AMD Instinct MI300A vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI300A and AMD Radeon RX 9070 occupy entirely different segments of the GPU landscape, and their benchmark profiles reflect that split. The RX 9070 has a recorded average benchmark score of 23,877, placing it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The MI300A, by contrast, carries no recorded benchmark scores, an average score of 0, and sits at the 50th percentile. That absence of data is itself informative: the MI300A is not designed for the consumer benchmark suite that produces those numbers.

For the RX 9070, the data shows a clear strength across DirectX and compute workloads. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,290 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 131,539 are substantial figures. The PassMark G3D score of 25,381 and PassMark GPU Compute score of 14,737 further confirm its position as a general-purpose graphics processor. Meanwhile, the MI300A has no such entries in the database, meaning the recorded wins are exclusively on the RX 9070 side.

The MI300A instead wins on architectural capability and raw memory resources. It provides 128 GB of HBM3 memory with a 5.32 TB/s bandwidth, compared to 16 GB of GDDR6 at 644.6 GB/s for the RX 9070. For workloads that exceed the RX 9070's 16 GB capacity, the MI300A is the only option between the two. The MI300A also delivers higher raw throughput figures: 61.29 TFLOPS FP32 versus 36.13 TFLOPS, and a texture rate of 1,915.2 GTexel/s versus 564.5 GTexel/s. These numbers indicate the MI300A is built for compute density, while the RX 9070 is built for rasterized graphics and API compatibility.

Architecture Differences

The two chips share a manufacturer but diverge at every architectural level. The MI300A uses the Aqua Vanjaram chip built on CDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The RX 9070 uses the Navi 48 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at the same foundry. The process node difference is one nanometer, but the design philosophies are generations apart: CDNA is AMD's compute-focused lineage, while RDNA targets graphics rendering.

Transistor counts illustrate the scale gap. The MI300A packs 153,000 million transistors on a 1,017 mm² die, yielding a density of 150.4 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 9070 contains 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, with a density of 151.0 million per square millimeter. The density is nearly identical, but the MI300A's die is roughly three times larger in area and carries nearly three times the transistor count.

The execution resources differ correspondingly. The MI300A has 14,592 shading units, 912 texture mapping units, and zero ROPs. The RX 9070 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The MI300A's lack of ROPs aligns with its zero pixel rate, confirming it has no rasterization pipeline. The RX 9070, in contrast, delivers 322.6 GPixel/s. The RX 9070 also includes 56 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the MI300A's specification sheet.

Memory architecture reinforces the divide. The MI300A uses 128 GB of HBM3 across an 8,192-bit bus, producing 5.32 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX 9070 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 across a 256-bit bus, producing 644.6 GB/s. The MI300A's memory clock is listed at 1,300 MHz with 5.2 Gbps effective, while the RX 9070's memory runs at 2,518 MHz with 20.1 Gbps effective. The RX 9070's faster per-pin transfer rate does not compensate for the MI300A's vastly wider bus.

API support separates them further. The RX 9070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MI300A lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, reinforcing its role as a compute accelerator rather than a graphics card. The RX 9070 also provides display outputs: one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1a connections. The MI300A has no display outputs at all.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The MI300A has 5.32 TB/s of bandwidth across an 8,192-bit HBM3 interface. The RX 9070 has 644.6 GB/s across a 256-bit GDDR6 interface.

Q: Can the MI300A run DirectX games?

A: No. The MI300A lists DirectX as N/A, along with OpenGL and Vulkan. The RX 9070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two chips?

A: They are nearly identical. The MI300A has 150.4 million transistors per square millimeter, and the RX 9070 has 151.0 million per square millimeter.

Q: Which GPU has ray tracing cores?

A: Only the RX 9070. It includes 56 ray tracing cores. The MI300A has no ray tracing cores listed.

Q: How much faster is the MI300A in FP32 compute?

A: The MI300A delivers 61.29 TFLOPS FP32, which is 25.16 TFLOPS higher than the RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the MI300A have display outputs?

A: No. The MI300A lists no outputs. The RX 9070 provides one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1a ports.

Specification Differences

| Specification | MI300A | RX 9070 |

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

| Architecture | CDNA 3.0 | RDNA 4.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 153,000 million | 53,900 million |

| Die Size | 1017 mm² | 357 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1330 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2100 MHz | 2520 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2070 MHz |

| Memory Size | 128 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM3 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 8192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 5.32 TB/s | 644.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14592 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 912 | 224 |

| ROPs | 0 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 56 |

| Pixel Rate | 0 MPixel/s | 322.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,915.2 GTexel/s | 564.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 61.29 TFLOPS | 36.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 36.13 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 750 W | 220 W |

| Slot Width | OAM Module | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 1150 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x 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 | 2025-03-05 |

| Production Status | Not listed | Active |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between the MI300A and the RX 9070. The MI300A has no recorded benchmark scores at all, while the RX 9070 has ten entries across 3DMark, Geekbench, and PassMark suites. This makes a direct score-by-score comparison impossible.

The nearest rival data for the RX 9070 provides context for its performance tier. Its average benchmark score of 23,877 sits 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (23,736) and 1.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile (23,628). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800S by 0.8% (24,063) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER by 1.2% (24,170). These deltas are all within roughly one percentage point, indicating the RX 9070 clusters tightly with those four GPUs in overall benchmark averages.

The RX 9070's individual scores show where it excels. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 131,539 is its highest recorded result, more than double its Geekbench Vulkan score of 58,705. The PassMark G3D score of 25,381 dominates its PassMark DirectX scores, which range from 74 for DirectX 12 to 343 for DirectX 9. The PassMark G2D score of 1,280 and PassMark GPU Compute score of 14,737 round out the suite.

For the MI300A, the only quantitative performance indicators are its peak throughput figures. Its 61.29 TFLOPS FP32 output is 69.6% higher than the RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 1,915.2 GTexel/s is 239% higher than the RX 9070's 564.5 GTexel/s. Its memory bandwidth of 5.32 TB/s is 725% higher than the RX 9070's 644.6 GB/s. These margins reflect the MI300A's specialization in memory-bound and compute-bound workloads where graphics APIs and rasterization are irrelevant.

The Verdict

The recorded data separates these two products into distinct usage domains. The RX 9070 is the only one with any benchmark scores, API support, display outputs, or rasterization hardware. It has a launch MSRP of 549 USD. Its production status is Active, and it belongs to the Radeon RX 9000 series. For any workload involving DirectX, OpenGL, Vulkan, ray tracing, or video output, the RX 9070 is the sole viable choice between the two.

The MI300A has no graphics APIs, no display outputs, no ROPs, and a zero pixel rate. Its 128 GB of HBM3 memory, 8,192-bit bus, and 61.29 TFLOPS FP32 point toward large-scale compute tasks that fit within a single accelerator. Its 750 W TDP and OAM Module form factor, alongside a suggested PSU of 1150 W and no power connectors, indicate a data-center installation profile rather than a desktop one.

The release dates reinforce the generational split. The MI300A launched on 2023-12-05, over a year before the RX 9070's 2025-03-05 release. The RX 9070 lists a predecessor of Navi III, while the MI300A lists Radeon Instinct as its predecessor. Neither product has a successor recorded in the database.

The verdict follows directly from the specifications. The RX 9070 is for interactive graphics and consumer software ecosystems, supported by its benchmark presence and API breadth. The MI300A is for compute throughput and memory capacity, supported by its raw throughput and bandwidth figures. The data shows no overlap in their intended functions, and the absence of common benchmark scores means no meaningful direct performance comparison exists. Each one wins in the domain for which it was built.