NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe vs AMD Instinct MI250

Detailed comparison of specifications, performance, and pricing between NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe and AMD Instinct MI250

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Overall Winner
AMD Instinct MI250
Wins 3 of 7 categories
Performance Leader
AMD Instinct MI250
724.0 TFLOPS (+16%)
The AMD Instinct MI250 is 16% faster.

Difference Analysis

Metric
NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe
Difference
AMD Instinct MI250
Tensor TFLOPS
624.0
-16%
724.0
VRAM
80GB
-60%
128GB
Memory Bandwidth
2.0 TB/s
-61%
3.3 TB/s
Hardware Price
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-
Cloud Price/hr
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Full Specifications

Specification NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe AMD Instinct MI250
Brand NVIDIA AMD
Series Data Center Data Center
Architecture Ampere CDNA 2
VRAM 80GB 128GB
VRAM Type HBM2E HBM2E
Memory Bandwidth 2.0 TB/s 3.3 TB/s
FP16 TFLOPS 312.0 362.0
Tensor TFLOPS 624.0 724.0
TDP 300W 500W
Form Factor - -
Hardware Price - -
Cloud Price (min) - -

Which Should You Choose?

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For AI Training

Large model training needs maximum VRAM and memory bandwidth.

Recommended: AMD Instinct MI250
128GB VRAM · 3.3 TB/s

For AI Inference

Inference prioritizes throughput and cost efficiency.

Recommended: AMD Instinct MI250
Best performance per dollar

NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe vs AMD Instinct MI250 FAQ

It depends on your use case. The AMD Instinct MI250 offers 16% better performance (724.0 vs 624.0 TFLOPS). For raw performance, choose AMD Instinct MI250. For value, consider your budget and workload requirements.

The AMD Instinct MI250 has more VRAM with 128GB compared to 80GB (60% more). More VRAM is crucial for training large models and running inference on bigger batch sizes.

For AI training, the AMD Instinct MI250 is generally better due to its larger VRAM (128GB). Large language models and deep learning workloads benefit significantly from more memory. However, if your models fit in 80GB, the cheaper option may be more cost-effective.

Price comparison requires both GPUs to have available pricing data. Check individual GPU pages for current market prices.

The AMD Instinct MI250 actually offers 16% better performance. An "upgrade" to NVIDIA A100 80GB PCIe would be a downgrade in raw performance, though it may offer other benefits like lower power consumption or cost.