AMD Instinct MI100 vs NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation Comparison

NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation vs AMD Instinct MI100

The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation and the AMD Instinct MI100 are both end-of-life workstation accelerators, but they target fundamentally different workloads and performance tiers. The data shows the RTX 6000 Ada Generation achieves a 124.1% higher score in the only shared benchmark, placing it in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the MI100 sits in the 96th percentile. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation is built on a 5 nm process with 76,300 million transistors, whereas the MI100 uses a 7 nm process with 25,600 million transistors, yet the MI100 compensates with a larger die size of 750 mm² and a 4096-bit memory bus.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation than the AMD Instinct MI100 in compute benchmarks?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 6000 Ada Generation scores 311,629, which is 124.1% higher than the MI100’s 139,035. This is the only head-to-head benchmark available.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth, and what are the specifications?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 has higher memory bandwidth at 1.23 TB/s, using 32 GB of HBM2 across a 4096-bit bus. The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation provides 960.0 GB/s with 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: What are the FP32 and FP16 performance figures for each card?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada Generation delivers 91.06 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio). The MI100 delivers 23.07 TFLOPS FP32 and 46.14 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio).

Q: Does the AMD Instinct MI100 support DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan?

A: No. The MI100 lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as "N/A" and has no display outputs. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4, and has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare for each card?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s closest rival is the NVIDIA L40, which scores 284,111 (a 1.1% difference). The MI100’s closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB, scoring 138,063 (a 0.7% difference).

Q: What are the transistor counts and die sizes?

A: The RTX 6000 Ada Generation has 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, resulting in a density of 125.3M / mm². The MI100 has 25,600 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with a density of 34.1M / mm².

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD102 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 125.3M / mm². In contrast, the AMD Instinct MI100 uses the CDNA 1.0 architecture with the Arcturus chip, on a 7 nm process also from TSMC, with 25,600 million transistors spread across a larger 750 mm² die—giving a much lower density of 34.1M / mm².

The RTX 6000 Ada Generation is a fully-featured graphics card with 142 RT cores and 568 tensor cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. It also has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The MI100 has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed, and its API support is marked as N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, with no display outputs whatsoever. This indicates the MI100 is a pure compute accelerator, whereas the RTX 6000 Ada Generation can also drive displays.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation uses 48 GB of GDDR6 with a 384-bit bus and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The MI100 uses 32 GB of HBM2 with a 4096-bit bus and 1.23 TB/s bandwidth. The MI100’s memory clock is 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective), while the RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s memory runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The RTX 6000 Ada Generation also has a much higher boost clock at 2505 MHz versus the MI100’s 1502 MHz.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation wins decisively in general compute and graphics workloads. Its FP32 performance of 91.06 TFLOPS is nearly 4x the MI100’s 23.07 TFLOPS, making it far superior for single-precision compute tasks. It also offers FP16 at 91.06 TFLOPS (1:1), which is about 2x the MI100’s 46.14 TFLOPS (2:1). The RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s pixel rate of 481.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,422.8 GTexel/s dwarf the MI100’s 96.13 GPixel/s and 721.0 GTexel/s, respectively.

The AMD Instinct MI100 wins in memory bandwidth, providing 1.23 TB/s compared to 960.0 GB/s—a 28% advantage. This could favor memory-bound workloads that fit within its 32 GB capacity. The MI100 also has a higher base clock at 1000 MHz versus 915 MHz, though its boost clock is significantly lower. It uses 2x 8-pin power connectors versus the RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s single 16-pin connector, though both have a 300 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 700 W.

For display-centric tasks, the RTX 6000 Ada Generation is the only option with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The MI100 has no outputs, making it unsuitable for any visualization or desktop use. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation also supports modern graphics APIs, while the MI100 lists none.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation | AMD Instinct MI100 |

|---------------|-------------------------------|---------------------|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | CDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | AD102 | Arcturus |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 25,600 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 750 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 125.3M / mm² | 34.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 915 MHz | 1000 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2505 MHz | 1502 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) | 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 32 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 960.0 GB/s | 1.23 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 18176 | 7680 |

| TMUs | 568 | 480 |

| ROPs | 192 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 142 | N/A |

| Tensor Cores | 568 | N/A |

| Pixel Rate | 481.0 GPixel/s | 96.13 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,422.8 GTexel/s | 721.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 91.06 TFLOPS | 23.07 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 91.06 TFLOPS (1:1) | 46.14 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | N/A |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | N/A |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | N/A |

| Release Date | 2022-12-02 | 2020-11-15 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only common benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation scores 311,629, while the AMD Instinct MI100 scores 139,035. This represents a delta of 124.1%, meaning the RTX 6000 Ada Generation is more than twice as fast. This massive gap is consistent with the raw compute specifications: the RTX 6000 Ada Generation has 18,176 shading units compared to 7,680, and its FP32 throughput is 91.06 TFLOPS versus 23.07 TFLOPS.

The nearest rival data reinforces this divide. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s closest competitor, the NVIDIA L40, scores 284,111—just 1.1% lower—while the L40S scores 295,763 (2.9% higher) and the AMD Instinct MI300X scores 317,994 (9.7% higher). The MI100’s nearest rivals are all clustered much lower: the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB scores 138,063 (0.7% lower), the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB scores 137,731 (0.9% lower), and the AMD Radeon PRO V620 scores 136,472 (1.9% lower). The performance tiers are clearly separated by roughly 2x.

In terms of average benchmark score, the RTX 6000 Ada Generation averages 287,237 across its two benchmarks (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), while the MI100 averages 139,035 from its single OpenCL result. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s Vulkan score of 262,845 is still nearly double the MI100’s OpenCL score. There is no Vulkan score for the MI100, so no comparison is possible there.

The Verdict

The data unequivocally favors the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation for almost any workload. Its 124.1% lead in the shared OpenCL benchmark, combined with 91.06 TFLOPS FP32 and 91.06 TFLOPS FP16 performance, makes it a far more capable compute card. It also offers display outputs, modern API support, and 48 GB of memory, making it a versatile workstation solution. The 99th percentile ranking versus the MI100’s 96th percentile underscores this gap.

The AMD Instinct MI100 has one clear advantage: memory bandwidth. At 1.23 TB/s, it exceeds the RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s 960.0 GB/s. This could be significant for specific HPC workloads that are heavily bandwidth-bound and fit within 32 GB. Its larger 750 mm² die and 4096-bit bus are engineered for this purpose. However, the lack of display outputs, no graphics API support, and substantially lower compute throughput limit its applicability.

For a buyer needing a general-purpose accelerator with graphics capability, the RTX 6000 Ada Generation is the obvious choice. For a specialized deployment where raw memory bandwidth is the bottleneck and display output is irrelevant, the MI100 remains a niche option. Given the 124.1% performance delta and the RTX 6000 Ada Generation’s feature set, the verdict is clear for most users: the RTX 6000 Ada Generation dominates.