AMD FirePro D300 vs Intel Arc A770M Comparison

The AMD FirePro D300 and Intel Arc A770M represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data reveals a generational chasm: the Arc A770M dominates every shared benchmark, yet the FirePro D300 holds its own in the broader performance percentile rankings. This comparison is less about a fair fight and more about understanding how far GPU technology has advanced, and what each card still offers in its respective niche.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A770M is the clear winner in raw compute and modern graphics API performance. Across the two head-to-head benchmarks available, the Arc A770M wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 89,494 against the FirePro D300’s 19,515, a delta of -78.2% from the perspective of the older card. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Arc A770M posts 74,422 versus 19,759, a -73.5% delta. These are not marginal gains; they represent a fundamental shift in processing capability. The Arc A770M also supports a full suite of modern benchmarks, including 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) with a score of 2,278 and multiple Passmark tests, while the FirePro D300 has no corresponding data for those tests.

The AMD FirePro D300, however, wins in the context of its own generation. Its average benchmark score of 19,637 places it at the 64th percentile of all GPUs, which is higher than the Arc A770M’s 62nd percentile despite the Arc’s far higher raw scores. This suggests the FirePro D300 was a strong performer relative to its contemporaries. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (avg score 19,602, delta +0.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (avg score 19,410, delta +1.2%), indicating it sits comfortably among much newer and more powerful cards in the aggregate database. The Arc A770M, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon RX 460 (avg 18,373, delta +0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (avg 18,159, delta +1.2%), a cluster of mid-range performers. So, while the Arc wins the direct comparison, the FirePro’s legacy standing is arguably more impressive relative to its release era.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is stark. The FirePro D300 uses the Pitcairn chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2,800 million transistors onto a 212 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². The Arc A770M uses the DG2-512 chip based on Xe-HPG architecture, built on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC. This newer node allows Intel to pack 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die, achieving a density of 53.4M per mm²—over four times denser than the AMD chip. This density difference explains the massive performance gap in compute-heavy tasks.

Feature-wise, the Arc A770M is a modern powerhouse. It includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the FirePro D300. The Arc also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the FirePro D300 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). Vulkan support also differs: the Arc supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro supports 1.2.170. The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The FirePro D300 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 162.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Arc A770M uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus, but with a much higher effective speed of 16 Gbps, achieving 512.0 GB/s—more than three times the bandwidth. The Arc also has a base clock of 1650 MHz and a boost clock of 2050 MHz, whereas the FirePro D300 has no listed base or boost clocks, only a memory clock of 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective).

The physical and power profiles also differ. The FirePro D300 is a single-slot card with a 150 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 450 W, using a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The Arc A770M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for mobile devices, with a lower 120 W TDP and no suggested PSU, using PCIe 4.0 x16. The FirePro has four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the Arc’s display outputs are described as “Portable Device Dependent.” The FirePro is end-of-life with a release date of January 2014, while the Arc A770M is also end-of-life but has no listed release date.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two direct benchmarks shared between these cards are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the results are one-sided. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Arc A770M scores 89,494 versus the FirePro D300’s 19,515. That is a 78.2% advantage for the Intel part. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Arc scores 74,422 versus 19,759, a 73.5% advantage. These deltas are so large that they suggest the FirePro D300 is not merely slower but operating in a different performance class altogether. The Arc’s OpenCL score is over 4.5 times higher, and its Vulkan score is over 3.7 times higher.

Looking at the Arc’s other benchmarks provides context for its strengths. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,278 indicates strong modern gaming performance. Passmark G3D score of 11,774 and GPU Compute score of 4,778 show balanced compute and rasterization abilities. The FirePro D300 has no comparable data for these tests, meaning the direct comparison ends at those two Geekbench tests. The data implies that in any modern workload—especially those leveraging Vulkan or OpenCL—the Arc A770M is the only viable option. The FirePro D300’s scores, while historically respectable, are simply not competitive against a GPU from a decade later.

The Verdict

The Intel Arc A770M is the superior GPU by nearly every measurable metric in this data set. It offers dramatically higher compute performance, modern API support including ray tracing, and vastly more memory (16 GB vs 2 GB) with higher bandwidth. For anyone running contemporary applications, games, or compute workloads, the Arc A770M is the clear choice, despite its lower overall percentile rank (62 vs 64). The Arc’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, confirm it is a solid mid-range mobile part, while the FirePro D300’s rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is a flagship desktop card—yet the FirePro still holds a positive delta against it in the aggregate.

The AMD FirePro D300, however, is not without merit. Its 64th percentile ranking shows it was a capable workstation card in its day, competitive with the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 and even the modern AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (delta -0.6%). Its 2 GB of GDDR5 memory and 162.6 GB/s bandwidth were adequate for professional workloads circa 2014, and its single-slot design with four DisplayPort outputs made it a practical choice for multi-display setups. But with an end-of-life status and no successor listed, its relevance today is purely historical. The data suggests that if you are choosing between these two for any current task, the Arc A770M wins outright. If you are evaluating the FirePro D300 on its own merits within its own generation, it holds up surprisingly well.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro D300 has a higher average benchmark score of 19,637, compared to the Intel Arc A770M’s 18,383. However, this aggregate includes different test suites, and the Arc wins all shared head-to-head tests.

Q: Does the Intel Arc A770M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Arc A770M has 32 ray tracing cores. The AMD FirePro D300 has no ray tracing cores listed.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The Arc A770M has a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s, while the FirePro D300 has 162.6 GB/s. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the Arc uses faster GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The Intel Arc A770M has a transistor density of 53.4M per mm², while the AMD FirePro D300 has 13.2M per mm². This is due to the Arc’s newer 6 nm process versus the FirePro’s 28 nm process.

Q: How do the two compare in DirectX support?

A: The Arc A770M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the FirePro D300 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). The Arc also supports Vulkan 1.4, whereas the FirePro supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Are both GPUs end-of-life products?

A: Yes, both the AMD FirePro D300 and the Intel Arc A770M are listed as end-of-life in the production status field.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD FirePro D300 | Intel Arc A770M |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Chip | Pitcairn | DG2-512 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Xe-HPG |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 2,800 million | 21,700 million |

| Die Size | 212 mm² | 406 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 53.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | N/A | 1650 MHz |

| Boost Clock | N/A | 2050 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 162.6 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 4096 |

| TMUs | 80 | 256 |

| ROPs | 32 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | N/A | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 27.20 GPixel/s | 262.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 68.00 GTexel/s | 524.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.176 TFLOPS | 16.79 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | N/A | 33.59 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 150 W | 120 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | N/A |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |