maintains a 1:1 ratio for FP16 performance at 104.8 TFLOPS, whereas the MI100's FP16 of 46.14 TFLOPS is achieved via a 2:1 rate relative to its FP32.

The texture rate difference is similarly pronounced. The RTX 5090 processes 1,636.8 GTexel/s compared to the MI100's 721.0 GTexel/s, a 2.3x advantage. Pixel throughput favors the RTX 5090 even more dramatically: 423.6 GPixel/s versus 96.13 GPixel/s, a 4.4x gap. These numbers align with the RTX 5090 having 680 TMUs and 176 ROPs against the MI100's 480 TMUs and 64 ROPs.

The RTX 5090's additional benchmark data, while not directly compared to the MI100, provides context for its overall capability. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355 and Vulkan score of 376,728 demonstrate strong modern API performance. The Passmark suite shows a mixed picture: G3D at 39,650 is strong, but legacy DirectX 9 (395), DirectX 10 (226), DirectX 11 (341), and DirectX 12 (185) scores are low, likely reflecting driver overhead or architectural focus on newer workloads.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Instinct MI100 uses a 7 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 uses a 5 nm process, both from TSMC. Transistor counts show a massive difference: the MI100 has 25,600 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, while the RTX 5090 packs 92,200 million transistors on the same 750 mm² die size. This yields transistor densities of 34.1 million per mm² for the MI100 and 122.9 million per mm² for the RTX 5090.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The MI100 runs at 1000 MHz base and 1502 MHz boost. The RTX 5090 operates at 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost. Memory clocks also diverge: the MI100 uses 1200 MHz with 2.4 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5090 runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective.

Memory configuration shows both cards have 32 GB capacity, but with different technologies. The MI100 uses HBM2 across a 4096-bit bus, while the RTX 5090 uses GDDR7 across a 512-bit bus. Bandwidth favors the RTX 5090 at 1.79 TB/s versus 1.23 TB/s.

Power requirements differ sharply. The MI100 has a TDP of 300 W with dual 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 700 W PSU. The RTX 5090 has a TDP of 575 W, uses a single 16-pin connector, and suggests a 950 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards.

The bus interface and display outputs also differ. The MI100 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has no display outputs. The RTX 5090 uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and provides 1x HDMI 2.1b plus 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. The RTX 5090 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the MI100 lists N/A for all graphics APIs.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these GPUs reflects distinct design goals. The AMD Instinct MI100 is built on CDNA 1.0, AMD's compute-focused architecture derived from its data center line. The chip, codenamed Arcturus, belongs to the Instinct (MIx) generation and replaced the Radeon Instinct series. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 uses Blackwell 2.0 architecture on the GB202 chip, part of the GeForce 50 generation, succeeding the GeForce 40 series.

Compute resources show the RTX 5090's advantage. The MI100 has 7,680 shading units, 480 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 5090 has 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Critically, the RTX 5090 adds 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the MI100. This makes the RTX 5090 suitable for graphics workloads requiring ray tracing and AI acceleration, while the MI100 is limited to pure compute tasks.

The memory subsystem reflects different priorities. The MI100's HBM2 with a 4096-bit bus is characteristic of accelerator cards designed for large working sets and high bandwidth density. The RTX 5090's GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus is a consumer-oriented configuration that still achieves higher total bandwidth. The FP16 ratio differences (2:1 on MI100, 1:1 on RTX 5090) indicate that the MI100's half-precision throughput is a derived capability, while the RTX 5090 handles FP16 natively at the same rate as FP32.

Process technology explains much of the performance gap. The 5 nm node allows the RTX 5090 to pack nearly 3.6 times more transistors into the same 750 mm² die area, enabling both higher clock speeds and more compute units. The MI100's 7 nm node, while advanced for its 2020 release date, cannot match the density of the newer manufacturing process. The RTX 5090's higher base and boost clocks (2017 MHz and 2407 MHz versus 1000 MHz and 1502 MHz) compound the architectural advantages.

The production status difference is telling. The MI100 is end-of-life with a release date of November 2020, while the RTX 5090 is active with a January 2025 release. The RTX 5090's successor is already listed as GeForce 60, indicating NVIDIA's roadmap continues, while the MI100's entry shows no successor in the database.