AMD Instinct MI350X vs NVIDIA N1X 48SM Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core specifications of the AMD Instinct MI350X and the NVIDIA N1X 48SM?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X uses an MI350 256CU chip on a 3 nm process, with 16,384 shading units, 1,024 texture mapping units, and no ROPs. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses a GB20B chip on a 5 nm process, with 6,144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare between the two accelerators?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X has 288 GB of HBM3e memory on an 8192-bit bus, delivering 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the difference in compute throughput?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 operations. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM delivers 28.83 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 operations.

Q: What are the physical differences in form factor?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X is an OAM Module measuring 102 mm in length and 165 mm in width, requiring a 1400 W suggested PSU. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM is an IGP with no listed dimensions and no suggested PSU.

Q: What are the clock speeds of each device?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 2200 MHz, with memory clocked at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz, with memory clocked at 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective).

Q: Do either of these devices support display outputs or standard graphics APIs?

A: The AMD Instinct MI350X has no display outputs. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has one HDMI output. Both devices list DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan APIs as N/A.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Instinct MI350X is built on the CDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 3 nm process. The chip, designated MI350 256CU, contains 185,000 million transistors on a die size of 2380 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 77.7M per mm². This accelerator is part of the Instinct (MIx) generation. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. Its chip, designated GB20B, has a die size of 382 mm², with transistor count listed as unknown. This device belongs to the Blackwell IGP (N1x) generation.

The architectural design philosophies diverge significantly. The AMD part is a dedicated compute accelerator with 256 compute units, arranged as 16,384 shading units and 1,024 TMUs. It has zero ROPs and no display outputs, confirming its purpose as a server or data center module. The NVIDIA part is an integrated graphics processor with 48 streaming multiprocessors, translating to 6,144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It also includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the AMD specification list.

The memory architectures are fundamentally different. The AMD Instinct MI350X uses HBM3e with a massive 8192-bit bus width, achieving 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, achieving 273.2 GB/s. The bandwidth ratio is approximately 30:1 in favor of AMD. The AMD module has a TDP of 1000 W and requires a 1400 W suggested PSU, while the NVIDIA part has an unknown TDP and no suggested PSU, reflecting its lower-power integrated nature.

Release timing also differs. The AMD Instinct MI350X has a release date of June 11, 2025, with a predecessor listed as Radeon Instinct. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has a release date of May 31, 2026, and is listed as Active in production status, with no predecessor recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database currently records no head-to-head benchmark results between the AMD Instinct MI350X and the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. Both devices have an average benchmark score of 0 and hold a percentile rank of 50 versus all GPUs. The wins counter shows 0 for each device.

Given the absence of direct benchmark data, the comparison must rely on recorded specifications. In FP32 compute throughput, the AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 72.09 TFLOPS, which is 2.5 times the 28.83 TFLOPS of the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. The same ratio applies to FP16 performance, since both devices operate at 1:1 FP16 to FP32 rates.

Texture processing shows a similar gap. The AMD part achieves a texture rate of 2,252.8 GTexel/s, compared to 900.9 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA part. This places AMD approximately 2.5 times ahead in texture fill capability. Pixel rate, however, favors the NVIDIA part, which records 112.6 GPixel/s, while the AMD part records 0 MPixel/s due to having no ROPs.

Memory bandwidth presents the largest differential. The AMD Instinct MI350X delivers 8.19 TB/s, which is roughly 30 times the 273.2 GB/s of the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. This difference reflects the HBM3e versus LPDDR5X memory type split and the 8192-bit versus 256-bit bus width gap.

Clock speeds provide a nuanced picture. The NVIDIA part has a higher boost clock at 2346 MHz versus 2200 MHz for AMD, and a higher effective memory clock at 8.5 Gbps versus 8 Gbps. The AMD part has a higher base clock at 1000 MHz versus 741 MHz. These clock advantages do not offset the massive differences in compute unit count and memory bandwidth.

The AMD Instinct MI350X has a die size of 2380 mm², which is 6.2 times larger than the 382 mm² die of the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. The transistor count of 185,000 million for AMD versus unknown for NVIDIA further indicates the scale difference. The AMD part is fabricated on a smaller 3 nm node compared to 5 nm for NVIDIA, yet still packs far more silicon area.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two devices:

• Chip: MI350 256CU (AMD) versus GB20B (NVIDIA)
• Architecture: CDNA 4.0 versus Blackwell 2.0
• Generation: Instinct (MIx) versus Blackwell IGP (N1x)
• Process Node: 3 nm versus 5 nm
• Transistors: 185,000 million versus unknown
• Die Size: 2380 mm² versus 382 mm²
• Transistor Density: 77.7M / mm² versus null
• Base Clock: 1000 MHz versus 741 MHz
• Boost Clock: 2200 MHz versus 2346 MHz
• Memory Clock: 2000 MHz 8 Gbps effective versus 1067 MHz 8.5 Gbps effective
• Memory Size: 288 GB versus 128 GB
• Memory Type: HBM3e versus LPDDR5X
• Memory Bus Width: 8192 bit versus 256 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 8.19 TB/s versus 273.2 GB/s
• Shading Units: 16,384 versus 6,144
• TMUs: 1,024 versus 384
• ROPs: 0 versus 48
• RT Cores: null versus 48
• Tensor Cores: null versus 192
• Pixel Rate: 0 MPixel/s versus 112.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 2,252.8 GTexel/s versus 900.9 GTexel/s
• FP32: 72.09 TFLOPS versus 28.83 TFLOPS
• FP16: 72.09 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 28.83 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 1000 W versus unknown
• Slot Width: OAM Module versus IGP
• Suggested PSU: 1400 W versus null
• Display Outputs: No outputs versus 1x HDMI
• Dimensions: 102 mm length, 165 mm width versus null
• Production Status: null versus Active
• Release Date: June 11, 2025 versus May 31, 2026
• Predecessor: Radeon Instinct versus null

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI350X wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads. Its FP32 and FP16 throughput of 72.09 TFLOPS doubles the 28.83 TFLOPS of the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. For applications driven by raw arithmetic throughput, such as large matrix operations or dense tensor workloads, the AMD part holds a clear 2.5x advantage. The texture rate of 2,252.8 GTexel/s versus 900.9 GTexel/s reinforces this position for texture-bound tasks.

The AMD part also dominates memory-bound scenarios. The 8.19 TB/s of HBM3e bandwidth dwarfs the 273.2 GB/s of LPDDR5X. Workloads that stream large datasets, such as inference batches with massive model weights or data-parallel processing, will see significantly better performance on the AMD module. The 288 GB capacity versus 128 GB also allows larger working sets to reside in local memory.

The NVIDIA N1X 48SM wins in areas requiring rasterization and display. It has 48 ROPs and delivers 112.6 GPixel/s, while the AMD part delivers 0 MPixel/s. The single HDMI output on the NVIDIA part enables direct display connectivity, which the AMD module lacks entirely. For any workload that needs pixel output or graphics rendering, the NVIDIA part is the only option of the two.

The NVIDIA part also has ray tracing and tensor cores. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray-traced rendering and AI acceleration. The AMD Instinct MI350X lists no such units. While the AMD part has higher raw FP16 throughput, the NVIDIA part has specialized tensor hardware that may accelerate certain AI kernels through dedicated paths rather than general shader execution.

Clock speed favors NVIDIA in boost operation. The 2346 MHz boost clock exceeds the 2200 MHz of the AMD part, and the 8.5 Gbps effective memory clock exceeds 8 Gbps. For lightly threaded tasks that scale with clock frequency rather than core count, the NVIDIA part may exhibit better latency characteristics.

The Verdict

The data indicates two devices with fundamentally different purposes. The AMD Instinct MI350X is a data center compute accelerator with massive memory bandwidth, huge capacity, and high FP32/FP16 throughput. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM is an integrated graphics processor with display output, rasterization capability, ray tracing cores, and tensor cores, all within a much smaller die and likely lower power envelope.

The recorded specifications show no benchmark results for either device, so performance conclusions rest entirely on the specification sheet. On paper, the AMD Instinct MI350X is the superior choice for pure compute throughput and memory-bound workloads. Its 72.09 TFLOPS FP32, 8.19 TB/s bandwidth, and 288 GB capacity place it in a different performance class than the NVIDIA part. The 2.5x compute advantage and 30x bandwidth advantage are substantial margins.

The NVIDIA N1X 48SM is the appropriate choice for systems requiring integrated graphics with display capability. Its 112.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and HDMI output enable direct visual output. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores add hardware acceleration paths that the AMD part does not offer. The 2346 MHz boost clock provides responsive operation for latency-sensitive tasks.

The production status differs, with the NVIDIA part listed as Active while the AMD part has no production status recorded. Release dates place the AMD part in June 2025 and the NVIDIA part in May 2026.

For compute density, the AMD Instinct MI350X wins. For integrated graphics with display output and dedicated ray tracing hardware, the NVIDIA N1X 48SM wins. The decision depends on whether the workload requires massive parallel compute and memory throughput, or rasterization, ray tracing, and display connectivity within an integrated package.