AMD Instinct MI355X vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural identities of the AMD Instinct MI355X and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X is built on the CDNA 4.0 architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC.

Q: How do the memory subsystems differ between the two cards?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X uses 288 GB of HBM3e memory on an 8192 bit bus with 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell uses 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256 bit bus with 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X delivers 78.64 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is higher than the 50.53 TFLOPS delivered by the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The AMD Instinct MI355X has a TDP of 1400 W and a suggested PSU of 1800 W, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell has a TDP of 200 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Does the AMD card support display outputs?

A: No, the AMD Instinct MI355X has no display outputs. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell has 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

Q: What benchmark data is available for the AMD Instinct MI355X?

A: The database shows no recorded benchmark scores for the AMD Instinct MI355X, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell has an average benchmark score of 31532 and sits in the 76th percentile of all GPUs.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Instinct MI355X uses the CDNA 4.0 architecture, which is optimized for compute density. Its chip, labeled MI350 256CU, packs 185,000 million transistors onto a 2380 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 77.7M per mm². The architecture is built on a 3 nm process node. The card has 16384 shading units and 1024 TMUs, but it has 0 ROPs and a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s, confirming it is not designed for rasterized graphics output. Its texture rate is 2457.6 GTexel/s. The FP16 throughput matches FP32 at 78.64 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB203 chip. It contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, with a higher transistor density of 120.6M per mm², on a 5 nm process. The shading unit count is 10496, with 328 TMUs and 112 ROPs. It includes 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the AMD card's specification sheet. The pixel rate is 269.6 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 789.5 GTexel/s. FP16 throughput is 50.53 TFLOPS, again at a 1:1 ratio with FP32.

API support separates the two clearly. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan. This aligns with the AMD card having no display outputs and being an OAM Module, while the NVIDIA card is a dual-slot PCIe card with 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. The AMD card uses no power connectors and draws power through its OAM interface, while the NVIDIA card uses a single 16-pin connector.

The process node difference is notable: 3 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. Despite the AMD chip's larger die and higher transistor count, its lower transistor density compared to the NVIDIA chip indicates different design trade-offs. The AMD card's 8192 bit memory bus paired with HBM3e memory is built for bandwidth, while the NVIDIA card's 256 bit bus with GDDR7 is a more conventional workstation configuration.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries for these two cards. The AMD Instinct MI355X has no recorded benchmark scores, an average benchmark score of 0, and sits in the 50th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell has a full set of recorded benchmarks, an average score of 31532, and sits in the 76th percentile.

The NVIDIA card's individual benchmark results provide the only concrete performance data in this comparison. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 7025. Geekbench Vulkan shows 221768. Passmark results include 33360 in G3D, 19255 in GPU Compute, 1336 in G2D, 397 in DirectX 9, 320 in DirectX 11, 204 in DirectX 10, and 119 in DirectX 12.

The nearest rivals to the NVIDIA card in the database are all NVIDIA or Intel parts. The NVIDIA TITAN RTX has an average score of 31676, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell. The NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q scores 31220, which is 1% lower. The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 also scores 31220, 1% lower. The Intel Arc Pro A30M scores 31894, 1.1% higher. This places the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell in a tight cluster around the 31500 mark, with all nearest rivals within roughly one percent.

Without benchmark data for the AMD card, the comparison relies on the specification sheet. The AMD card's FP32 throughput of 78.64 TFLOPS is 55.6% higher than the NVIDIA card's 50.53 TFLOPS. The memory bandwidth difference is even more pronounced: 8.19 TB/s versus 896.0 GB/s, which is roughly 9.1 times higher on the AMD side. The AMD card also has 16384 shading units versus 10496, and 1024 TMUs versus 328.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable category. The process node is 3 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor count is 185,000 million versus 45,600 million. Die size is 2380 mm² versus 378 mm². Transistor density is 77.7M per mm² versus 120.6M per mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially. The AMD card has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a base clock of 1635 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) for AMD versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Memory configuration is a major split. The AMD card has 288 GB of HBM3e on an 8192 bit bus. The NVIDIA card has 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 256 bit bus. Bandwidth is 8.19 TB/s versus 896.0 GB/s.

Compute resources differ: 16384 shading units, 1024 TMUs, and 0 ROPs for AMD versus 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, and 112 ROPs for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA card has 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores; the AMD card lists none. Pixel rate is 0 MPixel/s for AMD versus 269.6 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. Texture rate is 2457.6 GTexel/s versus 789.5 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 78.64 TFLOPS for AMD versus 50.53 TFLOPS for NVIDIA.

Power and physical specifications diverge sharply. TDP is 1400 W for AMD versus 200 W for NVIDIA. Suggested PSU is 1800 W versus 550 W. The AMD card is an OAM Module with no power connectors, while the NVIDIA card is dual-slot with a 16-pin connector. The AMD card measures 102 mm by 165 mm, while the NVIDIA card measures 267 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm.

The AMD card has no display outputs. The NVIDIA card has 4x DisplayPort 2.1b. API support is N/A for AMD across DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, while NVIDIA supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates differ: the AMD card launched on 2025-06-11, and the NVIDIA card launched on 2025-03-17. The NVIDIA card has an active production status; the AMD card has none listed.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI355X wins on raw compute throughput. Its FP32 figure of 78.64 TFLOPS leads the NVIDIA card's 50.53 TFLOPS by a wide margin. The 8.19 TB/s memory bandwidth is in a different class entirely, and the 288 GB memory capacity dwarfs the 32 GB on the NVIDIA card. For workloads that scale with memory capacity and bandwidth, such as large model inference or training datasets, the AMD card's specification sheet indicates a decisive advantage.

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell wins on every metric related to graphics output and workstation integration. It has 112 ROPs and a 269.6 GPixel/s pixel rate, while the AMD card has none. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card lists no API support. It has 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs for direct display connection. Its 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and tensor operations that the AMD card does not list.

The NVIDIA card also wins on power efficiency and physical integration. Its 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU contrast with the AMD card's 1400 W TDP and 1800 W suggested PSU. The dual-slot form factor and 16-pin power connector are standard workstation configurations, while the OAM Module format of the AMD card requires a different class of host system.

The NVIDIA card is the only one with actual benchmark data in the database. Its 76th percentile ranking and 31532 average score place it among the higher-performing GPUs in the database, with nearest rivals within one percent. The AMD card's 50th percentile ranking with no benchmark scores means its real-world performance is unmeasured in the database.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split. The AMD Instinct MI355X is a compute accelerator with no graphics capabilities. Its 78.64 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 288 GB HBM3e memory, and 8.19 TB/s bandwidth target large-scale compute workloads. The absence of display outputs, ROPs, and API support confirms it is not intended for any interactive graphics work. Its 1400 W TDP and OAM Module form factor require a dedicated accelerator platform.

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell is a workstation GPU with full graphics and compute capabilities. Its 50.53 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is lower than the AMD card's, but it delivers 269.6 GPixel/s pixel throughput, 82 RT cores, 328 tensor cores, and four DisplayPort outputs. It supports the full modern graphics API stack. Its 200 W TDP allows integration into standard workstation builds.

The benchmark data favors the NVIDIA card only because the AMD card has no recorded scores. The NVIDIA card's 31532 average score and 76th percentile placement are backed by specific results across multiple test suites. The AMD card's 0 average score and 50th percentile placement reflect the absence of measurements, not a performance verdict.

For compute workloads where memory bandwidth and FP32 throughput dominate, the AMD card's specification sheet shows a substantial lead. For any workload involving graphics output, ray tracing, tensor operations, or standard workstation software stacks, the NVIDIA card is the only option with supporting data and the necessary hardware features. The release date difference, with NVIDIA launching on 2025-03-17 and AMD on 2025-06-11, gives the NVIDIA card a time-to-market advantage as well.