AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 vs AMD Radeon PRO V710 Comparison

AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 and AMD Radeon PRO V710 represent two distinct eras of AMD data center compute. The MI25, built on the aging GCN architecture, and the PRO V710, a modern RDNA 3 part, are separated by seven years of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a clear generational leap, but the specifics of that leap, and the trade-offs involved, are worth examining in detail.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single directly comparable benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are decisive. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 116,460, while the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 scores 68,562. This represents a 41.1% deficit for the MI25 relative to the V710. In practical terms, the V710 delivers roughly 70% more compute performance in this workload.

The MI25's score of 68,562 places it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the Intel Arc A770 (68,809, only 0.4% higher) and the NVIDIA CMP 90HX (69,000, 0.6% higher). This shows that while the MI25 is outclassed by the V710, it still holds its own against contemporary mid-range parts from its own generation. The MI25 also edges out the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 by 1.9% and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 by 2%, indicating it was a strong performer in its day.

The PRO V710's Geekbench score of 116,460, however, puts it in a different league. Its nearest rivals in the average benchmark score ranking are the NVIDIA P102-100 (58,528, 0.2% lower) and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (58,392, 0.5% lower). It is important to note that the PRO V710's average benchmark score of 58,657 is dragged down by its inclusion of a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 853, which is a very different workload from Geekbench OpenCL. This is why its percentile rank of 88th is slightly below the MI25's 90th, despite the V710's massive OpenCL advantage.

The data clearly indicates that in raw compute throughput, the PRO V710 is the superior product. The 41.1% delta is not a marginal improvement; it is a substantial generational jump. For any workload that relies heavily on OpenCL compute, the V710 is the clear choice.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures, which explains the performance disparity. The MI25 is based on the Vega 10 chip, utilizing the GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.3 million per mm². The PRO V710, in contrast, uses the Navi 32 chip with the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 28,100 million transistors on a smaller 346 mm² die, achieving a much higher density of 81.2 million per mm².

The memory subsystems are also radically different. The MI25 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 436.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The PRO V710 uses 28 GB of GDDR6 on a narrower 224-bit bus, yet achieves higher bandwidth at 504.0 GB/s. This is due to the significantly faster memory clock on the V710, which runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) compared to the MI25's 852 MHz (1704 Mbps effective).

Core configurations tell another story. The MI25 has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The PRO V710 has fewer shading units (3456) and TMUs (216), but more ROPs (96). The V710 also features 54 dedicated ray tracing cores, a capability entirely absent from the GCN-based MI25. The clock speeds are much higher on the V710, with a base of 1900 MHz and boost of 2000 MHz, versus 1400 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost on the MI25.

These architectural and clock differences result in significant compute throughput advantages for the V710. Its FP32 performance is 27.65 TFLOPS, more than double the MI25's 12.29 TFLOPS. The MI25's FP16 performance is 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the V710's is 27.65 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The V710 also achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 192.0 GPixel/s and 432.0 GTexel/s, respectively, compared to 96.0 GPixel/s and 384.0 GTexel/s on the MI25.

Power and physical specifications are also divergent. The MI25 is a 300 W dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a 700 W power supply. The PRO V710 is a much more efficient 158 W single-slot card, needing just one 8-pin connector and a 450 W power supply. The MI25 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall, while the V710's dimensions are not listed. The MI25 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the V710 uses the newer PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. In terms of API support, the V710 is ahead, featuring DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the MI25 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both cards have no display outputs, indicating their data center focus.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 is the superior performer in the head-to-head comparison. Its 41.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is a decisive margin, and its architectural advantages in FP32 throughput, memory bandwidth, and ray tracing capabilities make it the more capable compute card. The V710 achieves this while consuming less than half the power (158 W vs 300 W) and occupying a single slot instead of two.

The MI25 is not without merit. Its 90th percentile ranking and close scores against rivals like the Intel Arc A770 and NVIDIA CMP 90HX show it remains a competent compute device for its era. However, it is an end-of-life product, and its performance is firmly in the past generation.

For any new deployment or workload requiring maximum compute performance, the PRO V710 is the clear choice. The data shows it offers more than double the FP32 performance and significantly higher memory bandwidth, all in a more power-efficient package. The MI25 should only be considered for legacy environments where its specific GCN architecture is required, or where the 16 GB HBM2 memory configuration is preferable to the V710's 28 GB GDDR6. The decision is not close.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO V710, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 116,460, is 41.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25's score of 68,562.

Q: How does the memory configuration differ between the two cards?

A: The MI25 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 436.2 GB/s bandwidth, while the PRO V710 uses 28 GB of GDDR6 on a 224-bit bus with higher bandwidth at 504.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon PRO V710 support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the PRO V710 has 54 dedicated ray tracing cores. The MI25, based on GCN 5.0, has no ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The MI25 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W power supply, while the PRO V710 has a TDP of 158 W and requires a 450 W power supply.

Q: Which card is newer and what is the process node difference?

A: The PRO V710 was released in October 2024 on a 5 nm process, while the MI25 was released in June 2017 on a 14 nm process.

Q: In the Geekbench test, how close is the MI25 to its nearest rival?

A: The MI25's nearest rival is the Intel Arc A770, which scores 68,809, a mere 0.4% higher than the MI25's 68,562.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon PRO V710 wins decisively in virtually every measurable compute metric. It is the preferred choice for modern compute workloads that leverage FP32 throughput, where it delivers 27.65 TFLOPS compared to the MI25's 12.29 TFLOPS. Its higher memory bandwidth (504.0 GB/s vs 436.2 GB/s) makes it better suited for memory-bandwidth-intensive tasks. The V710 is also the clear winner in power efficiency, offering superior performance at less than half the power draw (158 W vs 300 W), making it a better fit for dense, power-constrained data center environments. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with the latest software frameworks, and its ray tracing cores make it applicable for emerging workloads that require RT capabilities.

The AMD Radeon Instinct MI25's advantages are more limited but still present. Its 16 GB of HBM2 memory could be preferable in specific legacy workloads where HBM's low latency characteristics are critical, though the V710's larger 28 GB capacity offers more total memory. The MI25's position in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, slightly higher than the V710's 88th, is a statistical artifact of the V710's 3DMark result, but it does indicate that the MI25 remains a solid performer relative to the entire GPU landscape. For environments that are standardized on the GCN architecture or require specific PCIe 3.0 compatibility, the MI25 remains a functional, though end-of-life, option. However, for any new project, the data strongly favors the PRO V710 across all key performance and efficiency metrics.