AMD Instinct MI350X vs Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows no direct benchmark comparisons between the AMD Instinct MI350X and the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550. Both entries in the database carry an average benchmark score of 0 and a percentile ranking of 50 among all GPUs, indicating that neither part has accumulated measured performance results at the time of data collection. Consequently, a head-to-head comparison based on empirical benchmark scores is not possible from the available figures.

What the database does provide is a specification-level comparison that can inform expectations. The AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 72.09 TFLOPS of FP16 compute, both at a 1:1 ratio. The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP32 and 52.43 TFLOPS of FP16, also at 1:1. This places the AMD part approximately 37.5% ahead of the Intel part in raw FP32 throughput, a meaningful margin for compute-heavy workloads. The texture rate figures reinforce the same direction: the AMD accelerator reaches 2,252.8 GTexel/s, while the Intel accelerator reaches 1,638.4 GTexel/s, an advantage of roughly 37.5% for the AMD design.

Memory bandwidth tells a similar story. The MI350X uses 288 GB of HBM3e memory across an 8192-bit bus, producing 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The Max 1550 uses 128 GB of HBM2e memory across an equally wide 8192-bit bus, producing 3.28 TB/s. The AMD part therefore carries 2.5 times the memory bandwidth of the Intel part and more than double the memory capacity. For data-intensive inference or training workloads that scale with capacity and bandwidth, these differences are substantial.

Clock speeds also favor the AMD part. The MI350X operates at a 1000 MHz base clock and a 2200 MHz boost clock, while the Max 1550 operates at a 900 MHz base clock and a 1600 MHz boost clock. The boost clock gap of 600 MHz is significant, and it contributes directly to the compute throughput differences noted above. The Intel part does incorporate 128 ray tracing cores, a feature absent from the AMD listing, but the MI350X reports no RT cores at all, and both parts report 0 MPixel/s pixel rates, reflecting their lack of display outputs and traditional rasterization focus.

FAQ

Q: Which accelerator has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 delivers 52.43 TFLOPS. The AMD part is ahead by approximately 37.5%.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X uses 288 GB of HBM3e memory with 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 uses 128 GB of HBM2e memory with 3.28 TB/s of bandwidth. Both use an 8192-bit bus, but the AMD part has more capacity and more than double the bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support the same PCIe interface?

A: Yes, both the AMD Instinct MI350X and the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 use a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface.

Q: What is the process node for each accelerator?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X is fabricated on a 3 nm process at TSMC. The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 is fabricated on a 10 nm process at Intel.

Q: Do these accelerators provide display outputs?

A: No. Both the AMD Instinct MI350X and the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 report no display outputs.

Q: What is the thermal design power of each part?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X has a TDP of 1000 W, while the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 has a TDP of 600 W. The suggested power supply is 1400 W for the AMD part and 1000 W for the Intel part.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Instinct MI350X is built on the CDNA 4.0 architecture, a design specifically aimed at accelerator workloads. It uses the MI350 256CU chip, which contains 185,000 million transistors on a 2380 mm² die, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. The transistor density works out to 77.7 million transistors per square millimeter. The architecture does not expose traditional graphics APIs: DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan are all listed as N/A. This is a compute-only design.

The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 is built on the Generation 12.5 architecture, using the Ponte Vecchio chip. It contains 100,000 million transistors on a 1280 mm² die, fabricated on a 10 nm process at Intel, with a transistor density of 78.1 million transistors per square millimeter. Unlike the AMD part, the Intel accelerator exposes DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6 APIs, though Vulkan is not listed. It also includes 128 ray tracing cores, which the AMD listing does not provide.

Both parts share some architectural traits. Each has 16384 shading units and 1024 texture mapping units. Each reports 0 ROPs and a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s, consistent with their roles as data center accelerators rather than graphics cards. Both use an 8192-bit memory bus, and both are formatted as OAM modules with no display outputs. The AMD part uses HBM3e memory while the Intel part uses HBM2e, a generational difference that contributes to the large bandwidth gap. The AMD die is larger and carries more transistors, but the Intel die achieves a slightly higher transistor density, 78.1M versus 77.7M per square millimeter, despite the older process node.

The MI350X belongs to the Instinct (MIx) generation and lists Radeon Instinct as its predecessor. The Max 1550 belongs to the Data Center GPU (Ponte Vecchio) generation and lists H3C Graphics as its successor. The AMD part was released on 2025-06-11, while the Intel part was released on 2023-01-09, a gap of roughly two and a half years. The Intel part carries an active production status, while the AMD part does not list one.

Specification Differences

The two accelerators differ across nearly every major specification field. The AMD Instinct MI350X uses a 3 nm TSMC process; the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 uses a 10 nm Intel process. Transistor counts differ: 185,000 million for AMD versus 100,000 million for Intel. Die size differs as well: 2380 mm² for AMD versus 1280 mm² for Intel. Transistor density is close but not identical: 77.7M per square millimeter for AMD versus 78.1M for Intel.

Clock speeds differ in both base and boost. The MI350X runs at 1000 MHz base and 2200 MHz boost. The Max 1550 runs at 900 MHz base and 1600 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the AMD part uses 2000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective data rate, while the Intel part uses 1600 MHz with 3.2 Gbps effective. Memory type differs: HBM3e for AMD, HBM2e for Intel. Memory capacity differs: 288 GB versus 128 GB. Memory bandwidth differs: 8.19 TB/s versus 3.28 TB/s.

Compute resources are identical in shading units and TMUs, with both parts listing 16384 shading units and 1024 TMUs. However, the Intel part lists 128 ray tracing cores, while the AMD listing shows none. Pixel rates are both 0 MPixel/s. Texture rates differ: 2,252.8 GTexel/s for AMD versus 1,638.4 GTexel/s for Intel. FP32 and FP16 performance both favor AMD: 72.09 TFLOPS versus 52.43 TFLOPS.

Power specifications differ substantially. The AMD part has a TDP of 1000 W and a suggested PSU of 1400 W. The Intel part has a TDP of 600 W and a suggested PSU of 1000 W. The AMD part lists no power connectors, while the Intel listing leaves the power connector field empty. Both are OAM modules and both use PCIe 5.0 x16. Neither part has display outputs. API support differs: the AMD part lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, while the Intel part lists DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, with Vulkan absent.

Dimensions are only recorded for the AMD part, at 102 mm length and 165 mm width. The Intel listing has no dimension data. Release dates differ: 2025-06-11 for AMD, 2023-01-09 for Intel. The Intel part lists an active production status; the AMD part does not. The Intel part has a successor, H3C Graphics, while the AMD part lists none. The AMD part lists Radeon Instinct as its predecessor; the Intel part lists none.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI350X wins on raw compute throughput. Its 72.09 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 figures place it ahead of the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550's 52.43 TFLOPS by a margin of roughly 37.5%. The texture rate advantage, 2,252.8 GTexel/s versus 1,638.4 GTexel/s, follows the same pattern. Workloads that are bound by floating-point math or texture sampling will favor the AMD part.

The AMD part also wins decisively on memory. Its 288 GB of HBM3e capacity is more than double the Intel part's 128 GB of HBM2e, and its 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth is roughly 2.5 times the Intel part's 3.28 TB/s. Large model inference, training runs with big batch sizes, and workloads that repeatedly stream data through the memory subsystem will benefit from the AMD accelerator's wider effective memory pipeline. The higher boost clock, 2200 MHz versus 1600 MHz, also contributes to the AMD part's overall performance ceiling.

The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 wins on power efficiency in absolute terms. Its 600 W TDP is lower than the AMD part's 1000 W TDP, and its suggested PSU of 1000 W is lower than the AMD part's 1400 W suggestion. For environments with strict power delivery limits, the Intel part presents a lighter infrastructure requirement. The Intel part also carries 128 ray tracing cores, a feature that the AMD listing does not include, which could matter for workloads that use ray tracing acceleration. Additionally, the Intel part exposes DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6 APIs, whereas the AMD part lists N/A for all graphics APIs, so the Intel accelerator is the only one of the two with any graphics API support in the database.

The Intel part also has a longer track record. It was released on 2023-01-09 and carries an active production status, while the AMD part was released on 2025-06-11 and lists no production status. The Intel part has a defined successor in H3C Graphics, while the AMD part lists none. The AMD part is newer, larger in die size, and higher in transistor count, but the Intel part is already established in the field with an active manufacturing status.

In summary, the AMD Instinct MI350X is the stronger choice for compute-heavy and memory-bound accelerator workloads, with higher FP32, FP16, texture rate, memory capacity, and memory bandwidth. The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 is the lighter-power option with lower TDP, lower suggested PSU, ray tracing support, and at least partial graphics API coverage. The choice between them depends on whether raw throughput or power and feature constraints take priority.