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AMD Instinct MI250 vs NVIDIA CMP 90HX: Comparison
AMD Instinct MI250 vs NVIDIA CMP 90HX: the memory bandwidth difference
The gap that matters here is memory bandwidth: AMD Instinct MI250 3200 GB/s against NVIDIA CMP 90HX 720 GB/s, which puts AMD Instinct MI250 78% ahead. Tdp runs the same way, 500 W on the AMD Instinct MI250 versus 320 W on the NVIDIA CMP 90HX, another win for NVIDIA CMP 90HX. Memory bus width runs the same way, 8192 bit on the AMD Instinct MI250 versus 320 bit on the NVIDIA CMP 90HX, another win for AMD Instinct MI250. AMD Instinct MI250 also leads on boost clock, 1700 MHz on the AMD Instinct MI250 versus 1440 MHz on the NVIDIA CMP 90HX.
Who each one is for
The AMD Instinct MI250 is the one to take for buyers comparing AMD's official reference specifications and researching a chip before choosing a board-partner card, though it is not built for overclocking-focused enthusiasts (reference clocks only). It is not the one for buyers wanting a specific retail card with cooler and warranty details. The NVIDIA CMP 90HX suits secondary-market buyers mining non-Ethereum proof-of-work coins and repurposing as a cheap compute card for non-graphics CUDA workloads. It is the wrong buy for gaming, no display output at all, cannot drive a monitor under any configuration. Our rating of the NVIDIA CMP 90HX (4/10): the most powerful card in the original 2021 CMP wave, built on genuine flagship-class GA102 silicon, but now a legacy product with no display output and a use case that mostly disappeared with Ethereum's Merge.
Frequently asked questions
Do the AMD Instinct MI250 and NVIDIA CMP 90HX differ on gpu brand?
Yes. GPU Brand reads AMD on the AMD Instinct MI250 versus NVIDIA on the NVIDIA CMP 90HX.
Specs and benchmarks
GPU Brand
- AMD Instinct MI250
- AMD
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- NVIDIA
Series
- AMD Instinct MI250
- Instinct
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- CMP (Cryptocurrency Mining Processor)
Board Partner
- AMD Instinct MI250
- Reference
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- ASUS, Colorful, Gigabyte, Inno3D, MSI, Palit, Zotac (reference blower design)
Tier
- AMD Instinct MI250
- Datacenter
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- High-End Mining (2021)
Memory Type
- AMD Instinct MI250
- HBM2E
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- GDDR6XBest
Boost Clock
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 1700 MHzBest
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 1440 MHz-15%
TDP
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 500 W-56%
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 320 WBest
Architecture
- AMD Instinct MI250
- CDNA2
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- Ampere (GA102), the second-largest Ampere die, shared with the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090
Process Node
- AMD Instinct MI250
- TSMC 6nm FinFET
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- Samsung 8nm (8N)
Slot Width
- AMD Instinct MI250
- Not Applicable
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 2
Shader Units
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 13312
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 5248
Memory Bus Width
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 8192 bitBest
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 320 bit-96%
Memory Bandwidth
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 3200 GB/sBest
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 720 GB/s-77%
PCIe Generation
- AMD Instinct MI250
- PCIe 4.0
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- PCIe 4.0 x16
Launch Date
- AMD Instinct MI250
- 11/08/2021
- NVIDIA CMP 90HX
- 2021-03
Which one should you pick?
Choose AMD Instinct MI250 if you want the higher boost clock (1700 MHz vs 1440 MHz), the higher memory bus width (8192 bit vs 320 bit) and the higher memory bandwidth (3200 GB/s vs 720 GB/s).
Choose NVIDIA CMP 90HX if you want the lower TDP (320 W vs 500 W).
Verdict
NVIDIA CMP 90HX
4 / 10 Expert Rating
The most powerful card in the original 2021 CMP wave, built on genuine flagship-class GA102 silicon, but now a legacy product with no display output and a use case that mostly disappeared with Ethereum's Merge.