AMD Instinct MI355X vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the AMD Instinct MI355X and the NVIDIA L4. However, the database does provide a meaningful comparison through the available metrics, particularly the NVIDIA L4's benchmark scores and the AMD Instinct MI355X's architectural specifications.

The NVIDIA L4 delivers a Geekbench OpenCL score of 140,838 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 121,306. Its average benchmark score stands at 131,072, placing it in the 95th percentile among all GPUs. This percentile ranking indicates that the L4 outperforms approximately 95% of all recorded graphics cards in the database. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, posts an average score of 131,938, which is 0.7% higher than the L4. Three other rivals sit within 3.2%: the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135,218, 3.1% higher), the NVIDIA A10M (135,230, 3.1% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135,396, 3.2% higher).

For the AMD Instinct MI355X, the database records no benchmark scores, an average benchmark score of zero, and a 50th percentile ranking. This means the MI355X has no measured performance entries in the database, so its relative standing against the L4 cannot be quantified through benchmark results. The MI355X's FP32 compute rating is 78.64 TFLOPS, while the L4 delivers 30.29 TFLOPS. The MI355X also lists FP16 at 78.64 TFLOPS (1:1), identical to its FP32 rate, whereas the L4 offers FP16 at 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1). These raw compute figures suggest a substantial theoretical throughput advantage for the MI355X, but they are not benchmark-derived scores and therefore do not appear in the head-to-head comparison table.

The database's head-to-head benchmark array is empty, and the win counts for both items are zero. This indicates that no comparative testing has been logged for these two accelerators. The L4's percentile score of 95 versus the MI355X's 50 reflects the presence of measured data for the L4 and the absence of it for the MI355X, rather than a direct performance verdict.

FAQ

Q: What benchmark scores does the NVIDIA L4 have in the database?

A: The L4 has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 140,838 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 121,306, with an average benchmark score of 131,072.

Q: How does the NVIDIA L4 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The L4 trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti by 0.7%, the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation by 3.1%, the NVIDIA A10M by 3.1%, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 by 3.2% in average benchmark score.

Q: What is the AMD Instinct MI355X's benchmark status?

A: The MI355X has no recorded benchmarks, an average benchmark score of zero, and a percentile ranking of 50 among all GPUs.

Q: What are the FP32 compute ratings for both cards?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X lists FP32 at 78.64 TFLOPS, while the NVIDIA L4 lists FP32 at 30.29 TFLOPS.

Q: Which card has a higher memory capacity?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X has 288 GB of HBM3e memory, while the NVIDIA L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: What are their respective percentile rankings?

A: The NVIDIA L4 sits in the 95th percentile, while the AMD Instinct MI355X sits in the 50th percentile.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L4 wins in every measured benchmark category because it is the only one of the two with recorded results. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 140,838 and Vulkan score of 121,306 establish a measurable performance baseline. The L4's 95th percentile ranking places it above the vast majority of GPUs in the database, and its average score of 131,072 positions it within 0.7% of the RTX 3090 Ti. For workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the L4 demonstrates concrete, verified performance.

The AMD Instinct MI355X wins in theoretical specification comparisons where raw numbers favor its design. Its FP32 and FP16 compute figures of 78.64 TFLOPS dwarf the L4's 30.29 TFLOPS in both precision formats. The MI355X also claims a memory bandwidth of 8.19 TB/s, compared to the L4's 300.1 GB/s, and a memory bus width of 8192 bit versus 192 bit. These figures indicate that the MI355X is architected for massive parallel throughput and high-bandwidth memory access, typical of large-scale accelerators. However, without benchmark scores, these advantages remain theoretical in the database.

For users selecting a card based on recorded performance data, the L4 is the only option with measurable results. For those prioritizing raw compute specifications, the MI355X presents a significantly higher ceiling in FP32, FP16, memory size, and bandwidth. The L4's 24 GB memory and 300.1 GB/s bandwidth suit smaller inference or rendering tasks, while the MI355X's 288 GB memory and 8.19 TB/s bandwidth target large model training or data center workloads.

The L4 also holds the advantage in pixel rate, delivering 163.2 GPixel/s versus the MI355X's 0 MPixel/s, and texture rate, with 489.6 GTexel/s against the MI355X's 2,457.6 GTexel/s. The MI355X's texture rate is actually higher, but its pixel rate is zero, suggesting a compute-oriented design with no rasterization output. The L4 includes 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores, while the MI355X lists no RT or tensor core counts, further indicating different architectural priorities.

Specification Differences

The AMD Instinct MI355X and NVIDIA L4 differ across nearly every recorded specification. The MI355X uses a 3 nm process node from TSMC, while the L4 uses a 5 nm node from the same foundry. Transistor counts diverge sharply: the MI355X packs 185,000 million transistors on a 2380 mm² die, while the L4 contains 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Transistor density also differs, with the MI355X at 77.7M per mm² and the L4 at 121.8M per mm².

Clock speeds show the MI355X with a base of 1000 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz, while the L4 runs at 795 MHz base and 2040 MHz boost. Memory specifications are vastly different: the MI355X uses 288 GB of HBM3e on an 8192-bit bus with 8.19 TB/s bandwidth, whereas the L4 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 300.1 GB/s bandwidth. The memory clock for the MI355X is listed as 2000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective, while the L4 runs at 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective.

Shader configurations differ: the MI355X has 16,384 shading units and 1,024 TMUs, while the L4 has 7,424 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The MI355X lists 0 ROPs, 0 pixel rate, and 2,457.6 GTexel/s texture rate. The L4 lists 60 RT cores, 240 tensor cores, 163.2 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 489.6 GTexel/s texture rate.

Power and physical specifications vary considerably. The MI355X has a TDP of 1400 W with a suggested PSU of 1800 W, while the L4 has a TDP of 72 W with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The MI355X is an OAM module with no power connectors and dimensions of 102 mm length and 165 mm width. The L4 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and dimensions of 169 mm length and 56 mm height.

Bus interfaces differ: the MI355X uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. API support also separates the two: the MI355X lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, whereas the L4 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates show the MI355X launching on 2025-06-11, while the L4 launched on 2023-03-20. The L4 has an active production status, while the MI355X has none recorded. The MI355X's predecessor is listed as Radeon Instinct, and the L4's predecessor is Server Ampere with a successor of Server Hopper.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Instinct MI355X is built on the CDNA 4.0 architecture, a compute-focused design from AMD's Instinct (MIx) generation. Its chip, the MI350 256CU, indicates a configuration with 256 compute units. The architecture is optimized for data center compute workloads, as evidenced by the absence of display outputs, the N/A API support for graphics APIs, and the zero pixel rate. The MI355X uses a 3 nm process, which enables a transistor count of 185,000 million on a 2380 mm² die. This large die size and high transistor count point to a design prioritizing raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth over graphics features. The 288 GB of HBM3e memory and 8.19 TB/s bandwidth further support this compute-oriented profile.

The NVIDIA L4 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, NVIDIA's server-focused design from the Server Ada (Lxx) generation. Its chip, the AD104, is a well-established GPU die that also appears in consumer products, but the L4 is configured for server duty. The L4 uses a 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. This smaller die size and lower transistor count reflect a more modest compute scale. The L4 includes 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores, indicating support for ray-traced workloads and tensor-based AI inference. Its API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 shows a broader feature set for graphics acceleration, unlike the MI355X which lists no graphics API support.

The architectural divergence is most visible in memory technology and power characteristics. The MI355X's HBM3e memory provides extremely high bandwidth (8.19 TB/s) and capacity (288 GB), suited for large models and multi-GPU scaling. The L4's GDDR6 memory offers 300.1 GB/s bandwidth and 24 GB capacity, which is more limited but sufficient for edge inference or smaller batch workloads. The MI355X's 1400 W TDP indicates a power-hungry accelerator designed for high-end data center racks, while the L4's 72 W TDP makes it one of the most power-efficient accelerators in the database, suitable for dense server deployments with limited thermal headroom.

The MI355X's 16,384 shading units and 1,024 TMUs vastly outnumber the L4's 7,424 shading units and 240 TMUs, but the L4 compensates with 80 ROPs and a functioning pixel pipeline, while the MI355X has zero ROPs and no pixel output. The MI355X's texture rate of 2,457.6 GTexel/s exceeds the L4's 489.6 GTexel/s, but the L4's pixel rate of 163.2 GPixel/s has no counterpart in the MI355X. These differences confirm that the MI355X is a pure compute accelerator, whereas the L4 retains graphics-rendering capabilities alongside its compute functions.