AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs Intel Arc A310 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The Intel Arc A310 is substantially faster. It scores 30,607 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M scores 8,462. The Arc A310 leads by 72.4% in this test.

Q: How do these two GPUs compare in overall benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M sits at the 43rd percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Intel Arc A310 sits at the 40th percentile. Despite the Arc A310 having a much higher peak OpenCL score, its average benchmark score across all tests is 7,550, slightly below the AMD card's average of 8,462.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel Arc A310 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 124.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient based on the recorded data?

A: The Intel Arc A310 has a TDP of 30 W, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M has no TDP listed in the database. The Arc A310 also lists a suggested PSU of 200 W and requires no power connectors.

Q: Do both cards support modern graphics APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6. However, the Intel Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 at 8,458 (0.1% difference). The Intel Arc A310's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 250 at 7,557 (0.1% difference).

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon HD 8870M uses the Venus chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 28 nm process. It packs 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. This is a legacy mobile GPU from the Solar System generation (HD 8800M series), released in early 2013.

The Intel Arc A310 uses the DG2-128 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 6 nm process. It contains 7,200 million transistors in a 157 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 45.9 million per square millimeter. This card comes from the Alchemist generation (Arc 3 series), released in late 2022.

The architectural gap is enormous. The Arc A310 has 4.8 times more transistors and a 3.8 times higher transistor density. The 6 nm process allows Intel to pack far more logic into a similar physical footprint. The Radeon HD 8870M is an end-of-life product from nearly a decade earlier, while the Arc A310 is also end-of-life but represents a modern design.

The compute configurations differ significantly. The Radeon HD 8870M has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. The Arc A310 has 768 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. More importantly, the Arc A310 includes 6 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the older AMD chip.

Clock speeds show the process node advantage. The Radeon HD 8870M runs at a 725 MHz base and 775 MHz boost. The Arc A310 runs at a flat 1750 MHz for both base and boost, more than double the AMD card's clock rate. Memory speeds also reflect the generational leap: the AMD card uses 1125 MHz GDDR5 (4.5 Gbps effective), while the Arc A310 uses 1937 MHz GDDR6 (15.5 Gbps effective).

The Radeon HD 8870M connects via PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Arc A310 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The Arc A310 has four mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, while the AMD card lists no display outputs in the database. The Arc A310 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a 30 W TDP, indicating a low-power design.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records one direct head-to-head comparison between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. This is a decisive win for the Intel Arc A310, which scores 30,607 versus the AMD Radeon HD 8870M's 8,462. The delta is -72.4% from the Arc's perspective, meaning the AMD card scores only about 27.6% of the Intel card's result.

This 3.6 times performance gap in raw compute throughput is consistent with the specification differences. The Arc A310's FP32 throughput is 2.688 TFLOPS, while the Radeon HD 8870M manages 992.0 GFLOPS. That is roughly 2.7 times more floating-point compute capability. The Arc A310 also has a much higher texture rate at 56.00 GTexel/s versus 31.00 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 28.00 GPixel/s versus 12.40 GPixel/s.

However, the average benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The Arc A310's average benchmark score is 7,550, which is actually lower than the Radeon HD 8870M's average of 8,462. This discrepancy comes from the Arc A310's other benchmark results. In Passmark tests, the Arc A310 scores 5,433 in G3D, 2,157 in GPU compute, 625 in G2D, and very low scores in DirectX-specific tests: 69 in DirectX 9, 33 in DirectX 11, 31 in DirectX 10, and 29 in DirectX 12.

The Arc A310 also records a Geekbench Vulkan score of 28,964, which is close to its OpenCL result. This suggests the card performs well in compute workloads but poorly in legacy DirectX rasterization tests. The Radeon HD 8870M, despite being much older, has a higher average score because it has only one recorded benchmark in the database, and that single OpenCL score is higher than the Arc A310's average across nine tests.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8870M | Intel Arc A310 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Xe-HPG |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 7,200 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 157 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 45.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 725 MHz | 1750 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 775 MHz | 1750 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 124.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 768 |

| Texture Mapping Units | 40 | 32 |

| Raster Operation Units | 16 | 16 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 6 |

| Pixel Rate | 12.40 GPixel/s | 28.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 31.00 GTexel/s | 56.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 992.0 GFLOPS | 2.688 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None listed | 5.376 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | None listed | 30 W |

| Slot Width | None listed | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | None listed | None |

| Suggested PSU | None listed | 200 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | None listed | 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2022-10-11 |

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly favors the Intel Arc A310 for raw compute performance. In the only direct comparison available, the Arc A310 outperforms the Radeon HD 8870M by 72.4% in Geekbench OpenCL. The specifications support this result: the Arc has more than double the FP32 throughput, more than double the pixel rate, and nearly double the texture rate.

The Radeon HD 8870M has one advantage in the recorded data: its average benchmark score of 8,462 is higher than the Arc A310's average of 7,550. This is because the Arc A310's Passmark DirectX scores are extremely low, ranging from 29 to 69, which drags down its average. The AMD card, having only a single OpenCL benchmark, avoids this penalty.

The Arc A310's ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support make it the more future-proof choice for modern workloads. The Radeon HD 8870M lacks ray tracing entirely and only supports DirectX 12 at the 11_1 feature level. For users targeting older DirectX 9, 10, or 11 games, the data suggests the Arc A310 struggles, with Passmark scores below 70 in those specific tests.

The Arc A310 also has a clear efficiency advantage with its 30 W TDP and no power connector requirement, making it suitable for low-power systems. The Radeon HD 8870M has no power or TDP data recorded, but its older 28 nm process and lower clock speeds imply a less efficient design.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A310 wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 30,607 dwarfs the AMD card's 8,462, and its Vulkan score of 28,964 confirms strong modern API performance. The card's 2.688 TFLOPS FP32 and 5.376 TFLOPS FP16 throughput make it suitable for GPU compute tasks, content creation, and applications that leverage modern APIs. The 4 GB GDDR6 memory with 124.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity and speed for contemporary workloads.

The Radeon HD 8870M wins in average benchmark score consistency. Its 8,462 average across its recorded benchmarks is higher than the Arc A310's 7,550 average. The AMD card's closest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 and AMD Radeon 880M, both within 0.3% of its score, indicating it holds its own against a range of competing products. Its 128-bit memory bus, while paired with slower GDDR5, offers a different trade-off compared to the Arc A310's narrower 64-bit bus.

For users prioritizing legacy DirectX compatibility, the data is ambiguous. The Arc A310's Passmark DirectX 9 score of 69, DirectX 10 score of 31, and DirectX 11 score of 33 are notably low. The Radeon HD 8870M has no equivalent Passmark scores recorded, so direct comparison in this area is not possible from the available data.

The Arc A310 is the clear choice for modern compute and ray tracing workloads. The Radeon HD 8870M remains relevant only in the context of its higher average benchmark score, which reflects a narrower set of recorded tests. For a practical build in current conditions, the Arc A310's raw performance, modern feature set, and low power draw make it the stronger option in nearly every measurable category except average benchmark consistency.