AMD Instinct MI350X vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data for the AMD Instinct MI350X contains no benchmark entries, while the NVIDIA L4 has two measured results. The L4 scores 140,838 in Geekbench OpenCL and 121,306 in Geekbench Vulkan, giving it an average benchmark score of 131,072. This places the L4 in the 95th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Without a corresponding benchmark score for the MI350X, the database cannot produce a direct head-to-head comparison between the two accelerators. The MI350X is listed at the 50th percentile with an average score of zero, indicating that no measured performance data has been recorded for it.

The NVIDIA L4's nearest rivals provide context for its standing. The GeForce RTX 3090 Ti averages 131,938, a margin of 0.7 percent above the L4. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation averages 135,218, which is 3.1 percent higher. The NVIDIA A10M also sits 3.1 percent ahead at 135,230, and the Radeon PRO W6800 leads by 3.2 percent with an average of 135,396. These margins show the L4 performs within a narrow band of established workstation and server cards, trailing the closest competitor by less than one percentage point and the strongest listed rival by just over three percentage points.

The absence of MI350X benchmark results means the only quantitative comparison available is through architecture-level specifications rather than measured workloads. The MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 72.09 TFLOPS of FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio. The L4 delivers 30.29 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16, also at a 1:1 ratio. These figures indicate the MI350X carries approximately 2.38 times the raw compute throughput of the L4 on paper, though no benchmark confirms how that translates into application performance.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload scale and power envelope. The NVIDIA L4 is the only one of the two with recorded benchmark results, and those results place it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. Its average score of 131,072, combined with a 72 W TDP, shows it delivers substantial performance within a minimal power budget. The L4 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W, making it suitable for dense server configurations where space and power are constrained.

The AMD Instinct MI350X targets a different segment entirely. Its 1000 W TDP and OAM Module slot width indicate a high-density accelerator designed for compute-focused systems with dedicated cooling and power delivery. The MI350X has a suggested PSU of 1400 W, and its dimensions of 102 mm by 165 mm reflect an OAM form factor rather than a standard PCIe card. No display outputs exist on either card, confirming both are intended for headless server operation.

Buyers with measured performance needs and power constraints should rely on the L4, as it is the only option with verified scores in the database. Buyers requiring the MI350X's large memory capacity and compute specifications must accept that no benchmark data is available to validate its performance claims.

Architecture Differences

The MI350X uses the CDNA 4.0 architecture on a 3 nm process from TSMC, while the L4 uses Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. The MI350X integrates 185,000 million transistors on a 2380 mm² die, producing a transistor density of 77.7 million per square millimeter. The L4 integrates 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, with a density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The L4 achieves higher transistor density despite the older node, while the MI350X uses a much larger die to house its greater transistor count.

The MI350X is built around 256 compute units, which the database lists as the chip designation "MI350 256CU." It contains 16,384 shading units and 1,024 texture mapping units, with no ROPs listed and no ray tracing or tensor core counts provided. The L4 uses the AD104 chip with 7,424 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It includes 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. The MI350X has no API support listed for DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan, while the L4 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The MI350X uses 288 GB of HBM3e across an 8192-bit bus, delivering 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The L4 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 across a 192-bit bus, delivering 300.1 GB/s. The MI350X's memory bandwidth is roughly 27 times higher, and its capacity is 12 times larger. Clock speeds also diverge: the MI350X runs at 1000 MHz base and 2200 MHz boost, while the L4 runs at 795 MHz base and 2040 MHz boost. The MI350X's memory runs at 2000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective speed, and the L4's memory runs at 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective speed.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS of FP32, which is more than double the NVIDIA L4's 30.29 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the NVIDIA L4 have ray tracing support?

A: Yes, the L4 includes 60 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The MI350X has no ray tracing core count listed and no DirectX support in the database.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The MI350X has a TDP of 1000 W and a suggested PSU of 1400 W. The L4 has a TDP of 72 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The MI350X has 288 GB of HBM3e memory on an 8192-bit bus, and the L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which card has recorded benchmark scores?

A: Only the NVIDIA L4 has benchmark entries in the database, with scores of 140,838 in Geekbench OpenCL and 121,306 in Geekbench Vulkan. The MI350X has no recorded benchmarks.

Q: What form factor does each card use?

A: The MI350X is an OAM Module with dimensions of 102 mm by 165 mm. The L4 is a single-slot card measuring 169 mm in length and 56 mm in height.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L4 wins on measured performance evidence. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 140,838 and Vulkan score of 121,306 are the only benchmark results in this comparison, and they place the card in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. The L4 also wins on power efficiency, delivering that performance within a 72 W envelope, and on software compatibility, with full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support. Its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and single-slot design make it easier to integrate into existing server infrastructure.

The AMD Instinct MI350X wins on raw specifications. Its FP32 and FP16 compute of 72.09 TFLOPS exceeds the L4 by a factor of 2.38. Its 288 GB HBM3e memory with 8.19 TB/s bandwidth dwarfs the L4's 24 GB GDDR6 with 300.1 GB/s. The MI350X also uses PCIe 5.0 x16, doubling the interface bandwidth of the L4's PCIe 4.0 x16. The MI350X's 3 nm process node is smaller than the L4's 5 nm node, and its 185,000 million transistors far exceed the L4's 35,800 million. The MI350X also has a higher boost clock at 2200 MHz versus 2040 MHz.

The L4 wins in transistor efficiency, with 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter versus the MI350X's 77.7 million. The L4 also wins on pixel throughput at 163.2 GPixel/s, while the MI350X is listed at 0 MPixel/s, and on texture rate the MI350X leads with 2,252.8 GTexel/s against 489.6 GTexel/s.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every recorded specification. The MI350X uses a 3 nm TSMC process; the L4 uses 5 nm TSMC. Transistor counts are 185,000 million for the MI350X and 35,800 million for the L4. Die sizes are 2380 mm² and 294 mm², respectively. The MI350X has 16,384 shading units, 1,024 TMUs, and no ROPs; the L4 has 7,424 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The MI350X lists no ray tracing or tensor cores, while the L4 has 60 and 240, respectively.

Base clocks are 1000 MHz for the MI350X and 795 MHz for the L4. Boost clocks are 2200 MHz and 2040 MHz. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective for the MI350X, and 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective for the L4. Memory capacity is 288 GB HBM3e versus 24 GB GDDR6. Bus widths are 8192-bit and 192-bit. Bandwidth is 8.19 TB/s and 300.1 GB/s.

Pixel rates are 0 MPixel/s for the MI350X and 163.2 GPixel/s for the L4. Texture rates are 2,252.8 GTexel/s and 489.6 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are 72.09 TFLOPS for the MI350X and 30.29 TFLOPS for the L4. TDP is 1000 W versus 72 W. The MI350X uses an OAM Module form factor; the L4 is single-slot. The MI350X uses PCIe 5.0 x16; the L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The MI350X has no display outputs and no API support listed. The L4 also has no display outputs but supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The MI350X was released on June 11, 2025, while the L4 was released on March 20, 2023. The MI350X's predecessor is Radeon Instinct, and the L4's predecessor is Server Ampere with Server Hopper as its successor. The L4 is marked as Active in production status; the MI350X has no production status listed.