AMD Instinct MI308X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the architectural generations of the AMD Instinct MI308X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070?

A: The AMD Instinct MI308X uses the CDNA 3.0 architecture with the Aqua Vanjaram chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB205 chip. Both are manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC.

Q: How do the memory subsystems differ between these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Instinct MI308X features 192 GB of HBM3 memory on an 8192-bit bus, delivering 5.32 TB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the difference in FP32 compute throughput?

A: The AMD Instinct MI308X delivers 81.72 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers 30.87 TFLOPS. Both cards achieve a 1:1 ratio for FP16 performance, matching their respective FP32 figures.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU, and how does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 at 40318 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 40063 (0.8% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40870 (1.2% behind). The AMD Instinct MI308X has no recorded benchmark scores and sits at the 50th percentile.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The AMD Instinct MI308X has a TDP of 750 W and suggests a 1150 W power supply. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has a TDP of 250 W and suggests a 600 W power supply.

Q: What display outputs does each GPU provide?

A: The AMD Instinct MI308X provides no display outputs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows two GPUs with fundamentally different design targets. The AMD Instinct MI308X is an accelerator with no display outputs, no graphics API support (DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan are all listed as N/A), and a 192 GB HBM3 memory pool. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a conventional graphics card with full API support, display outputs, and a 12 GB GDDR7 frame buffer.

For compute-heavy workloads that fit within the HBM3 memory capacity, the MI308X delivers 81.72 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is 2.65 times the 30.87 TFLOPS of the RTX 5070. Its 5.32 TB/s memory bandwidth is roughly 7.9 times the 672.0 GB/s of the RTX 5070. The MI308X also uses 153,000 million transistors on a 1017 mm² die, compared to 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die for the RTX 5070.

For general-purpose graphics, rendering, and DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, the RTX 5070 is the only one of the two with the required API support. It has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, features the MI308X does not list. Its 80 ROPs deliver a 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, while the MI308X is recorded at 0 MPixel/s.

The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377 and sits at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The MI308X has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, so its real-world performance relative to the RTX 5070 cannot be directly quantified. The MI308X does hold the advantage in raw compute specifications, memory capacity, and memory bandwidth, but it lacks the rendering pipeline and software ecosystem of a consumer graphics card.

Users requiring a graphics card for display output, gaming, or DirectX-based applications should select the RTX 5070. Users targeting high-memory compute workloads, such as large model inference or data processing, should consider the MI308X based on its specification sheet, though the lack of benchmark data limits direct comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

No direct head-to-head benchmark entries exist between the AMD Instinct MI308X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 in the database. The MI308X has zero benchmark scores recorded, while the RTX 5070 has ten recorded benchmark tests. This absence of overlapping measurements makes a direct performance comparison impossible from the recorded data alone.

The RTX 5070's recorded results establish its baseline across several test suites. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 5077. Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 172660 and 178923, respectively. Passmark results include a G3D score of 29137, a GPU compute score of 15787, and a G2D score of 1305. DirectX-specific Passmark tests show scores of 180 for DX10, 277 for DX11, 108 for DX12, and 320 for DX9.

The MI308X's average benchmark score is listed as 0, which places it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs. This is a neutral percentile, neither above nor below average, but it reflects the absence of measured performance data rather than a true performance level.

The RTX 5070's nearest rivals in the database provide context for its scoring tier. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 40318, which is 0.1% behind the RTX 5070. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 scores 40063, 0.8% behind. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870, which is 1.2% ahead. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568, 2% behind. These deltas show the RTX 5070 sits in a tightly clustered performance band around the 40000-point mark.

Because the MI308X has no benchmark data, the specification differences must carry the analytical weight. The MI308X's FP32 throughput of 81.72 TFLOPS is 2.65 times the RTX 5070's 30.87 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 2,553.6 GTexel/s is 5.3 times the RTX 5070's 482.3 GTexel/s. Memory bandwidth of 5.32 TB/s versus 672.0 GB/s represents a roughly 7.9-fold advantage for the MI308X.

The RTX 5070 counters with its pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s, a capability the MI308X does not provide. The RTX 5070 also has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the MI308X lists no such hardware. For any workload using ray tracing or tensor operations, the RTX 5070 has dedicated hardware, whereas the MI308X's specifications do not indicate equivalent units.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every recorded specification category. The AMD Instinct MI308X uses the CDNA 3.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 uses Blackwell 2.0. The MI308X is part of the Instinct (MIx) generation, while the RTX 5070 belongs to the GeForce 50 series.

Process node and foundry are identical: both use 5 nm at TSMC. Transistor counts differ substantially. The MI308X integrates 153,000 million transistors on a 1017 mm² die, yielding a density of 150.4M per mm². The RTX 5070 integrates 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, yielding 118.3M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the RTX 5070. Its base clock is 2325 MHz and boost clock is 2512 MHz, compared to the MI308X's 1000 MHz base and 2100 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the MI308X runs at 1300 MHz with 5.2 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5070 runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective.

Memory capacity, type, and bus width are completely different. The MI308X has 192 GB of HBM3 on an 8192-bit bus. The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth follows accordingly: 5.32 TB/s versus 672.0 GB/s.

Compute unit counts show the MI308X's scale advantage. It has 19456 shading units and 1216 TMUs. The RTX 5070 has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The MI308X lists 0 ROPs and a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s. The RTX 5070 has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores; the MI308X lists neither.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The MI308X has a 750 W TDP, uses an OAM Module slot width, has no power connectors, and suggests a 1150 W power supply. The RTX 5070 has a 250 W TDP, uses a Dual-slot form factor, requires a 1x 16-pin connector, and suggests a 600 W power supply. The RTX 5070 measures 245 mm in length, 115 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The MI308X has no recorded dimensions.

The RTX 5070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MI308X lists N/A for all three APIs. Display outputs follow the same pattern: the RTX 5070 provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, while the MI308X provides none.

The release dates are also different. The MI308X was released on 2023-12-05, while the RTX 5070 was released on 2025-03-03. The RTX 5070 has a launch MSRP of 549 USD. The MI308X has no recorded launch MSRP. The RTX 5070's production status is Active, and its predecessor is the GeForce 40 series with a successor in the GeForce 60 series. The MI308X's predecessor is Radeon Instinct, and no successor is recorded.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between the two cards reflects their divergent purposes. The MI308X uses CDNA 3.0, AMD's compute-focused architecture, built around the Aqua Vanjaram chip. The RTX 5070 uses Blackwell 2.0, NVIDIA's graphics and compute architecture, built around the GB205 chip.

The transistor scale difference is the most visible architectural marker. The MI308X packs 153,000 million transistors, nearly five times the 31,100 million in the RTX 5070. The die size difference is similarly large: 1017 mm² versus 263 mm². Transistor density is higher on the MI308X at 150.4M per mm², compared to 118.3M per mm² on the RTX 5070.

Memory architecture separates the two designs further. The MI308X uses HBM3 stacked memory across an 8192-bit interface, which explains its 5.32 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5070 uses GDDR7 on a 192-bit interface, capping bandwidth at 672.0 GB/s. The MI308X's memory architecture is clearly designed for bandwidth-intensive compute workloads, while the RTX 5070's is sized for consumer graphics workloads.

The MI308X has no RT cores or tensor cores listed, and its shading unit count of 19456 with 1216 TMUs suggests a pure compute throughput design. The RTX 5070 includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations. The MI308X's lack of display outputs and graphics API support confirms it is not intended for interactive rendering.

Power delivery architecture also differs. The MI308X uses an OAM Module slot with no power connectors, indicating a system-level integration model where power comes through the module interface. The RTX 5070 uses a standard dual-slot design with a 1x 16-pin connector. The MI308X's 750 W TDP versus the RTX 5070's 250 W TDP reflects the compute-versus-graphics design split.

The RTX 5070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, providing full coverage of modern graphics APIs. The MI308X lists N/A for all three, meaning it has no graphics API support in the recorded data. This is consistent with an accelerator that offloads compute workloads without rendering frames.