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AMD Instinct MI210 vs AMD Radeon RX 540X: Comparison
AMD Instinct MI210 and AMD Radeon RX 540X separate most on tdp: AMD Instinct MI210 at 300 W, AMD Radeon RX 540X at 35 W, 757% in favor of AMD Radeon RX 540X. 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 540X 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 540X?
On paper, AMD Radeon RX 540X 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 540X?
The AMD Instinct MI210 and AMD Radeon RX 540X 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 540X 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 540X
- AMD
Series
- AMD Instinct MI210
- Instinct MI200
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- Legacy
Board Partner
- AMD Instinct MI210
- AMD Reference (PCIe dual-slot card, data center/OEM only)
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- Reference
VRAM
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 64 GBBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 4 GB-94%
Memory Type
- AMD Instinct MI210
- HBM2E
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- GDDR5Best
Boost Clock
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 1700 MHzBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 1219 MHz-28%
TDP
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 300 W-757%
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 35 WBest
Architecture
- AMD Instinct MI210
- CDNA 2 (single Graphics Compute Die)
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- GCN
Process Node
- AMD Instinct MI210
- TSMC 6nm
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- Other
Compute Blocks
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 104
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 8
Memory Bus Width
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 4096 bitBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 128 bit-97%
Memory Bandwidth
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 1600 GB/sBest
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 96 GB/s-94%
Launch Date
- AMD Instinct MI210
- 2022-03
- AMD Radeon RX 540X
- 4/3/2018
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 540X 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.