AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs Intel Arc A730M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head comparison between the Intel Arc A730M and the AMD Radeon HD 7970, and the result is decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL compute test, the Intel Arc A730M scores 70,352 points against the AMD Radeon HD 7970's 34,541 points. That is a 103.7% advantage for the Intel part, meaning it more than doubles the AMD card's raw compute output in this workload. The margin is not close; it is a categorical win for the newer architecture.

Looking at broader performance context, the Intel Arc A730M holds an average benchmark score of 45,592 across all recorded tests, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 averages 34,541. The Intel part also sits at the 84th percentile among all GPUs in the database, compared to the 79th percentile for the AMD card. In practical terms, the Arc A730M is positioned well above the HD 7970 in overall standing, even though both are marked as end-of-life products.

For the Arc A730M, its nearest rivals in average score are the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,384 (a 0.5% gap), the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation at 45,972 (0.8% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile at 45,152 (1% ahead), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46,043 (1% behind). These deltas are tiny, which means the Arc A730M sits in a tightly contested performance band where small variations decide rank. The HD 7970, by contrast, has nearest rivals like the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB at 34,561 (0.1% ahead), the NVIDIA A2 at 34,690 (0.4% ahead), the NVIDIA TITAN V at 34,355 (0.5% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 at 34,207 (1% behind). The HD 7970 is similarly clustered, but in a much lower performance tier.

The head-to-head record shows the Intel Arc A730M with 1 win and 0 losses against the HD 7970. There are no benchmark categories where the AMD card comes out ahead. The only shared test is Geekbench OpenCL, and the Intel part dominates there. For anyone comparing these two based on recorded data, the conclusion is straightforward: the Arc A730M is the faster GPU by a wide margin in the available metrics.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different eras and design philosophies. The Intel Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, belonging to the Alchemist generation for Arc 7 Mobile. It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, packing 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 53.4 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 uses the Tahiti chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, part of the Southern Islands generation for HD 7900. It is built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC, with 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, giving a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter.

The node advantage is stark: 6 nm versus 28 nm means the Intel part packs over five times the transistor density into a slightly larger die. This translates directly into capability differences. The Arc A730M has 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The HD 7970 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and only 32 ROPs. The Intel part also features 24 ray tracing cores, something the AMD card lacks entirely, as it predates hardware ray tracing.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Arc A730M comes with 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, at 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) for 264.0 GB/s. Although the AMD card has a wider bus, the Intel part's faster memory technology yields over 27% more bandwidth. The capacity difference is also massive: 12 GB versus 3 GB, a 4x gap that matters for modern workloads.

Compute rates tell the same story. The Arc A730M delivers 12.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 25.19 TFLOPS of FP16 (at a 2:1 ratio). The HD 7970 manages 3.789 TFLOPS of FP32 and has no listed FP16 capability. Pixel rate is 196.8 GPixel/s for the Intel part versus 29.60 GPixel/s for the AMD card. Texture rate is 393.6 GTexel/s versus 118.4 GTexel/s. Every throughput metric favors the Arc A730M by a large factor.

Power and physical specs differ as well. The Arc A730M has a TDP of 80 W and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor, meaning it is designed for portable devices with no dedicated power connectors listed. The HD 7970 has a TDP of 250 W, is a dual-slot card measuring 275 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width, requiring 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 600 W power supply. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the Intel part versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the AMD part.

API support also differs. The Arc A730M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 7970 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Intel part is on a newer DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan revision. The HD 7970's display outputs are listed as 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, while the Arc A730M's outputs are described as portable device dependent.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the Intel Arc A730M is the superior GPU in every measured category. The Geekbench OpenCL score shows a 103.7% advantage, meaning it is more than twice as fast in that compute workload. The average benchmark score of 45,592 versus 34,541 reinforces this, and the percentile ranking (84th versus 79th) places the Intel part in a higher tier overall.

The architecture gap is the root cause. A 6 nm node with 21,700 million transistors versus a 28 nm node with 4,313 million is not an incremental improvement; it is a generational leap. The Arc A730M has more shading units, more TMUs, more ROPs, dedicated ray tracing cores, more memory, faster memory, and higher bandwidth. It also does all of this at an 80 W TDP compared to 250 W for the HD 7970, making it dramatically more efficient per watt.

For a buyer choosing between these two today, the Arc A730M is the only rational pick based on performance data. It wins the only direct benchmark, has a higher average score, and offers features like ray tracing and FP16 support that the HD 7970 cannot match. The HD 7970's sole advantages are its lower launch MSRP of 549 USD (which the Arc A730M does not list) and its physical card form factor with standard display outputs, but neither compensates for the massive performance deficit.

The HD 7970 remains a historical artifact from 2012, and its 79th percentile ranking shows it still holds up against some modern low-end GPUs, but it is not competitive with the Arc A730M. The verdict is unambiguous: the Intel Arc A730M wins decisively.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the Intel Arc A730M than the AMD Radeon HD 7970 in OpenCL?

A: The Arc A730M scores 70,352 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 34,541 for the HD 7970, a 103.7% advantage. This means the Intel part delivers more than double the compute performance in that test.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 7970 win any benchmark against the Intel Arc A730M?

A: No. The database shows only one head-to-head test (Geekbench OpenCL), and the Intel Arc A730M wins it. The record stands at 1 win for the Arc A730M and 0 wins for the HD 7970.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between these two GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc A730M has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory. That is a 4x capacity difference in favor of the Intel part.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 7970 support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7970 has no ray tracing cores listed in its specifications. The Intel Arc A730M includes 24 ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Intel Arc A730M has a TDP of 80 W and is an IGP, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 has a TDP of 250 W and is a dual-slot card requiring 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 600 W power supply.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database?

A: The Intel Arc A730M sits at the 84th percentile, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 sits at the 79th percentile. This places the Intel part in a higher overall performance tier.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A730M wins in every measurable performance category. It has higher raw compute (12.60 TFLOPS FP32 versus 3.789 TFLOPS), higher pixel rate (196.8 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (393.6 GTexel/s versus 118.4 GTexel/s), and more memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s). It also has ray tracing hardware, which the HD 7970 lacks entirely. For any workload that stresses the GPU, from gaming to compute tasks, the Arc A730M is the stronger choice.

The AMD Radeon HD 7970's advantages are not in performance but in form factor and legacy connectivity. It is a dual-slot card with fixed display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. This makes it suitable for desktop systems that require those specific outputs. The Arc A730M's outputs are portable device dependent, so it is not a drop-in replacement for a desktop card. The HD 7970 also has a listed launch MSRP of 549 USD, while the Arc A730M has no launch MSRP in the database, which may matter for historical reference but not for current purchasing decisions.

For use cases, the Arc A730M fits modern portable devices where its 80 W TDP and IGP form factor are assets. It supports newer APIs (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4) and has 12 GB of memory, making it suitable for contemporary games and compute workloads. The HD 7970, with its 250 W TDP and 3 GB of memory, is best relegated to older titles or tasks that do not require modern features. In any direct comparison, the Arc A730M is the winner.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. The Intel Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip on Xe-HPG architecture from the Alchemist generation, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 uses the Tahiti chip on GCN 1.0 architecture from the Southern Islands generation. The process node is 6 nm for Intel versus 28 nm for AMD, with transistor counts of 21,700 million versus 4,313 million, die sizes of 406 mm² versus 352 mm², and densities of 53.4M/mm² versus 12.3M/mm².

Clock speeds show the Intel part boosting to 2050 MHz with a base of 1100 MHz, while the HD 7970 has no base or boost clocks listed. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the Arc A730M versus 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) for the HD 7970. Memory capacity is 12 GB versus 3 GB, type is GDDR6 versus GDDR5, bus width is 192-bit versus 384-bit, and bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s.

Compute resources differ substantially: 3,072 shading units versus 2,048, 192 TMUs versus 128, 96 ROPs versus 32, and 24 RT cores versus none. Pixel rate is 196.8 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s, texture rate is 393.6 GTexel/s versus 118.4 GTexel/s, FP32 is 12.60 TFLOPS versus 3.789 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 25.19 TFLOPS (2:1) versus not listed for AMD.

Power and physical specs: TDP is 80 W versus 250 W, slot width is IGP versus dual-slot, power connectors are none listed versus 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin, suggested PSU is none versus 600 W, and bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are portable device dependent versus 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The HD 7970 has dimensions (275 mm length, 111 mm height, 38 mm width), while the Arc A730M lists none. API support differs: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6 for both, and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.170. Release dates: the HD 7970 was released on 2012-01-08, while the Arc A730M has no release date listed. Both are end-of-life products.