AMD Instinct MI350P vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data separates these two GPUs into entirely different computing domains. The AMD Instinct MI350P is a compute-oriented accelerator with no display outputs, no graphics API support, and a 0 MPixel/s pixel rate. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q is a mobile graphics processor with full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support, plus a 163.0 GPixel/s pixel rate. There are no overlapping benchmark wins in the database, as the head-to-head benchmark array is empty and both cards sit at the 50th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 0.

The MI350P wins on raw compute scale. It delivers 36.04 TFLOPS FP32 and 36.04 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1), which is 27.3% higher FP32 throughput than the RTX 4090 Max-Q's 28.31 TFLOPS. The MI350P also has a texture rate of 1,126.4 GTexel/s versus 442.3 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA part, a 154.7% advantage. Its memory subsystem is in a different class entirely: 144 GB of HBM3e on an 8192-bit bus yields 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth, compared to 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus yielding 576.0 GB/s. That is a 14.2x bandwidth advantage for the AMD accelerator.

The RTX 4090 Max-Q wins on graphics features and efficiency. It has 76 ray tracing cores, 304 tensor cores, 112 ROPs, and a 163.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, none of which the MI350P offers (the AMD card has 0 ROPs and 0 MPixel/s). The NVIDIA GPU also has a dramatically lower power draw at 80 W TDP versus 600 W TDP. The RTX 4090 Max-Q integrates into a portable device with no power connectors required, while the MI350P needs a 1x 16-pin connector and a 1000 W suggested PSU.

The Verdict

The data clearly indicates these are not competing products. The AMD Instinct MI350P is for compute workloads that require massive memory capacity and bandwidth, with 144 GB HBM3e and 8.19 TB/s. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q is for graphics rendering and ray tracing in mobile form factors, with 76 RT cores, 304 tensor cores, and full graphics API support. Neither card has a benchmark score in the database, and their nearest rival lists are empty, so the comparison is purely architectural.

A user who needs FP32 or FP16 compute at scale should select the MI350P. Its 36.04 TFLOPS in both precisions (1:1 ratio) and 1,126.4 GTexel/s texture rate exceed the RTX 4090 Max-Q's 28.31 TFLOPS and 442.3 GTexel/s. The 144 GB memory capacity is 9x the NVIDIA card's 16 GB, and the 8.19 TB/s bandwidth is over 14x the 576.0 GB/s. The MI350P also uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

A user who needs graphics output, ray tracing, or mobile integration should select the RTX 4090 Max-Q. It is the only one of the two with display outputs (Portable Device Dependent), graphics APIs (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4), and pixel rendering capability (163.0 GPixel/s). Its 80 W TDP also makes it suitable for battery-powered devices, whereas the MI350P's 600 W TDP requires a 1000 W PSU.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records no head-to-head benchmark results for these two GPUs. Both have an average benchmark score of 0 and a 50th percentile ranking against all GPUs. The wins are therefore derived from specification comparisons.

The largest win for the AMD Instinct MI350P is memory bandwidth: 8.19 TB/s versus 576.0 GB/s, a 14.2x difference. Memory capacity follows at 144 GB versus 16 GB, a 9x difference. Texture rate favors the MI350P at 1,126.4 GTexel/s versus 442.3 GTexel/s, a 2.5x difference. FP32 compute favors the MI350P at 36.04 TFLOPS versus 28.31 TFLOPS, a 27.3% advantage. FP16 compute also favors the MI350P at 36.04 TFLOPS versus 28.31 TFLOPS, the same 27.3% margin.

The largest win for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q is pixel rate: 163.0 GPixel/s versus 0 MPixel/s, an infinite advantage since the MI350P has no ROPs. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 9728 shading units versus 8192 for the MI350P, an 18.8% advantage in shader count. The NVIDIA card also has 304 TMUs versus 512 for the MI350P, but its ROP count of 112 versus 0 is the decisive graphics difference. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores; the MI350P has neither. Power efficiency strongly favors the NVIDIA card: 80 W TDP versus 600 W TDP, meaning the RTX 4090 Max-Q delivers 353.9 GFLOPS per watt (28.31 TFLOPS divided by 80 W) versus 60.1 GFLOPS per watt for the MI350P (36.04 TFLOPS divided by 600 W), a 5.9x efficiency advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350P delivers 36.04 TFLOPS FP32, which is 27.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q's 28.31 TFLOPS.

Q: What memory configuration does each card use?

A: The MI350P uses 144 GB of HBM3e on an 8192-bit bus with 8.19 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Max-Q uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Can either card output video to a display?

A: No. The MI350P has no display outputs. The RTX 4090 Max-Q's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning it relies on the host device for display connectivity.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q supports ray tracing, with 76 RT cores. The AMD Instinct MI350P has no RT cores listed.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The MI350P has a 600 W TDP and requires a 1x 16-pin power connector with a 1000 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has an 80 W TDP and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q has 9728 shading units, while the AMD Instinct MI350P has 8192 shading units. However, the MI350P has higher FP32 throughput due to its higher clock speeds.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Instinct MI350P uses the CDNA 4.0 architecture with the MI350 128CU chip, fabricated on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has 73,000 million transistors on a 1190 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 61.3M per mm². The architecture is compute-focused, with 8192 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 0 ROPs. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, and it does not support DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan. Its base clock is 1000 MHz with a boost clock of 2200 MHz.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². This is a denser design, with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It includes 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its base clock is 930 MHz with a boost clock of 1455 MHz.

The MI350P's CDNA 4.0 architecture prioritizes memory bandwidth and raw compute, with an 8192-bit memory bus and 8.19 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Max-Q's Ada Lovelace architecture prioritizes graphics features and efficiency, with a 256-bit memory bus and 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The MI350P has a 3 nm process node versus 5 nm for the NVIDIA card, but the NVIDIA card achieves higher transistor density at 121.1M per mm² versus 61.3M per mm². The MI350P has a larger die (1190 mm² versus 379 mm²) and more transistors (73,000 million versus 45,900 million).

The MI350P has no display outputs and no graphics API support, confirming its role as a compute accelerator. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has display outputs listed as "Portable Device Dependent" and full graphics API support, confirming its role as a mobile graphics processor. The MI350P uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measured specification. The AMD Instinct MI350P uses a 3 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q uses a 5 nm process. The MI350P has 73,000 million transistors on a 1190 mm² die, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q has 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. Transistor density is 61.3M per mm² for the MI350P and 121.1M per mm² for the RTX 4090 Max-Q.

Clock speeds differ: the MI350P has a 1000 MHz base and 2200 MHz boost, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q has a 930 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) for the MI350P and 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the RTX 4090 Max-Q.

Memory configuration is the largest divergence. The MI350P has 144 GB of HBM3e on an 8192-bit bus with 8.19 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources: the MI350P has 8192 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 0 ROPs. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The MI350P has no RT cores or tensor cores; the RTX 4090 Max-Q has 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores.

Output rates: the MI350P has a 0 MPixel/s pixel rate and 1,126.4 GTexel/s texture rate. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has a 163.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 442.3 GTexel/s texture rate. FP32 and FP16 are both 36.04 TFLOPS for the MI350P and 28.31 TFLOPS for the RTX 4090 Max-Q, with a 1:1 ratio on both cards.

Power and physical specifications: the MI350P has a 600 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 16-pin power connector, and requires a 1000 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has an 80 W TDP, is IGP (integrated graphics processor), and uses no power connectors. The MI350P measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has no listed dimensions.

Interface and outputs: the MI350P uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and has no display outputs. The RTX 4090 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has display outputs listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The MI350P supports no graphics APIs, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Production status is null for the MI350P and "Active" for the RTX 4090 Max-Q. Release dates are 2026-05-06 for the MI350P and 2023-01-02 for the RTX 4090 Max-Q.