GPU Comparison

# AMD Instinct MI100 vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation

The AMD Instinct MI100 and NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation target fundamentally different workloads, and the benchmark data reflects that divergence. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation wins the sole head-to-head benchmark, posting 146,593 in Geekbench OpenCL against the MI100's 139,035, a 5.2% advantage. However, the MI100 holds a higher overall percentile ranking at 96 versus the RTX 4000 Ada's 95, and its average benchmark score of 139,035 exceeds the RTX 4000 Ada's 135,218 average. The MI100 is an end-of-life compute accelerator with 32 GB of HBM2 and a 4096-bit bus, while the RTX 4000 Ada is an active, single-slot workstation card with 20 GB of GDDR6 and full display outputs. The choice between them depends entirely on whether the priority is raw memory bandwidth for compute workloads or a modern, feature-rich workstation GPU with ray tracing and API support.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split: the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is the better choice for workstation users who need a current, supported GPU with display outputs, ray tracing capabilities, and superior raw compute performance in the tested workload. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 146,593 beats the MI100's 139,035 by 5.2%, and it does so while consuming only 130 W TDP compared to the MI100's 300 W. The RTX 4000 Ada is also a single-slot card at 245 mm length, versus the MI100's dual-slot, 267 mm design, making it far easier to integrate into dense workstation builds. With 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, the RTX 4000 Ada can drive displays directly, while the MI100 has no display outputs at all.

The AMD Instinct MI100, however, retains a distinct advantage in memory architecture. Its 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus delivers 1.23 TB/s of bandwidth, compared to the RTX 4000 Ada's 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus at 360.0 GB/s. This represents a 3.4x bandwidth advantage for the MI100, which is critical for memory-bound compute workloads such as large-scale scientific simulations or AI training data pipelines. The MI100 also has more shading units (7680 vs 6144) and more texture mapping units (480 vs 192), though its lower clock speeds (1000 MHz base, 1502 MHz boost vs 1500 MHz base, 2175 MHz boost) result in lower texture fill rate (721.0 GTexel/s vs 417.6 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (96.13 GPixel/s vs 139.2 GPixel/s).

For users prioritizing current API support, the RTX 4000 Ada is the only option with DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the MI100 lists N/A for all three. The RTX 4000 Ada also includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the MI100's specification. The MI100's 7 nm process node and 25,600 million transistors on a 750 mm² die contrast with the RTX 4000 Ada's 5 nm node and 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M/mm² versus the MI100's 34.1M/mm². The RTX 4000 Ada is the more modern, efficient, and versatile card; the MI100 is a specialized compute relic with unmatched memory bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation wins with a score of 146,593, while the AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035. The RTX 4000 Ada leads by 5.2% in this single head-to-head comparison.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ?

A: The MI100 has 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1.23 TB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4000 Ada has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 360.0 GB/s bandwidth. The MI100's bandwidth is approximately 3.4 times higher.

Q: Can either GPU support display outputs?

A: Only the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation has display outputs, offering 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The AMD Instinct MI100 has no display outputs, confirming its role as a compute-only accelerator.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The MI100 has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with 2x 8-pin power connectors. The RTX 4000 Ada has a 130 W TDP, a 300 W suggested PSU, and uses a single 16-pin connector.

Q: Which card has better API support?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MI100 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, meaning it lacks these graphics API capabilities.

Q: How do the cards compare in terms of production status?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 is end-of-life, released in 2020, while the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is active, released in 2023. The RTX 4000 Ada has a successor (Blackwell PRO W), while the MI100's successor field is null.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The AMD Instinct MI100 uses the Arcturus chip built on CDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It packs 25,600 million transistors into a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 34.1M/mm². This is a compute-optimized design with no ray tracing cores, no tensor cores, and no graphics API support, reflecting its purpose as a pure compute accelerator for the Instinct (MIx) generation.

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It crams 35,800 million transistors into a much smaller 294 mm² die, achieving 121.8M/mm² transistor density, over 3.5 times the density of the MI100. This modern design integrates 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The RTX 4000 Ada supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the MI100 lists N/A for all three APIs.

The memory architectures are polar opposites. The MI100 uses HBM2 with a 4096-bit bus width, delivering 1.23 TB/s bandwidth, a staggeringly wide interface designed for bandwidth-hungry compute. The RTX 4000 Ada uses GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, achieving 360.0 GB/s. The MI100's memory clock is 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective), while the RTX 4000 Ada's memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), the GDDR6's higher per-pin speed compensates for its narrower bus, but the total bandwidth remains 3.4x lower.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The MI100 has 7680 shading units, 480 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the RTX 4000 Ada has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 4000 Ada adds 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, which the MI100 lacks entirely.

Clock speeds favor the RTX 4000 Ada: 1500 MHz base and 2175 MHz boost versus the MI100's 1000 MHz base and 1502 MHz boost. Despite having fewer shading units, the RTX 4000 Ada achieves higher FP32 performance at 26.73 TFLOPS versus the MI100's 23.07 TFLOPS. The MI100, however, offers FP16 performance of 46.14 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the RTX 4000 Ada matches FP32 at 26.73 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

Pixel and texture rates diverge significantly. The RTX 4000 Ada achieves 139.2 GPixel/s versus the MI100's 96.13 GPixel/s. The MI100 counters with 721.0 GTexel/s texture rate versus the RTX 4000 Ada's 417.6 GTexel/s, thanks to its 480 TMUs.

Physical and power specifications are equally contrasting. The MI100 is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 300 W TDP, requiring a 700 W PSU. The RTX 4000 Ada is single-slot with a single 16-pin connector, 130 W TDP, and 300 W suggested PSU. Dimensions are similar: the MI100 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall, while the RTX 4000 Ada is 245 mm long and 112 mm tall. The MI100 has no display outputs; the RTX 4000 Ada has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation wins decisively. The RTX 4000 Ada scores 146,593, while the AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035, a delta of -5.2% for the MI100. This result is notable because the MI100 has 7680 shading units versus 6144, a 4096-bit memory bus versus 160-bit, and 1.23 TB/s bandwidth versus 360.0 GB/s. Despite these theoretical advantages, the RTX 4000 Ada's higher boost clock (2175 MHz vs 1502 MHz) and more modern architecture (Ada Lovelace vs CDNA 1.0) deliver superior OpenCL performance.

The MI100's closest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (138,063, +0.7%), the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731, +0.9%), the AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136,472, +1.9%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135,774, +2.4%). This places the MI100 just ahead of the previous-generation Tesla V100 series, indicating its performance is competitive with older NVIDIA compute accelerators.

The RTX 4000 Ada's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA A10M (135,230, 0% delta), AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135,396, -0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135,774, -0.4%), and AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136,472, -0.9%). The RTX 4000 Ada's 146,593 score represents a significant margin over these rivals, approximately 8.4% over the A10M and 7.6% over the Radeon PRO V620.

The MI100's percentile ranking of 96 versus the RTX 4000 Ada's 95 suggests that while the RTX 4000 Ada wins the head-to-head, the MI100 sits slightly higher relative to all GPUs in the database. The MI100's average benchmark score (139,035) also exceeds the RTX 4000 Ada's average (135,218), though the RTX 4000 Ada benefits from a second benchmark result (Geekbench Vulkan at 123,842) that lowers its average. The MI100 has only the single OpenCL result, and its wins count is 0 against the RTX 4000 Ada's 1 win.