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AMD Instinct MI210 vs AMD Radeon RX 540: Comparison
AMD Instinct MI210 and AMD Radeon RX 540 separate most on tdp: AMD Instinct MI210 at 300 W, AMD Radeon RX 540 at 35 W, 757% in favor of AMD Radeon RX 540. Memory Bus Width splits them by another 97%, this time favoring AMD Instinct MI210.
Pick the AMD Instinct MI210 if that matters to you: 16x the VRAM (64 GB vs 4 GB), which matters at 1440p and 4K with high texture settings. Pick the AMD Radeon RX 540 if that matters to you: 8.6x the TDP (35 W vs 300 W), so it needs a smaller power supply and runs cooler.
Which is better, AMD Instinct MI210 or AMD Radeon RX 540?
On paper, AMD Radeon RX 540 has the edge on tdp, at 35 W vs AMD Instinct MI210 at 300 W.
What is the main difference between AMD Instinct MI210 and AMD Radeon RX 540?
The AMD Instinct MI210 and AMD Radeon RX 540 are built for different jobs. The AMD Instinct MI210 has 16x the VRAM (64 GB vs 4 GB), which matters at 1440p and 4K with high texture settings. The AMD Radeon RX 540 has 8.6x the TDP (35 W vs 300 W), so it needs a smaller power supply and runs cooler.
Specs and benchmarks
GPU Brand
- AMD Instinct MI210
- AMD
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- AMD
Series
- AMD Instinct MI210
- Instinct MI200
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- Legacy
Board Partner
- AMD Instinct MI210
- AMD Reference (PCIe dual-slot card, data center/OEM only)
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- Reference
VRAM
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 64 GBBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 4 GB-94%
Memory Type
- AMD Instinct MI210
- HBM2E
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- GDDR5Best
Boost Clock
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 1700 MHzBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 1219 MHz-28%
TDP
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 300 W-757%
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 35 WBest
Architecture
- AMD Instinct MI210
- CDNA 2 (single Graphics Compute Die)
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- GCN
Process Node
- AMD Instinct MI210
- TSMC 6nm
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- Other
Compute Blocks
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 104
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 8
Memory Bus Width
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 4096 bitBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 128 bit-97%
Memory Bandwidth
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 1600 GB/sBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 96 GB/s-94%
Launch Date
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 2022-03
- AMD Radeon RX 540
- 4/18/2017
Which one should you pick?
Choose AMD Instinct MI210 if you want the higher VRAM (64 GB vs 4 GB), the higher boost clock (1700 MHz vs 1219 MHz) and the higher memory bus width (4096 bit vs 128 bit).
Choose AMD Radeon RX 540 if you want the lower TDP (35 W vs 300 W).
Verdict
AMD Instinct MI210
7.3 / 10 Expert Rating
A practical, PCIe-slot-friendly way to get CDNA 2 compute into a standard server, useful for smaller HPC and AI deployments, but clearly the entry point of its generation next to the dual-die MI250X and now well behind the MI300 series.