AMD Radeon VII vs NVIDIA CMP 50HX Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data is unambiguous: AMD Radeon VII dominates the NVIDIA CMP 50HX across every shared benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon VII scores 91,947 against the CMP 50HX's 56,135, a 63.8% advantage. The gap widens further in Geekbench Vulkan, where the Radeon VII posts 91,788 versus 47,445, an extraordinary 93.5% lead. These are not marginal differences; the AMD card nearly doubles the NVIDIA card's performance in one test and outperforms it by nearly two-thirds in the other.

The CMP 50HX has no recorded wins in the head-to-head comparison, with the Radeon VII taking both available tests. The average benchmark scores tell a similar story: the Radeon VII averages 66,004 across all recorded tests, while the CMP 50HX averages 51,790. This 27.5% gap in aggregate performance reflects the consistent superiority of the AMD card across both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads.

Looking at percentile placement, the Radeon VII sits in the 90th percentile among all GPUs, while the CMP 50HX lands in the 86th percentile. This four-percentile difference confirms that the Radeon VII is not merely faster than its rival but occupies a higher tier in the overall performance hierarchy. The CMP 50HX's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 1.6% ahead, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 at 3.6% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 3.7% behind, placing it in a competitive mid-range bracket. The Radeon VII, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA Tesla T4 which is 1.1% behind, and ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 by 1.4%, positioning it in a distinctly higher performance class.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the AMD Radeon VII is the superior performer in every measurable way. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, has a higher average score by a substantial margin, and sits in a higher percentile among all GPUs. For any workload that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the Radeon VII delivers results that the CMP 50HX cannot approach.

The CMP 50HX, however, is not without its own context. It sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT in average score, trailing by only 1.6%, which suggests it is a capable compute device in its own right. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 56,135 and Vulkan score of 47,445 are respectable figures, but they are simply outclassed by the Radeon VII's 91,947 and 91,788 respectively.

Given the data, the choice is clear for users prioritizing raw compute performance: the Radeon VII is the card to select. It also offers a broader feature set for general use, including display outputs and a standard PCIe interface, whereas the CMP 50HX is a mining-focused product with no video outputs and a limited PCIe 1.0 x4 interface. The Radeon VII's 16 GB of HBM2 memory and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth further cement its position as the more versatile and powerful option.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures from different process nodes. The AMD Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip based on GCN 5.1 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It contains 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die. The NVIDIA CMP 50HX uses the TU102 chip based on Turing architecture, also from TSMC but on a 12 nm process. It packs 18,600 million transistors into a much larger 754 mm² die.

This yields a significant difference in transistor density: the Radeon VII achieves 40.0 million transistors per square millimeter, while the CMP 50HX manages only 24.7 million. The smaller 7 nm node gives the Radeon VII a density advantage despite having fewer total transistors. The CMP 50HX's larger die and older process explain its higher transistor count but lower density.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Radeon VII uses 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The CMP 50HX uses 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 560.0 GB/s. The Radeon VII's memory bandwidth is nearly double that of the CMP 50HX, which is a critical factor in compute-heavy workloads.

Compute capabilities also diverge. The Radeon VII has 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The CMP 50HX has 3584 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Notably, the CMP 50HX includes 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the Radeon VII. The Radeon VII compensates with higher raw throughput: 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 versus 11.07 TFLOPS for the CMP 50HX, and 26.88 TFLOPS FP16 versus 22.15 TFLOPS.

The bus interface is another major divergence. The Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the CMP 50HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a severely limited interface that reflects its mining-optimized design. The CMP 50HX has no display outputs at all, while the Radeon VII offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Radeon VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the CMP 50HX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), but both support OpenGL 4.6. The Radeon VII supports Vulkan 1.3, while the CMP 50HX supports the newer Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon VII wins with a score of 91,947 against the NVIDIA CMP 50HX's 56,135, a 63.8% advantage.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two cards?

A: The Radeon VII averages 66,004 across all tests, while the CMP 50HX averages 51,790, a gap of approximately 27.5%.

Q: Does the NVIDIA CMP 50HX have any ray tracing or tensor core capabilities?

A: Yes, the CMP 50HX includes 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, while the Radeon VII has none of either.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon VII delivers 1.02 TB/s from its 16 GB HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, versus the CMP 50HX's 560.0 GB/s from 10 GB GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two cards?

A: The Radeon VII is built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the CMP 50HX uses a 12 nm process, also from TSMC.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The Radeon VII sits in the 90th percentile, while the CMP 50HX is in the 86th percentile.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon VII wins decisively in every benchmark where both cards were tested. Its OpenCL performance is 63.8% ahead, and its Vulkan performance is 93.5% ahead. These are not close contests; the Radeon VII is the clear choice for any application that leverages these compute APIs. The card's 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, combined with 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 compute, makes it suited for memory-intensive and high-throughput workloads.

The Radeon VII also wins for general-purpose use. It has display outputs, a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, and support for DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Its 280 mm length and dual-slot design are typical for a high-end card, and its 2x 8-pin power connectors and 600 W suggested PSU are standard for its performance class. This card can serve as a primary GPU in a workstation or desktop system.

The NVIDIA CMP 50HX wins in areas that the benchmark data does not directly measure but that are evident from its specifications. It has 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, which the Radeon VII lacks entirely. For workloads that specifically utilize these features, such as AI inference or ray-traced rendering, the CMP 50HX offers capabilities the Radeon VII simply does not have. Its 80 ROPs and 123.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are also higher than the Radeon VII's 64 ROPs and 112.0 GPixel/s, which could benefit certain rasterization-heavy tasks.

The CMP 50HX also has a lower TDP of 250 W versus the Radeon VII's 295 W, and it is physically smaller at 267 mm length, 116 mm height, and 35 mm width, compared to the Radeon VII's 280 mm, 125 mm, and 40 mm. For mining operations where power efficiency and physical footprint are priorities, the CMP 50HX's design may be preferable, despite its lower raw performance.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The Radeon VII uses a 7 nm process with 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, while the CMP 50HX uses a 12 nm process with 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die. Transistor density is 40.0M per mm² for the Radeon VII versus 24.7M for the CMP 50HX.

Clock speeds differ: the Radeon VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and boost of 1750 MHz, while the CMP 50HX has 1350 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ, with the Radeon VII at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) and the CMP 50HX at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity and type are different: 16 GB HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus versus 10 GB GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus. Bandwidth is 1.02 TB/s for the Radeon VII and 560.0 GB/s for the CMP 50HX. The Radeon VII has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the CMP 50HX has 3584 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The CMP 50HX uniquely has 56 RT cores and 448 tensor cores.

Pixel rates are 112.0 GPixel/s for the Radeon VII and 123.6 GPixel/s for the CMP 50HX. Texture rates are 420.0 GTexel/s versus 296.6 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 13.44 TFLOPS versus 11.07 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 26.88 TFLOPS versus 22.15 TFLOPS, both with 2:1 ratio.

Power specifications: the Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP, the CMP 50HX has 250 W. Both use dual-slot designs and 2x 8-pin connectors, with a 600 W suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Radeon VII and PCIe 1.0 x4 for the CMP 50HX. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the Radeon VII, none for the CMP 50HX.

API support: DirectX 12 (12_1) for the Radeon VII versus DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the CMP 50HX; OpenGL 4.6 for both; Vulkan 1.3 for the Radeon VII versus 1.4 for the CMP 50HX. Physical dimensions: the Radeon VII is 280 mm by 125 mm by 40 mm, while the CMP 50HX is 267 mm by 116 mm by 35 mm. Release dates are February 2019 for the Radeon VII and June 2021 for the CMP 50HX. The Radeon VII's launch MSRP was 699 USD. Both are end-of-life products.