AMD Instinct MI300 vs AMD Radeon 8060S Comparison

The AMD Instinct MI300 and the AMD Radeon 8060S represent two fundamentally different design goals from the same manufacturer. The MI300 is a data center compute accelerator built for massive throughput, while the 8060S is a mobile graphics processor designed for efficiency and integration. The data shows that they are not direct competitors, but rather solutions for entirely distinct workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI300 is the clear winner in raw compute throughput, which is its primary purpose. Its FP32 performance of 47.87 TFLOPS is more than three times the 14.85 TFLOPS of the Radeon 8060S. This massive compute advantage makes the MI300 suitable for high-performance computing, scientific simulations, and AI training workloads where raw number-crunching is paramount. The MI300 also has a substantial memory advantage, with 128 GB of HBM3 memory and 5.32 TB/s of bandwidth, enabling it to handle datasets that would be impossible for the 8060S.

The AMD Radeon 8060S wins decisively in efficiency and practical usability. Its power draw of 55 W is dramatically lower than the MI300's 600 W, making it suitable for portable devices. The 8060S also features display outputs and a full API suite, including DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the MI300 has no display outputs and no graphics API support. The 8060S is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a slot width of "IGP", meaning it is designed to be part of a system-on-chip for mobile devices, not a standalone accelerator.

The benchmark data for the 8060S shows it performs competitively in its own class. Its average benchmark score of 55757 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, and it is nearly identical in performance to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, trailing by only 0.1%. It also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 by 2.8% in the recorded average. The MI300 has no recorded benchmark scores or rivals in the database, indicating that its performance is measured in different terms, such as raw TFLOPS, rather than gaming or graphics benchmarks.

Architecture Differences

The two chips are built on different architectures and manufacturing processes. The Instinct MI300 uses the CDNA 3.0 architecture, which is optimized for compute and AI workloads, while the Radeon 8060S uses the RDNA 3.5 architecture, designed for graphics rendering and gaming. The MI300 is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, whereas the 8060S uses a more advanced 4 nm process at the same foundry.

The chip designs differ substantially. The MI300, codenamed Aqua Vanjaram, has a massive die size of 1017 mm² and contains 153,000 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 150.4 million per mm². The 8060S, codenamed Strix Halo, has a much smaller die size of 308 mm², and its transistor count is listed as unknown. This size difference directly reflects their intended uses: the MI300 is a dedicated accelerator with enormous compute resources, while the 8060S is a compact integrated solution.

The memory architecture is another key differentiator. The MI300 uses dedicated HBM3 memory with a 8192-bit bus and 5.32 TB/s bandwidth. The 8060S uses system shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated video memory and instead relies on the host system's RAM. Its bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent", indicating that performance scales with the system memory configuration.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct benchmark comparisons are limited because the MI300 has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, while the 8060S has three recorded tests. However, the raw compute specifications provide a clear picture of their relative capabilities.

The FP32 compute performance shows the largest gap. The MI300 delivers 47.87 TFLOPS, which is 222% higher than the 8060S's 14.85 TFLOPS. This means the MI300 can process more than three times as many floating-point operations per second, making it substantially faster for compute-heavy tasks. The FP16 performance follows the same pattern, with both chips offering 1:1 ratios, so the MI300 maintains its 47.87 TFLOPS advantage in half-precision workloads as well.

Texture processing shows a similar trend. The MI300 achieves a texture rate of 1,496.0 GTexel/s, compared to the 8060S's 464.0 GTexel/s, a difference of over three times. The MI300 achieves this with 880 texture mapping units (TMUs), while the 8060S has only 160 TMUs.

The pixel rate tells a different story. The MI300 has a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s and zero ROPs, meaning it is not designed to output pixels to a display. The 8060S, in contrast, has a pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s with 64 ROPs, enabling it to render graphics for display output. This is the most significant functional difference: the MI300 is a compute accelerator, while the 8060S is a full graphics processor.

The 8060S's benchmark scores place it in competitive territory. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 84626 and Vulkan score of 80483 demonstrate strong general-purpose compute and graphics performance for a mobile part. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2162 shows its gaming capability. The average of these scores, 55757, puts it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with a performance delta of only 0.1% against the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and a 2.8% advantage over the GeForce RTX 4080.

Specification Differences

The two products differ across nearly every measurable specification. The process node differs, with the MI300 at 5 nm and the 8060S at 4 nm. The die size is 1017 mm² for the MI300 versus 308 mm² for the 8060S. The MI300 contains 153,000 million transistors, while the 8060S's count is unknown.

Clock speeds are significantly different. The MI300 has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1700 MHz, while the 8060S has a higher base clock of 1295 MHz and a much higher boost clock of 2900 MHz. The memory clock also differs, with the MI300 using a 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective) HBM3 clock, while the 8060S relies on system shared memory with no dedicated memory clock.

The compute unit configurations are vastly different. The MI300 has 14080 shading units and 880 TMUs, but zero ROPs. The 8060S has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. The MI300 has no ray tracing cores listed.

Power requirements are polar opposites. The MI300 has a TDP of 600 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a suggested power supply of 1000 W. The 8060S has a TDP of just 55 W, uses no power connectors, and has no suggested power supply listed.

Physical and interface differences are notable. The MI300 is a 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, 111 mm (4.4 inches) tall add-in card, while the 8060S has no listed dimensions and is classified as an IGP. The MI300 has no display outputs, while the 8060S's display outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent". The MI300 supports no graphics APIs, while the 8060S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Release dates are about two years apart. The MI300 was released on January 3, 2023, and the 8060S on January 5, 2025. The MI300's predecessor is the Radeon Instinct, while the 8060S's predecessor is Polaris Mobile. The MI300 is listed as part of the Instinct (MIx) generation, and the 8060S is in the Navi Mobile (RX 8000M) generation.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Instinct MI300 has significantly higher compute performance, with 47.87 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 performance, compared to the Radeon 8060S's 14.85 TFLOPS in both precision modes.

Q: Can the AMD Instinct MI300 output video to a display?

A: No. The MI300 has no display outputs and a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s with zero ROPs, making it a pure compute accelerator. The Radeon 8060S, in contrast, has a pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s and supports display output.

Q: How does the Radeon 8060S compare to other GPUs in the database?

A: The 8060S has an average benchmark score of 55757, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, 1.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, and 2.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each GPU?

A: The MI300 uses 128 GB of HBM3 memory with an 8192-bit bus and 5.32 TB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 8060S uses system shared memory, with its bandwidth listed as "System Dependent".

Q: What is the power consumption difference between the two?

A: The MI300 has a TDP of 600 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a 1000 W suggested power supply. The Radeon 8060S has a TDP of only 55 W and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU supports modern graphics APIs?

A: Only the Radeon 8060S supports graphics APIs, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Instinct MI300 has no graphics API support listed, as it is designed for compute workloads rather than graphics rendering.