AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 vs Intel Arc Pro B60 Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 and Intel Arc Pro B60 occupy entirely different segments of the GPU landscape, separated by nearly a decade and a half of architectural evolution. The data shows that the Intel Arc Pro B60 is the overwhelmingly more capable card for modern workloads, delivering a 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput versus the AMD card's 1.536 TFLOPS, an 8x advantage in raw shader output. The Arc Pro B60 also brings 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, compared to the HD 6850 X2's 2 GB GDDR5 at 134.4 GB/s, making the Intel part suitable for large datasets and professional visualization tasks that the AMD card simply cannot address.

For users considering the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2, the data indicates this is a legacy product with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 3977, placing it at the 24th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 at 3964 and the GeForce 830M at 3957, show that it performs within a narrow band of older mid-range hardware. The card carries a 254 W TDP and requires dual 8-pin power connectors, which is substantial power draw for the modest performance it delivers. This card should only be considered by those maintaining legacy systems or requiring specific DirectX 11.2 (11_0) feature support without modern API capabilities.

The Intel Arc Pro B60, in contrast, is an active product with a launch MSRP of 499 USD and a modern feature set. Its PassMark G3D score of 14580 and PassMark GPU Compute score of 7029 indicate strong general-purpose and compute performance. However, the average benchmark score of 3182 across all recorded tests, combined with a 20th percentile ranking, shows that its performance profile is uneven across different workload types. The DirectX 12 PassMark score of 76 and DirectX 11 score of 122 suggest that while the hardware is capable, driver optimization for legacy APIs may not be fully realized. For professionals requiring 24 GB VRAM, PCIe 5.0 x8 connectivity, and modern API support including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), the Arc Pro B60 is the clear choice.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 is built on the TeraScale 2 architecture using the Barts chip, fabricated on a 40 nm TSMC process with 1,700 million transistors on a 255 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 6.7M per mm². The Intel Arc Pro B60 uses the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm TSMC process with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 72.1M per mm². This represents more than a tenfold increase in transistor density, enabling the Intel part to pack 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, compared to the AMD card's 960 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

The AMD card features 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 134.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel card offers 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, achieving 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the Intel card delivers over three times the memory bandwidth thanks to faster memory clocks (2375 MHz base, 19 Gbps effective versus 1050 MHz, 4.2 Gbps effective). The Intel card also includes 20 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the AMD architecture. The AMD card has no RT cores, no tensor cores, and no FP16 support, while the Intel card delivers 24.58 TFLOPS FP16 performance (2:1 ratio).

Process node differences also affect power characteristics. The AMD card has a 254 W TDP with dual 8-pin connectors and a recommended 600 W PSU. The Intel card has a lower 200 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector and a 550 W recommended PSU, despite delivering significantly more compute throughput. The Intel card also supports PCIe 5.0 x8, whereas the AMD card is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16, offering substantially lower host interface bandwidth. Display outputs differ as well: the AMD card provides 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.1, while the Intel card offers 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.1, supporting modern high-resolution displays.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc Pro B60 delivers 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 performance, which is exactly 8 times the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2's 1.536 TFLOPS. The Intel card also provides 24.58 TFLOPS FP16 performance, a capability the AMD card does not offer at all.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The Intel Arc Pro B60 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 has 2 GB of GDDR5 with 134.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel card offers 12 times the memory capacity and over 3 times the bandwidth.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 has a 254 W TDP and requires 2x 8-pin power connectors with a 600 W suggested PSU. The Intel Arc Pro B60 has a 200 W TDP, requires 1x 8-pin connector, and has a 550 W suggested PSU, making it more power-efficient despite higher performance.

Q: Which card supports modern APIs?

A: The Intel Arc Pro B60 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 is limited to DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support listed.

Q: How does the Intel Arc Pro B60 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc Pro B60's average benchmark score of 3182 is 0.6% above the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (3163) and 3.5% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER (3075). It trails the GeForce GT 640 by 0.9% (3210) and the GeForce 920M by 3.2% (3287), indicating it sits in a specific performance bracket among these comparisons.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 is marked as end-of-life, released in 2011. The Intel Arc Pro B60 is an active product released in 2025, with a launch MSRP of 499 USD.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 and Intel Arc Pro B60:

• Chip: Barts versus BMG-G21
• Architecture: TeraScale 2 versus Xe2-HPG
• Generation: Northern Islands (HD 6800) versus Battlemage (Pro Series)
• Process Node: 40 nm versus 5 nm
• Foundry: TSMC (both, but different nodes)
• Transistors: 1,700 million versus 19,600 million
• Die Size: 255 mm² versus 272 mm²
• Transistor Density: 6.7M / mm² versus 72.1M / mm²
• Base Clock: None listed versus 2000 MHz
• Boost Clock: None listed versus 2400 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1050 MHz, 4.2 Gbps effective versus 2375 MHz, 19 Gbps effective
• Memory Size: 2 GB versus 24 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR5 versus GDDR6
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit versus 192 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 134.4 GB/s versus 456.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 960 versus 2560
• TMUs: 48 versus 160
• ROPs: 32 versus 80
• RT Cores: None versus 20
• Pixel Rate: 25.60 GPixel/s versus 192.0 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 38.40 GTexel/s versus 384.0 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 1.536 TFLOPS versus 12.29 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: None versus 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 254 W versus 200 W
• Power Connectors: 2x 8-pin versus 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 600 W versus 550 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x8
• Display Outputs: 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, 1x DisplayPort 1.1 versus 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.1
• DirectX Support: 11.2 (11_0) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• OpenGL Support: 4.4 versus 4.6
• Vulkan Support: None versus 1.4
• Dimensions: Not listed versus 167 mm length, 69 mm height, 40 mm width
• Production Status: End-of-life versus Active
• Release Date: 2011 versus 2025

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data shows no directly comparable test scores between the two cards in the database, as the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 only has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 3977, while the Intel Arc Pro B60 has a suite of PassMark and 3DMark results. To interpret relative performance, we must compare the AMD card against its nearest rivals and the Intel card against its own nearest rivals.

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2's Geekbench OpenCL score of 3977 places it 0.3% above the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964), 0.5% above the GeForce 830M (3957), 0.5% above the AMD Radeon R5 M420 (3956), and 0.6% above the GeForce GT 745M (3953). This shows the AMD card performs nearly identically to these older mid-range parts, with margins under 1% across the board. The 24th percentile ranking indicates that 76% of all GPUs in the database outperform it.

The Intel Arc Pro B60 shows a more complex performance profile. Its PassMark G3D score of 14580 is its strongest result, indicating solid general 3D rendering performance. The PassMark GPU Compute score of 7029 suggests strong compute capabilities for GPGPU workloads. However, the legacy DirectX scores are notably lower: PassMark DirectX 9 is 179, DirectX 11 is 122, and DirectX 12 is 76, while PassMark DirectX 10 scores just 61. The PassMark G2D score of 763 reflects 2D desktop performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2646 provides a modern gaming-oriented metric.

The Intel card's average benchmark score of 3182 places it 0.6% above the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (3163) and 3.5% above the GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER (3075). It is 0.9% below the GeForce GT 640 (3210) and 3.2% below the GeForce 920M (3287). The 20th percentile ranking shows that 80% of all GPUs score higher on average, reflecting the uneven nature of its benchmark results across different test methodologies.

The biggest wins for the Intel Arc Pro B60 come from its compute and modern API performance. The 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 rating and 456.0 GB/s memory bandwidth dwarf the AMD card's 1.536 TFLOPS and 134.4 GB/s. The Intel card's 192.0 GPixel/s pixel rate is 7.5 times the AMD card's 25.60 GPixel/s, and its 384.0 GTexel/s texture rate is exactly 10 times the AMD card's 38.40 GTexel/s. These ratios show that in raw throughput terms, the Intel card is in a completely different performance class.

For the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2, its only recorded benchmark score of 3977 in Geekbench OpenCL is competitive with its immediate rivals but does not translate to modern workload leadership. The card's dual-GPU nature (implied by the X2 designation) with 2 GB total memory means each GPU likely has access to only 1 GB, a severe limitation for modern applications. The Intel Arc Pro B60, with 24 GB of unified memory, avoids this constraint entirely.

The data indicates that while the AMD card's single benchmark score places it in a cluster of similar-performance legacy GPUs, the Intel card's strengths are concentrated in modern DirectX 12 and compute workloads. The low PassMark DirectX 12 score of 76 relative to its G3D score of 14580 suggests that driver maturity or workload characteristics may limit its performance in certain legacy API paths. Nevertheless, for any task that can leverage its 20 RT cores, 2560 shading units, and large memory pool, the Intel Arc Pro B60 is the superior choice by a substantial margin.