AMD Instinct MI300X vs NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data presents a clear division of strengths between these two accelerators. The AMD Instinct MI300X is a datacenter-scale compute engine with a massive memory footprint, designed for workloads where raw throughput and capacity dominate. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation is a compact, power-efficient mobile part aimed at professional graphics and AI inference in laptops. In the single available benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, the MI300X scores 317,994, placing it in the 100th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3500 Mobile has no recorded benchmark score and sits at the 50th percentile, which indicates a fundamental gap in raw compute capability. The MI300X wins on absolute performance and memory capacity, while the RTX 3500 Mobile wins on portability, feature set for graphics, and power efficiency. The data shows no scenario where the mobile part overtakes the datacenter part in pure compute throughput; rather, the mobile part's advantages lie in its available graphics APIs, its form factor, and its suitability for environments where a 750 W power draw is impossible.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from entirely different design philosophies. AMD's MI300X uses the CDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm TSMC process with 153,000 million transistors on a 1017 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 150.4 million per square millimeter. The chip, codenamed Aqua Vanjaram, is an OAM module with no display outputs and no graphics API support. It relies on HBM3 memory, with 192 GB at 5.32 TB/s bandwidth across an 8192-bit bus. The base clock is 1000 MHz with a boost of 2100 MHz. The memory clock is listed as 1300 MHz, or 5.2 Gbps effective.

NVIDIA's RTX 3500 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture, also on a 5 nm TSMC process, but with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, for a density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The chip is AD104 and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for mobile use. It has 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 40 ray tracing cores, and 160 tensor cores. It uses 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The base clock is 1110 MHz, boost 1545 MHz, and memory clock is 2250 MHz or 18 Gbps effective. The RTX 3500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the MI300X has no API support listed. The mobile part also has display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent," whereas the MI300X has no outputs at all.

The transistor count difference is stark: the MI300X packs over four times the transistors of the RTX 3500 Mobile, and its die is more than three times larger. The memory bus width difference is also extreme: 8192 bits versus 192 bits. These architectural choices reflect the intended use cases. The MI300X is built for massive parallel compute with no graphics duties, while the RTX 3500 Mobile is a full-featured graphics and compute processor for laptops.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains only one benchmark result for the MI300X and none for the RTX 3500 Mobile, so a direct head-to-head comparison relies on the MI300X's recorded score and its position relative to other accelerators. The MI300X scores 317,994 in Geekbench OpenCL. That places it 5% behind the NVIDIA H200 NVL (which averages 334,891), 7.5% ahead of the NVIDIA L40S (which averages 295,763), 8% behind the NVIDIA B200 (which averages 345,482), and 10.7% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (which averages 287,237).

These rival comparisons give context for the MI300X's capability. It sits in the upper tier of datacenter accelerators, trading blows with the H200 and B200 while clearly outpacing the L40S and the RTX 6000 Ada. The RTX 3500 Mobile has no recorded benchmark, so its absolute performance cannot be quantified against the MI300X. However, the absence of any benchmark data for the mobile part, combined with its 50th percentile ranking, strongly suggests it is not in the same performance class. The MI300X's pixel rate is 0 MPixel/s and its ROP count is 0, confirming it does no rasterization. The RTX 3500 Mobile, by contrast, has a pixel rate of 98.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 247.2 GTexel/s, indicating it can handle graphics workloads the MI300X cannot.

The FP32 throughput numbers further illustrate the gap. The MI300X delivers 81.72 TFLOPS, while the RTX 3500 Mobile delivers 15.82 TFLOPS. That is roughly a 5.2x difference in raw FP32 compute. The MI300X also has a texture rate of 2,553.6 GTexel/s versus 247.2 GTexel/s for the mobile part. The MI300X's memory bandwidth is 5.32 TB/s, over 12 times the 432.0 GB/s of the RTX 3500 Mobile. These are not close figures; they represent different product categories.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The AMD Instinct MI300X has 192 GB of HBM3 memory with 5.32 TB/s bandwidth on an 8192-bit bus. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Does the AMD Instinct MI300X support DirectX or Vulkan?

A: No. The database lists its DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan support as "N/A." It has no display outputs and is not designed for graphics rendering. The RTX 3500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

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

A: The MI300X has a TDP of 750 W with a suggested PSU of 1150 W. The RTX 3500 Mobile has a TDP of 100 W and no suggested PSU listed. The MI300X uses an OAM module slot, while the RTX 3500 Mobile is an IGP.

Q: How does the MI300X compare to other NVIDIA datacenter accelerators?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the MI300X scores 317,994. It is 5% behind the NVIDIA H200 NVL (334,891), 7.5% ahead of the NVIDIA L40S (295,763), 8% behind the NVIDIA B200 (345,482), and 10.7% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237).

Q: What process nodes and transistor counts do the two chips use?

A: Both use a 5 nm TSMC process. The MI300X has 153,000 million transistors on a 1017 mm² die. The RTX 3500 Mobile has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die.

Q: Which GPU has ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: The RTX 3500 Mobile has 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores. The MI300X has no listed RT cores or tensor cores in the database.

The Verdict

The data points to a complete separation of use cases. The AMD Instinct MI300X is for high-performance computing, AI training, and inference workloads that require enormous memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 192 GB of HBM3 and 5.32 TB/s bandwidth are unmatched by the mobile part. Its FP32 output of 81.72 TFLOPS and its 100th percentile ranking confirm it as a top-tier accelerator. The RTX 3500 Mobile is for professional mobile workstations that need graphics acceleration, ray tracing, and modest compute. Its 12 GB of GDDR6, 40 RT cores, 160 tensor cores, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate make it a versatile mobile solution, but its 15.82 TFLOPS FP32 and 50th percentile ranking place it far below the MI300X in raw compute.

Anyone needing datacenter-scale throughput should choose the MI300X, provided the 750 W power requirement and OAM form factor are acceptable. Anyone needing a mobile GPU for graphics or light compute should choose the RTX 3500 Mobile, which operates at 100 W and fits in a laptop. The benchmark gap is not a close contest; it is a reflection of two entirely different product categories. The MI300X is an accelerator with no graphics capability, while the RTX 3500 Mobile is a graphics processor with compute capability. The choice is dictated by the workload, not by performance parity.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Instinct MI300X | NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | CDNA 3.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 153,000 million | 35,800 million |

| Die Size | 1017 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 150.4M / mm² | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1110 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2100 MHz | 1545 MHz |

| Memory Size | 192 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM3 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 8192 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 5.32 TB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 19456 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 1216 | 160 |

| ROPs | 0 | 64 |

| RT Cores | None listed | 40 |

| Tensor Cores | None listed | 160 |

| Pixel Rate | 0 MPixel/s | 98.88 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 2,553.6 GTexel/s | 247.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 81.72 TFLOPS | 15.82 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 81.72 TFLOPS (1:1) | 15.82 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 750 W | 100 W |

| Slot Width | OAM Module | IGP |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | Portable Device Dependent |

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

| OpenGL | N/A | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | N/A | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2023-12-05 | 2023-03-20 |

| Predecessor | Radeon Instinct | Ampere-MW |

| Successor | None listed | Blackwell-MW |