AMD Steam Machine GPU vs NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the two GPUs compared here?

A: The AMD Steam Machine GPU, a console GPU for Valve based on the Navi 33 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, and the NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB, a server GPU based on the GH100 chip with Hopper architecture.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB has 96 GB of HBM3 memory on a 5120-bit bus, delivering 3.36 TB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Steam Machine GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the difference in FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB delivers 66.91 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD Steam Machine GPU delivers 17.56 TFLOPS. The H100 is approximately 3.8 times higher in this metric.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The AMD Steam Machine GPU has a TDP of 110 W and uses no power connectors. The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB has a TDP of 700 W, uses an 8-pin EPS connector, and requires a suggested PSU of 1100 W.

Q: What are the form factor differences?

A: The AMD Steam Machine GPU is a compact card measuring 156 mm in length, 152 mm in height, and 162 mm in width, with display outputs including 1x HDMI 2.1a and 1x DisplayPort 2.1. The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB is an SXM Module with no display outputs.

Q: Which GPU has tensor cores?

A: The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB has 528 tensor cores. The AMD Steam Machine GPU has no tensor cores listed; instead it has 28 ray tracing cores.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Steam Machine GPU uses the Navi 33 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, with the codename Hotpink Bonefish. It is fabricated by TSMC on a 6 nm process, containing 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 65.2M / mm². The chip is classified as a Console GPU for Valve.

The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB uses the GH100 chip built on Hopper architecture, classified as a Server Hopper (Hxx) part. It is also fabricated by TSMC, but on a 5 nm process, containing 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 98.3M / mm².

The AMD part has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It also includes 28 ray tracing cores but no tensor cores. The NVIDIA part has 16896 shading units, 528 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. It includes 528 tensor cores but no dedicated ray tracing cores.

Process node differences are significant. The 5 nm process used by the H100 allows for a much higher transistor density despite the larger die, enabling the massive 80,000 million transistor count. The AMD chip, while smaller, uses the 6 nm node with a lower density.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The AMD Steam Machine GPU has a base clock of 1720 MHz, a boost clock of 2450 MHz, and a game clock of 2250 MHz. Its memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective. The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB has a base clock of 1350 MHz and a boost clock of 1980 MHz, with memory at 1313 MHz and 5.3 Gbps effective.

The memory architecture is completely different. AMD uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. NVIDIA uses 96 GB of HBM3 on a 5120-bit bus. The HBM3 implementation provides vastly superior bandwidth at 3.36 TB/s compared to 288.0 GB/s for the GDDR6 solution.

API support also separates these parts. The AMD GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB lists no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support in the database, consistent with its server-oriented role.

The NVIDIA part has a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface. The AMD part does not list a bus interface in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Steam Machine GPU is designed for consumer gaming workloads in a compact console form factor. Its 110 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it suitable for constrained power envelopes. The presence of display outputs, HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1, indicates it is meant to drive displays directly. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 support align with gaming API requirements. The 28 ray tracing cores provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects in games. The compact dimensions, 156 mm length, 152 mm height, and 162 mm width, fit within a console chassis.

The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB is designed for server compute workloads. Its 700 W TDP and 8-pin EPS power connector indicate a power delivery system built for data center racks. The lack of display outputs confirms it is not intended for direct display connection. The 528 tensor cores provide substantial acceleration for matrix operations used in AI and deep learning. The 96 GB of HBM3 memory with 3.36 TB/s bandwidth supports large models and datasets that exceed the capacity of consumer GPUs. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provides high-bandwidth host connectivity.

In terms of raw compute throughput, the NVIDIA part wins decisively. Its FP32 output of 66.91 TFLOPS dwarfs the AMD part's 17.56 TFLOPS. The FP16 capability is even more one-sided: the H100 delivers 267.6 TFLOPS with a 4:1 ratio, while the AMD part delivers 17.56 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

However, the AMD part has advantages in specific areas. Its pixel rate of 156.8 GPixel/s is significantly higher than the H100's 47.52 GPixel/s. This indicates better performance on rasterization-bound workloads. The AMD part also has a higher boost clock at 2450 MHz versus 1980 MHz, which benefits latency-sensitive tasks.

The texture rate favors the NVIDIA part. The H100 delivers 1,045.4 GTexel/s versus 274.4 GTexel/s for the AMD GPU, a 3.8 times advantage.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measured specification.

Process and Die:

• AMD: 6 nm TSMC, 13,300 million transistors, 204 mm² die, 65.2M / mm² density
• NVIDIA: 5 nm TSMC, 80,000 million transistors, 814 mm² die, 98.3M / mm² density

Clocks:

• AMD: base 1720 MHz, boost 2450 MHz, game 2250 MHz, memory 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective)
• NVIDIA: base 1350 MHz, boost 1980 MHz, memory 1313 MHz (5.3 Gbps effective), no game clock listed

Memory:

• AMD: 8 GB GDDR6, 128-bit bus, 288.0 GB/s bandwidth
• NVIDIA: 96 GB HBM3, 5120-bit bus, 3.36 TB/s bandwidth

Compute Units:

• AMD: 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 28 RT cores, no tensor cores
• NVIDIA: 16896 shading units, 528 TMUs, 24 ROPs, no RT cores, 528 tensor cores

Rates:

• AMD: 156.8 GPixel/s pixel rate, 274.4 GTexel/s texture rate, 17.56 TFLOPS FP32, 17.56 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1)
• NVIDIA: 47.52 GPixel/s pixel rate, 1,045.4 GTexel/s texture rate, 66.91 TFLOPS FP32, 267.6 TFLOPS FP16 (4:1)

Power and Physical:

• AMD: 110 W TDP, no power connectors, dimensions 156 mm x 152 mm x 162 mm
• NVIDIA: 700 W TDP, 8-pin EPS connector, suggested PSU 1100 W, SXM Module form factor

Connectivity:

• AMD: 1x HDMI 2.1a, 1x DisplayPort 2.1, no bus interface listed
• NVIDIA: No display outputs, PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface

API Support:

• AMD: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4
• NVIDIA: No DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support listed

Release Dates:

• AMD: 2026-06-28
• NVIDIA: 2023-03-20

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark results between these two GPUs, and neither part has an average benchmark score recorded. However, the specification data provides clear performance indicators that can be compared directly.

The most significant compute gap appears in FP32 throughput. The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB delivers 66.91 TFLOPS, while the AMD Steam Machine GPU delivers 17.56 TFLOPS. This represents a 3.8 times advantage for the NVIDIA part. In FP16, the gap widens dramatically. The H100 reaches 267.6 TFLOPS with its 4:1 ratio, while the AMD part is limited to 17.56 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio. The NVIDIA part is 15.2 times higher in FP16.

Memory bandwidth shows a similar disparity. The H100's 3.36 TB/s is 11.7 times higher than the AMD part's 288.0 GB/s. The memory capacity difference is even more pronounced at 96 GB versus 8 GB, a 12 times difference.

Texture processing favors the NVIDIA part substantially. The H100 achieves 1,045.4 GTexel/s versus 274.4 GTexel/s for the AMD GPU, a 3.8 times advantage. This aligns with the much higher TMU count of 528 versus 112.

Pixel throughput is the one metric where the AMD part leads. The Steam Machine GPU achieves 156.8 GPixel/s, which is 3.3 times higher than the H100's 47.52 GPixel/s. This result follows from the AMD part's higher ROP count of 64 versus 24, combined with its higher boost clock of 2450 MHz versus 1980 MHz.

The shading unit count heavily favors NVIDIA. With 16896 shading units versus 1792, the H100 has 9.4 times more shading resources. This explains the FP32 and FP16 advantages, despite the lower clock speeds.

Both parts sit at the 50th percentile against all GPUs in the database, but this percentile reflects the mixed workload profile of the overall database rather than indicating comparable performance in any specific task.

The Verdict

The data shows two GPUs built for completely different purposes with no overlap in target workloads.

The AMD Steam Machine GPU is a console-oriented part. Its 110 W TDP, compact 156 mm by 152 mm by 162 mm dimensions, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for an integrated console design. The display outputs confirm it drives screens directly. The higher pixel rate of 156.8 GPixel/s and the presence of 28 ray tracing cores indicate a focus on real-time rendering for gaming. The DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support align with consumer gaming software requirements. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is appropriate for console-class gaming at its target resolution and settings.

The NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB is a server accelerator. The 700 W TDP, 8-pin EPS power connector, and 1100 W suggested PSU indicate data center deployment. The lack of display outputs confirms it is a compute-only device. The 528 tensor cores and 267.6 TFLOPS FP16 performance point to AI training and inference workloads. The 96 GB of HBM3 memory with 3.36 TB/s bandwidth supports large model sizes that cannot fit in 8 GB. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provides host connectivity appropriate for server motherboards.

For gaming and consumer graphics workloads, the AMD Steam Machine GPU is the appropriate choice. Its pixel throughput advantage, display outputs, and gaming API support are directly relevant. The 156.8 GPixel/s fill rate exceeds the H100's 47.52 GPixel/s, which matters for rasterization-bound scenes.

For compute and AI workloads, the NVIDIA H100 SXM5 96 GB is the clear selection. Its FP32 performance of 66.91 TFLOPS is 3.8 times higher, and its FP16 performance of 267.6 TFLOPS is 15.2 times higher. The tensor core count of 528 provides dedicated hardware for matrix operations. The memory capacity and bandwidth advantages are decisive for large datasets.

The 50th percentile ranking for both parts against all GPUs in the database indicates that neither is at the extreme top of overall performance. However, the specific workload characteristics show that each part dominates in its intended domain. The AMD part wins on pixel rate and clock speed, while the NVIDIA part wins on compute throughput, memory bandwidth, and tensor performance.

The release dates show the AMD part is newer, with a 2026-06-28 date versus 2023-03-20 for the NVIDIA part. The NVIDIA part has a predecessor listed as Server Ada and a successor as Server Blackwell. The AMD part lists no predecessor or successor.