AMD Instinct MI325X vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Instinct MI325X and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT occupy entirely different corners of the GPU landscape, and the recorded data reflects that split. The MI325X arrives as an accelerator for compute workloads, while the RX 9070 XT is a client graphics card with an active production status. The database shows no direct head-to-head benchmark entries for these two products, meaning the comparison rests on their respective specification sheets and the RX 9070 XT's measured benchmark scores.

The RX 9070 XT posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7,260, along with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,428 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 65,879. Its Passmark results range from 78 in DirectX 12 to 353 in DirectX 9, with a G3D score of 26,795 and a GPU Compute score of 15,864. The average benchmark score across all recorded tests for the RX 9070 XT is 13,543, placing it at the 55th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13,536 (0.1% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13,515 (0.2% lower), the NVIDIA P106-090 at 13,470 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 at 13,407 (1.0% lower). These deltas are marginal, indicating that the RX 9070 XT's average score sits just ahead of a cluster of much older or lower-tier parts. The MI325X, by contrast, has no recorded benchmark scores and an average benchmark score of zero, with a percentile rank of 50. This makes direct performance comparisons impossible from the database, but the specification differences between the two are stark and informative.

The MI325X delivers 81.72 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 81.72 TFLOPS of FP16 (1:1 ratio), while the RX 9070 XT delivers 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 and 48.66 TFLOPS of FP16 (also 1:1). That puts the MI325X roughly 68% ahead in raw floating-point throughput. The MI325X also commands a massive memory advantage with 256 GB of HBM3e on an 8192-bit bus, yielding 6.14 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus for 644.6 GB/s. The bandwidth gap is nearly tenfold in favor of the MI325X. The RX 9070 XT counters with a higher boost clock of 2,970 MHz versus the MI325X's 2,100 MHz, and it includes 128 ROPs while the MI325X lists zero ROPs. The RX 9070 XT also has 64 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the MI325X's specification sheet.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Instinct MI325X has 19,456 shading units, compared to 4,096 on the Radeon RX 9070 XT.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The MI325X uses 256 GB of HBM3e with an 8192-bit bus and 6.14 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The RX 9070 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs. The MI325X has no display outputs at all.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The MI325X has a TDP of 1000 W and a suggested PSU of 1400 W. The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W and a suggested PSU of 700 W.

Q: What API support does each card provide?

A: The RX 9070 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MI325X lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, indicating it is not designed for consumer graphics APIs.

Q: How do the benchmark results for the RX 9070 XT compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9070 XT's average benchmark score of 13,543 is 0.1% above the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536), 0.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,515), 0.5% above the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470), and 1.0% above the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on different architectures from the same manufacturer. The MI325X uses CDNA 3.0, AMD's compute-oriented architecture, while the RX 9070 XT uses RDNA 4.0, the consumer gaming architecture. The chip names reflect this split: the MI325X is built around the Aqua Vanjaram chip, and the RX 9070 XT uses Navi 48. The MI325X belongs to the Instinct (MIx) generation, while the RX 9070 XT is part of the Navi IV (RX 9000) series.

The process nodes differ as well. The MI325X is fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process, while the RX 9070 XT uses TSMC's 4 nm node. The MI325X packs 153,000 million transistors on a 1017 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 150.4 million per mm². The RX 9070 XT has 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, for a density of 151.0 million per mm². Despite the vast difference in transistor count and die size, the densities are nearly identical, differing by less than one million transistors per square millimeter.

The MI325X's compute-focused design is evident in its texture rate of 2,553.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s, the latter indicating it does not rasterize pixels in the traditional sense. The RX 9070 XT, by contrast, has a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s. The MI325X includes 1,216 TMUs and no ROPs, while the RX 9070 XT includes 256 TMUs and 128 ROPs. The MI325X also lacks ray tracing cores, whereas the RX 9070 XT includes 64. The MI325X's memory clock is listed at 1500 MHz with 6 Gbps effective, while the RX 9070 XT runs its memory at 2518 MHz with 20.1 Gbps effective, a faster per-pin data rate that compensates for its much narrower bus.

The physical form factors also diverge. The MI325X is an OAM module with no power connectors, while the RX 9070 XT is a dual-slot card with 2x 8-pin power connectors. The MI325X is designed to be mounted in an accelerator chassis, not a desktop PC, which is consistent with its lack of display outputs and its N/A API support. The RX 9070 XT is a conventional add-in board with a full set of display outputs and full API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Specification Differences

The recorded data shows the following differences between the two GPUs. The process node is 5 nm for the MI325X and 4 nm for the RX 9070 XT. Transistor count is 153,000 million versus 53,900 million. Die size is 1017 mm² versus 357 mm². Transistor density is 150.4M per mm² versus 151.0M per mm². Base clock is 1000 MHz versus 1660 MHz. Boost clock is 2100 MHz versus 2970 MHz. The RX 9070 XT has a game clock of 2400 MHz, while the MI325X has no game clock listed. Memory clock is 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) versus 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective).

Memory size is 256 GB versus 16 GB. Memory type is HBM3e versus GDDR6. Bus width is 8192 bit versus 256 bit. Bandwidth is 6.14 TB/s versus 644.6 GB/s. Shading units are 19,456 versus 4,096. TMUs are 1,216 versus 256. ROPs are 0 versus 128. The RX 9070 XT lists 64 ray tracing cores, while the MI325X lists none. Pixel rate is 0 MPixel/s versus 380.2 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 2,553.6 GTexel/s versus 760.3 GTexel/s. FP32 is 81.72 TFLOPS versus 48.66 TFLOPS. FP16 is 81.72 TFLOPS versus 48.66 TFLOPS, both at 1:1 ratios.

TDP is 1000 W versus 304 W. Slot width is OAM Module versus Dual-slot. Power connectors are None versus 2x 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 1400 W versus 700 W. Both use PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are No outputs versus 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a. API support is N/A across the board for the MI325X, while the RX 9070 XT lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates are October 9, 2024 for the MI325X and March 5, 2025 for the RX 9070 XT. The MI325X lists no launch MSRP, while the RX 9070 XT has a launch MSRP of 599 USD. The RX 9070 XT has a production status of Active, while the MI325X has none listed. The MI325X's predecessor is Radeon Instinct, and the RX 9070 XT's predecessor is Navi III.

Where Each One Wins

The MI325X wins decisively in compute throughput and memory capacity. Its FP32 and FP16 figures of 81.72 TFLOPS are 68% higher than the RX 9070 XT's 48.66 TFLOPS. Its 256 GB of HBM3e memory with 6.14 TB/s bandwidth dwarfs the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB and 644.6 GB/s, making it the clear choice for workloads that demand massive data residency and extremely high memory bandwidth. The 8192-bit bus is an order of magnitude wider than the RX 9070 XT's 256-bit bus. The MI325X also has 19,456 shading units, 1,216 TMUs, and a texture rate of 2,553.6 GTexel/s, all far above the RX 9070 XT's corresponding figures. For compute-heavy applications such as large-scale AI training, scientific simulation, or other data-center workloads, the MI325X's specification sheet indicates it is the stronger part.

The RX 9070 XT wins in client-facing features and conventional graphics workloads. It has display outputs, full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, plus 128 ROPs and 64 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and boost clock of 2,970 MHz are characteristics of a rasterization-focused GPU. The RX 9070 XT also has recorded benchmark scores, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7,260 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 65,879, confirming it functions in real graphics tests. Its average benchmark score of 13,543 places it at the 55th percentile, and its nearest rivals in the database are within 0.1% to 1.0% of that score, indicating its measured performance is competitive with those parts. The MI325X has no recorded benchmark scores and no display or API support, so it cannot be used for gaming or desktop graphics.

The power and form factor split reinforces the use-case divide. The MI325X requires a 1000 W TDP and a suggested 1400 W PSU, and it is an OAM module with no power connectors, meaning it is meant for server racks with dedicated power delivery. The RX 9070 XT is a dual-slot card with 2x 8-pin connectors, a 304 W TDP, and a suggested 700 W PSU, making it suitable for a standard desktop build. The RX 9070 XT is also more recent, with a March 2025 release date versus October 2024 for the MI325X. The MI325X is the pick for raw compute and memory-bound tasks, while the RX 9070 XT is the pick for any workload that requires rendering, display output, or consumer API compatibility.