AMD Instinct MI300A vs AMD Radeon RX 9060 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI300A and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 serve entirely different purposes, and the recorded data reflects that split clearly. The MI300A is an accelerator-class compute module with no display outputs, no graphics API support, and a benchmark score of zero in the database. It is designed for raw throughput in dense compute environments, with a 5.32 TB/s memory bandwidth figure that dwarfs the RX 9060's 288.0 GB/s. The RX 9060, by contrast, is an active production graphics card with full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support, and it holds a 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The RX 9060 wins every measurable graphics benchmark in this comparison, simply because the MI300A has none recorded. The MI300A wins on architectural scale: 153,000 million transistors versus 29,700 million, a 1017 mm² die versus 199 mm², and 128 GB of HBM3 memory versus 8 GB of GDDR6. The data indicates these are not competing products. One is a compute accelerator with zero graphics output capability; the other is a consumer graphics card with established benchmark scores across ten separate tests.

Architecture Differences

The two chips share a manufacturer and foundry but diverge on nearly every other architectural point. The MI300A uses the Aqua Vanjaram chip built on CDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC. The MI300A belongs to the Instinct (MIx) generation, while the RX 9060 belongs to the Navi IV (RX 9000) series.

The MI300A packs 14592 shading units, 912 texture mapping units, and no ROPs, which explains its 0 MPixel/s pixel rate. Its texture rate reaches 1,915.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute is listed at 61.29 TFLOPS. The RX 9060 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 28 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 191.4 GPixel/s, texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute is 21.43 TFLOPS. The RX 9060 also lists FP16 at 21.43 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the MI300A's FP16 figure is not recorded.

Memory architecture differences are stark. The MI300A uses 128 GB of HBM3 on an 8192-bit bus, yielding 5.32 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 9060 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s. The MI300A's memory clock is listed at 1300 MHz with 5.2 Gbps effective, while the RX 9060 runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective.

Clock behavior also differs. The MI300A has a 1000 MHz base and 2100 MHz boost, with no game clock listed. The RX 9060 has a 1700 MHz base, 2990 MHz boost, and a 2400 MHz game clock. The MI300A has no power connectors and is an OAM Module with a 750 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 1150 W. The RX 9060 is a Dual-slot card with a single 8-pin connector, a 132 W TDP, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. Both use PCIe 5.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The MI300A lists FP32 at 61.29 TFLOPS, which is 2.86 times the RX 9060's 21.43 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 1,915.2 GTexel/s also far exceeds the RX 9060's 334.9 GTexel/s.

Q: Can the MI300A output video to a display?

A: No. The MI300A lists "No outputs" for display outputs, and its DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan APIs are all marked N/A. The RX 9060 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 2x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs.

Q: How does memory capacity compare?

A: The MI300A has 128 GB of HBM3 on an 8192-bit bus, while the RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 5.32 TB/s versus 288.0 GB/s, a 18.5 times difference.

Q: What benchmark scores does the MI300A have?

A: The database records no benchmarks for the MI300A. Its average benchmark score is 0, and its percentile versus all GPUs is 50. The RX 9060 has ten recorded benchmarks with an average score of 16014.

Q: Which product is newer?

A: The RX 9060 has a release date of 2025-08-04, while the MI300A released on 2023-12-05. The RX 9060 is also marked as Active in production status.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9060 sits within 2.1% of its nearest rivals. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti by 0.7%, and leads the AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 by 1%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 by 2.1%.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Instinct MI300A | AMD Radeon RX 9060 |

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

| Chip | Aqua Vanjaram | Navi 44 |

| Architecture | CDNA 3.0 | RDNA 4.0 |

| Generation | Instinct (MIx) | Navi IV (RX 9000) |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 153,000 million | 29,700 million |

| Die Size | 1017 mm² | 199 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 150.4M / mm² | 149.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2100 MHz | 2990 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2400 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1300 MHz 5.2 Gbps effective | 2250 MHz 18 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 128 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM3 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 8192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 5.32 TB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14592 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 912 | 112 |

| ROPs | 0 | 64 |

| RT Cores | None | 28 |

| Pixel Rate | 0 MPixel/s | 191.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,915.2 GTexel/s | 334.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 61.29 TFLOPS | 21.43 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not recorded | 21.43 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 750 W | 132 W |

| Slot Width | OAM Module | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 1150 W | 300 W |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a |

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

| OpenGL | N/A | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | N/A | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2023-12-05 | 2025-08-04 |

| Predecessor | Radeon Instinct | Navi III |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries between these two products, and the MI300A has zero recorded benchmark scores. However, the RX 9060's ten individual benchmarks provide a complete performance profile for the consumer card.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 9060 scores 3322. Geekbench results show 88183 in OpenCL and 39476 in Vulkan. PassMark results span multiple DirectX versions: 104 in DirectX 10, 182 in DirectX 11, 44 in DirectX 12, and 280 in DirectX 9. The RX 9060 also records 1002 in PassMark G2D, 17631 in G3D, and 9919 in GPU compute. Its average benchmark score is 16014, placing it at the 59th percentile among all GPUs.

The nearest rival data gives context for these scores. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti averages 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 9060. The AMD Radeon R9 370X averages 15862, 1% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 averages 15852, also 1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 averages 15679, 2.1% lower. These deltas show the RX 9060 clustering tightly with mid-range cards from previous generations, within a narrow band of 2.1% across all four rivals.

The MI300A's 50th percentile ranking with an average score of 0 is not comparable to the RX 9060's 59th percentile with a 16014 average. The MI300A's architectural advantages in memory bandwidth, transistor count, and FP32 throughput do not translate into graphics benchmark results because the product has no graphics pipeline. The RX 9060's 28 ray tracing cores and 64 ROPs are features the MI300A simply does not have, and the RX 9060's API support confirms it is the only one of the two designed for DirectX or Vulkan workloads.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward selection based on workload. The AMD Instinct MI300A is a compute accelerator with 128 GB of HBM3, 5.32 TB/s bandwidth, and 61.29 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput. It has no display outputs, no graphics API support, and no recorded benchmarks. It targets dense compute tasks where memory capacity and bandwidth dominate, evidenced by its 750 W TDP and 1150 W suggested PSU.

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is a conventional graphics card. It has full API support, display outputs, 28 ray tracing cores, and a complete set of benchmark scores across DirectX 9 through 12, OpenCL, Vulkan, and PassMark tests. Its average score of 16014 places it at the 59th percentile, within 0.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti and ahead of the R9 370X, RX 7700, and Pro W5500 by 1% to 2.1%. Its 132 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU fit a standard desktop build.

Anyone needing a graphics card for rendering, gaming, or DirectX/Vulkan workloads should use the RX 9060. Anyone needing a high-bandwidth compute accelerator without graphics output should use the MI300A. The two products share a manufacturer and a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, but the recorded data shows no benchmark overlap. The MI300A is the larger chip by every physical metric: 5.2 times the transistors, 5.1 times the die area, and 16 times the memory capacity. The RX 9060 is the only one of the two with any graphics benchmark presence in the database.