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AMD Instinct MI100 vs AMD Radeon VII: Comparison
Instinct MI100 vs Radeon VII memory bandwidth compared
Memory bandwidth is where these two genuinely part company, Instinct MI100 1200 GB/s against Radeon VII 1024 GB/s, a 15% lead for Instinct MI100. Add boost clock to that, 1502 MHz on the Instinct MI100 versus 1750 MHz on the Radeon VII, and the pattern holds. Instinct MI100 also leads on card length, 267 mm on the Instinct MI100 versus 305 mm on the Radeon VII. There is a split on pcie generation as well, PCIe 4.0 on the Instinct MI100 versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the Radeon VII.
Which should you buy, Instinct MI100 or Radeon VII?
The Instinct MI100 suits buyers comparing AMD's official reference specifications and researching a chip before choosing a board-partner card, though it is not the pick for overclocking-focused enthusiasts (reference clocks only). It is the wrong buy for buyers wanting a specific retail card with cooler and warranty details. The Radeon VII is the one to take for secondhand buyers wanting cheap high-bandwidth HBM2 for compute experiments and Blender/CUDA-free rendering hobbyists on a budget, though it is not built for anyone wanting ray tracing or DLSS/FSR frame generation and new GPU buyers with a fixed budget (better value elsewhere). Our rating of the Radeon VII (5.5/10): A fascinating, oddly-specced legacy card - strong for old compute workloads and cheap secondhand VRAM, but not a sensible gaming buy anymore.
What Instinct MI100 and Radeon VII have in common
The common ground is wider than the gap: tdp, gpu brand, memory type, slot width and memory bus width are identical here.
Frequently asked questions
Do the Instinct MI100 and Radeon VII differ on board partner?
Yes. Board Partner reads Reference on the Instinct MI100 versus AMD Reference on the Radeon VII.
Specs and benchmarks
GPU Brand
- AMD Instinct MI100
- AMD
- AMD Radeon VII
- AMD
Series
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Instinct
- AMD Radeon VII
- Radeon VII
Board Partner
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Reference
- AMD Radeon VII
- AMD Reference
Tier
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Datacenter
- AMD Radeon VII
- Flagship (2019)
Memory Type
- AMD Instinct MI100
- HBM2
- AMD Radeon VII
- HBM2
Boost Clock
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 1502 MHz-14%
- AMD Radeon VII
- 1750 MHzBest
TDP
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 300 W
- AMD Radeon VII
- 300 W
Architecture
- AMD Instinct MI100
- CDNA
- AMD Radeon VII
- Vega (GCN 5, 7nm)
Card Length
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 267 mmBest
- AMD Radeon VII
- 305 mm-14%
Slot Width
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 2
- AMD Radeon VII
- 2
Shader Units
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 7680
- AMD Radeon VII
- 3840
Memory Bus Width
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 4096 bit
- AMD Radeon VII
- 4096 bit
Memory Bandwidth
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 1200 GB/sBest
- AMD Radeon VII
- 1024 GB/s-15%
PCIe Generation
- AMD Instinct MI100
- PCIe 4.0
- AMD Radeon VII
- PCIe 3.0 x16
Launch Date
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 11/16/2020
- AMD Radeon VII
- 2019-02
Which one should you pick?
Choose AMD Instinct MI100 if you want the lower TDP (300 W vs 300 W), the lower card length (267 mm vs 305 mm) and the lower slot width (2 vs 2).
Choose AMD Radeon VII if you want the higher boost clock (1750 MHz vs 1502 MHz).
Price comparison
| Retailer | AMD Instinct MI100 | AMD Radeon VII |
|---|---|---|
| Consumercarts listing | $699.00 View on Consumercarts listing |
Disclaimer: The price and specification of the given product may differ from the actual product. Please confirm on the retailer's website before buying.
Verdict
AMD Radeon VII
5.5 / 10 Expert Rating
A fascinating, oddly-specced legacy card - strong for old compute workloads and cheap secondhand VRAM, but not a sensible gaming buy anymore.