AMD Radeon HD 7790 vs Intel Arc A750 Comparison

Intel Arc A750 and AMD Radeon HD 7790 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear performance gap, but the comparison reveals more than just a raw speed difference. The A750, built on Intel's modern Xe-HPG architecture, targets high-resolution gaming and compute workloads, while the HD 7790, a veteran of AMD's GCN 2.0 generation, was designed for a time when 1080p was the standard and power efficiency was less critical. This analysis breaks down where each card excels, the architectural chasm between them, and what the benchmark numbers actually mean.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A750 is the decisive winner in almost every measurable category. Its average benchmark score of 20,582 dwarfs the Radeon HD 7790's 17,666, a gap of roughly 16.5%. The A750's percentile ranking of 66 vs. the HD 7790's 61 indicates it sits higher in the overall performance distribution of all GPUs. The data suggests the A750 is built for modern, feature-rich gaming. It has dedicated ray tracing cores (28) and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, making it a credible choice for contemporary titles that use hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shaders. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a massive bandwidth advantage (512.0 GB/s), which is essential for high-resolution textures and 1440p or higher gaming.

The AMD Radeon HD 7790, however, has a single clear victory: its low power draw. With a TDP of 85 W, it consumes a fraction of the A750's 225 W. This makes it a candidate for legacy systems with modest power supplies. Its smaller physical footprint, listed at 183 mm in length, also makes it a potential fit for compact cases where the A750's longer, dual-slot design might not fit. In terms of raw compute, it is no match, but its efficiency per watt in this specific metric is its only winning point. The data does not provide a head-to-head benchmark, but the overall average score and the individual benchmark results from the A750 leave no doubt that the HD 7790 is not a competitor for modern gaming.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on completely different foundations. The Intel Arc A750 is fabricated on a TSMC 6 nm process, packing 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 53.4 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 uses a TSMC 28 nm process, with a die size of 160 mm² and a total of 2,080 million transistors, for a density of 13.0 million per square millimeter. This process node advantage is a primary driver of the A750's superior performance and efficiency.

The core architecture differs as well. The Arc A750 uses Xe-HPG, the architecture behind the Alchemist generation. The HD 7790 uses GCN 2.0, a design from the Southern Islands era. This reflects a fundamental shift in how the cards handle work. The A750 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The HD 7790 has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The A750's compute capabilities are further boosted by 28 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature the HD 7790 lacks entirely.

Memory and bandwidth are another major divider. The A750 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7790 is equipped with just 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s. This is a 5.3x difference in bandwidth, which directly impacts texture streaming and high-resolution performance. The A750's memory clock is listed at 2000 MHz, while the HD 7790's is 1500 MHz. The PCIe interface also differs: the A750 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the HD 7790 uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16. The A750 also has a higher peak in FP32 compute at 17.20 TFLOPS, compared to the HD 7790's 1.792 TFLOPS. The A750's pixel rate is 268.8 GPixel/s versus 16.00 GPixel/s for the HD 7790, and the texture rate is 537.6 GTexel/s versus 56.00 GTexel/s.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark list is empty, so the comparison must rely on the individual benchmark scores and the average scores of their nearest rivals. The A750's average score of 20,582 places it just 0.1% ahead of an Intel Arc B570 (20,556) and 0.2% ahead of a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534). It is 0.4% behind an AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20,662) and 0.5% ahead of a NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480). This data indicates the A750 is positioned in a very close cluster of mid-range to high-end cards, with both Intel and NVIDIA competitors.

The HD 7790's average score of 17,666 puts it in a different performance class. It is 0.2% ahead of a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (17,639) and 0.4% ahead of an AMD Radeon 780M (17,588). It is also 0.7% ahead of an AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17,551) but 0.7% behind a NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 (17,789). This places the HD 7790 among more modern, often integrated or power-efficient parts, which shows how far its compute power has been surpassed.

In specific tests, the A750 shows its strengths. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2,612, a modern test that the HD 7790 cannot run, as it lacks the necessary feature set. The A750's Geekbench OpenCL score is 98,554, and its Vulkan score is 85,631. For the older DirectX APIs, the A750 scores 181 in Passmark DirectX 9, 72 in DirectX 11, and 70 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark G3D score is 12,534, and its GPU Compute is 5,368. The HD 7790 has only one recorded benchmark: a Geekbench Metal score of 17,666, which is its average, indicating it is a legacy card without modern API support in the database.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more raw compute power?

A: The Intel Arc A750 is significantly stronger. Its FP32 performance is 17.20 TFLOPS, while the AMD Radeon HD 7790 is rated at 1.792 TFLOPS. The A750 also has a higher texture rate of 537.6 GTexel/s versus the HD 7790's 56.00 GTexel/s.

Q: Can the AMD Radeon HD 7790 support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7790 has no ray tracing cores. The Intel Arc A750, however, is equipped with 28 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes hardware ray tracing.

Q: What is the difference in their PCIe interface?

A: The Intel Arc A750 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the AMD Radeon HD 7790 is limited to the older PCIe 3.0 x16 standard. This affects potential bandwidth for data transfer to the CPU.

Q: Which card is more power-hungry?

A: The Intel Arc A750 has a TDP of 225 W, while the AMD Radeon HD 7790 is much more efficient, with a TDP of only 85 W. The A750 also requires a 550 W suggested PSU, while the HD 7790 can run on a 250 W PSU.

Q: How does the Arc A750 compare to its nearest rival, the Arc B570?

A: The A750 is extremely close, with an average score of 20,582 compared to the B570's 20,556, representing a 0.1% lead for the A750. They are effectively tied in the database's measurements.

Q: What is the performance class of the HD 7790 based on its average score?

A: Its average benchmark score of 17,666 puts it in the same performance ballpark as a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (17,639) and an AMD Radeon 780M (17,588), both of which are much more recent parts.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Intel Arc A750 is the superior product for any modern workload. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and 17.20 TFLOPS of compute power make it a capable card for current gaming and creative tasks. The A750's 66th percentile ranking and its placement between rivals like the Arc B570 and RTX 3070 Mobile confirm it is a solid mid-range performer. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and its ray tracing capabilities make it a forward-looking part.

The AMD Radeon HD 7790 is a relic of a previous generation. Its only advantage is its low power consumption and small physical size. Its 85 W TDP and 183mm length might be attractive for a simple legacy build, but its 1024 MB memory and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth are a bottleneck for even modern low-end games. Its average score of 17.666 places it near integrated graphics like the Radeon 780M, which is a stark indicator of its age. The HD 7790's performance is now in the territory of a modern iGPU. If you need a card for a modern PC, the Arc A750 is the only choice that makes sense. If you are looking for a low-power card for a very old system where a 250 W PSU is the only option, the HD 7790 is the only one of these two that could be considered.