AMD Radeon VII vs NVIDIA P102-100 Comparison

AMD Radeon VII and NVIDIA P102-100 represent two fundamentally different approaches to high-performance computing, and the benchmark data reflects that divergence clearly. The Radeon VII, built on a 7 nm process with 13,230 million transistors, posts an average benchmark score of 66,004, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. The P102-100, a 16 nm Pascal part with 11,800 million transistors, averages 58,528, sitting in the 88th percentile. In direct head-to-head tests, the AMD card wins both available benchmarks, but the margin and the nature of those wins tell a story about architecture, memory, and intended workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share only two common benchmark results: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the AMD Radeon VII is the decisive winner. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon VII scores 91,947 against the P102-100’s 49,602, a delta of 85.4%. That is not a marginal victory; it is a near-doubling of compute performance in a general-purpose compute workload. The OpenCL test stresses raw FP32 throughput and memory bandwidth, both areas where the Radeon VII’s specifications suggest dominance: 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 and 1.02 TB/s of memory bandwidth versus 10.77 TFLOPS and 440.3 GB/s for the P102-100.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is closer but still firmly in AMD’s favor. The Radeon VII scores 91,788, while the P102-100 scores 67,454, a 36.1% advantage. Vulkan tests often scale with driver optimization and shader execution efficiency, and the Radeon VII’s GCN 5.1 architecture with 3,840 shading units appears to handle the workload more effectively than the Pascal chip’s 3,200 shading units. The delta shrinks from 85.4% to 36.1%, suggesting that the P102-100 is relatively stronger in graphics-oriented tasks than in pure compute, but it still cannot close the gap.

Notably, the P102-100 has no recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad result, while the Radeon VII scores 2,304 in that DX12 test. This absence is consistent with the P102-100’s positioning as a mining GPU with no display outputs, but it also means the NVIDIA card’s gaming or DX12 potential cannot be assessed from this data set. The Radeon VII’s average benchmark score of 66,004 is 12.8% higher than the P102-100’s 58,528, and its nearest rivals—the Tesla T4 at −1.1%, Tesla P40 at +1.4%, and Radeon Pro WX 9100 at +2.8%—show that it sits in a competitive band of professional compute cards. The P102-100’s nearest rivals are closer in absolute terms, with the Radeon PRO V710 at −0.2% and Radeon RX 6950 XT at +0.2%, indicating that its average score is tightly clustered with mainstream and prosumer cards.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is wide. The Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process, packing 13,230 million transistors into a 331 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 40.0M per mm², a figure that reflects the advanced node. The P102-100 uses the GP102 chip on a 16 nm TSMC process, with 11,800 million transistors spread across a much larger 471 mm² die, resulting in just 25.1M transistors per mm². The Radeon VII is smaller, denser, and newer.

Memory is where the two diverge most sharply in practical terms. The Radeon VII carries 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The P102-100 has 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus, yielding 440.3 GB/s. That is a 2.3x bandwidth advantage for AMD, which directly explains the 85.4% OpenCL margin. Memory bandwidth is often the bottleneck in compute workloads, and the Radeon VII has more than double the raw throughput. The P102-100’s memory clock is 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective), while the Radeon VII’s memory runs at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) but achieves far higher bandwidth through its wider bus and HBM2 technology.

Compute resources also favor AMD. The Radeon VII has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, producing 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.88 TFLOPS FP16 (at a 2:1 ratio). The P102-100 has 3,200 shading units, 200 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, yielding 10.77 TFLOPS FP32 but only 168.3 GFLOPS FP16 (at a 1:64 ratio). The FP16 disparity is enormous: the Radeon VII delivers over 150 times the half-precision throughput. For any workload that leverages FP16—common in machine learning inference and some scientific computing—the AMD card is in a different league. The P102-100’s FP16 capability is essentially vestigial.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The P102-100 has a base clock of 1582 MHz and a boost of 1683 MHz, both higher than the Radeon VII’s 1400 MHz base and 1750 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card’s higher clocks help it achieve a pixel rate of 134.6 GPixel/s, which beats the Radeon VII’s 112.0 GPixel/s despite the AMD card having more ROPs. However, the Radeon VII’s texture rate of 420.0 GTexel/s surpasses the P102-100’s 336.6 GTexel/s, reflecting its 240 TMUs versus 200. The P102-100’s higher clocks also contribute to its 250 W TDP, slightly below the Radeon VII’s 295 W, but both require 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU.

Interface and output differences are stark. The Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and provides 1x HDMI 2.0b plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it a fully functional graphics card. The P102-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x4—a severely limited bus interface—and has no display outputs whatsoever. This is a mining-specific part, and its PCIe 1.0 x4 interface is sufficient for compute tasks that do not require high host-to-device transfer rates but would cripple any workload dependent on data streaming. The Radeon VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3; the P102-100 supports the same DirectX and OpenGL versions but a newer Vulkan 1.4. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon VII outperforms the NVIDIA P102-100 in every recorded benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it wins by 85.4%; in Geekbench Vulkan, by 36.1%. Its average benchmark score is 12.8% higher, and it holds a 90th percentile ranking versus the P102-100’s 88th. The Radeon VII also offers 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, full display outputs, and a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, making it a general-purpose card. The P102-100, with 5 GB of GDDR5X, no outputs, and a PCIe 1.0 x4 bus, is a narrowly scoped compute or mining product.

For any user who needs a functional graphics card, the P102-100 is disqualified by its lack of display outputs alone. For compute workloads, the Radeon VII’s 2.3x memory bandwidth advantage and massive FP16 throughput make it the superior choice across the board. The P102-100’s only advantages are its lower TDP (250 W vs 295 W), higher base and boost clocks, higher pixel rate, and smaller physical footprint (267 mm vs 280 mm length). But these do not translate into any benchmark win. The verdict is straightforward: the Radeon VII wins on performance, features, and versatility. The P102-100 is a niche mining card that, based on this data, cannot compete with the Radeon VII in any measured task.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon VII averages 66,004, which is 12.8% higher than the NVIDIA P102-100’s 58,528.

Q: How large is the Radeon VII’s lead in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Radeon VII scores 91,947 versus the P102-100’s 49,602, a delta of 85.4%.

Q: Does the P102-100 have any display outputs?

A: No. The NVIDIA P102-100 has no display outputs, while the Radeon VII provides 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The Radeon VII has 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, while the P102-100 has 440.3 GB/s from 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher FP16 compute rating?

A: The Radeon VII delivers 26.88 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the P102-100 delivers only 168.3 GFLOPS FP16 (1:64 ratio).

Q: What are the bus interfaces for each card?

A: The Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16, whereas the P102-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x4.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon VII wins in every benchmark category where both cards have data. In Geekbench OpenCL, its 85.4% margin is driven by 13.44 TFLOPS FP32, 1.02 TB/s memory bandwidth, and 16 GB of HBM2. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 36.1% lead reflects its 3,840 shading units and 420.0 GTexel/s texture rate. The Radeon VII also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, a test the P102-100 does not appear in. Its 90th percentile ranking and nearest rivals—Tesla T4 at −1.1%, Tesla P40 at +1.4%, Radeon Pro WX 9100 at +2.8%—place it among professional compute accelerators.

The NVIDIA P102-100 wins in no measured benchmark, but it does hold advantages in specific specifications. Its base clock of 1582 MHz and boost of 1683 MHz are higher than the Radeon VII’s 1400 MHz and 1750 MHz. Its pixel rate of 134.6 GPixel/s beats the Radeon VII’s 112.0 GPixel/s, and its 80 ROPs exceed the AMD card’s 64. Its TDP of 250 W is lower than the Radeon VII’s 295 W, and its 267 mm length is slightly shorter than 280 mm. It also supports Vulkan 1.4, a newer version than the Radeon VII’s Vulkan 1.3. For a use case that prioritizes pixel fill rate, lower power draw, or a newer Vulkan API—and does not require display output or high memory bandwidth—the P102-100 has theoretical appeal. But the benchmark data shows no scenario where these specification advantages translate into a performance win. The Radeon VII is the clear choice for compute, graphics, and any workload that can use its memory bandwidth or FP16 capabilities.