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AMD Instinct MI100 vs Apple M5 Pro GPU: Comparison
AMD Instinct MI100 vs Apple M5 Pro GPU: the memory bandwidth difference
On memory bandwidth the spread is 74%, AMD Instinct MI100 1200 GB/s against Apple M5 Pro GPU 307 GB/s, so AMD Instinct MI100 takes it. There is a split on gpu brand as well, AMD on the AMD Instinct MI100 versus Apple on the Apple M5 Pro GPU. There is a split on product type as well, Datacenter Accelerator on the AMD Instinct MI100 versus SoC GPU on the Apple M5 Pro GPU. Tier is not the same on both, Datacenter on the AMD Instinct MI100 versus Upper Mid-Range on the Apple M5 Pro GPU. There is a split on memory type as well, HBM2 on the AMD Instinct MI100 versus Unified on the Apple M5 Pro GPU. Pcie generation is not the same on both, PCIe 4.0 on the AMD Instinct MI100 versus Not Applicable on the Apple M5 Pro GPU.
Which should you buy, AMD Instinct MI100 or Apple M5 Pro GPU?
Buy the AMD Instinct MI100 for 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. Take the Apple M5 Pro GPU for professional creative and AI workloads that benefit from a large unified memory pool and dedicated per-core AI acceleration. It is equally the pick for MacBook Pro buyers whose work genuinely pushes past base-tier chip memory limits. Avoid it for casual users or light workloads, the base M5/M6 chip covers that at a lower cost. Our rating of the Apple M5 Pro GPU (7/10): Apple's Pro-tier GPU, up to 20 cores with per-core Neural Accelerators, up to 64GB unified memory at 307GB/s, and up to 35% ray tracing uplift over M4 Pro, for professional creative and AI workloads.
Specs and benchmarks
GPU Brand
- AMD Instinct MI100
- AMD
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- Apple
Product Type
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Datacenter Accelerator
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- SoC GPU
Series
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Instinct
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- Apple Silicon
Tier
- AMD Instinct MI100
- Datacenter
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- Upper Mid-Range
Memory Type
- AMD Instinct MI100
- HBM2
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- Unified
Memory Bandwidth
- AMD Instinct MI100
- 1200 GB/sBest
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- 307 GB/s-74%
PCIe Generation
- AMD Instinct MI100
- PCIe 4.0
- Apple M5 Pro GPU
- Not Applicable
Which one should you pick?
Choose AMD Instinct MI100 if you want the higher memory bandwidth (1200 GB/s vs 307 GB/s).
Choose Apple M5 Pro GPU if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Verdict
Apple M5 Pro GPU
7 / 10 Expert Rating
Apple's Pro-tier GPU, up to 20 cores with per-core Neural Accelerators, up to 64GB unified memory at 307GB/s, and up to 35% ray tracing uplift over M4 Pro, for professional creative and AI workloads.