AMD Radeon HD 8970M vs Intel Arc B570 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is not close. The Intel Arc B570 scores 83,514, while the AMD Radeon HD 8970M manages 21,237. That puts the Arc B570 ahead by 74.6% — a massive gap that reflects the generational jump between the two products. The HD 8970M’s score is competitive with its nearest rivals — it sits just 0.4% above the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 — but those are all modern or near-modern parts, which shows how far the old GCN architecture has fallen behind. The Arc B570, meanwhile, lands within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750, placing it in a much faster performance tier overall.

The Arc B570 also brings a broader benchmark suite in the data, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (2,649), PassMark G3D (14,195), PassMark GPU Compute (7,281), and Vulkan (96,844). The HD 8970M has no entries for any of those tests, so direct comparisons are limited. However, the OpenCL result alone is decisive: the B570 is roughly four times faster in raw compute throughput, and its 65th percentile versus 66th percentile for the HD 8970M is misleading — the percentiles measure position across all GPUs, not performance relative to each other. The HD 8970M’s 66th percentile confirms how weak the overall GPU field was in 2013; today, that score places it near the RX Vega M GL and RTX 5050, but the B570 is in a different league entirely.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only shared benchmark?

A: The Intel Arc B570 wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 83,514 versus 21,237 for the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, a delta of -74.6% from the B570’s perspective. The HD 8970M has zero wins in head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The B570’s average score of 20,556 is effectively tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534, +0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, -0.1%). It’s also 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M390X. This puts it in solid mid-range desktop-class territory.

Q: What does the HD 8970M’s percentile mean?

A: The HD 8970M sits at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, while the B570 is at the 65th. This is not a head-to-head ranking; it shows that despite being over a decade old, the HD 8970M still outperforms a third of the database — but its raw scores are far below the B570’s.

Q: Is the HD 8970M still competitive for modern workloads?

A: Based on the data, no. Its only benchmark score (21,237 OpenCL) is less than a third of the B570’s score. It supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, but the B570 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, which are required for newer game features and ray tracing.

Q: What about memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s. The HD 8970M has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s. The B570 offers 2.5x the capacity and roughly 2.5x the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The B570 is clearly ahead. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 8970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The B570 also has 18 ray tracing cores; the HD 8970M has none.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two is enormous. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M uses the Neptune chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm TSMC process. It packs 2,800 million transistors into a 212 mm² die, for a transistor density of 13.2 million per mm². The Intel Arc B570 uses the BMG-G21 chip with Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm TSMC process. It crams 19,600 million transistors into a 272 mm² die, for a density of 72.1 million per mm² — over five times denser. That’s the foundational difference: the B570 is a modern, high-density design; the HD 8970M is a decade-old, low-density part.

The compute resources differ just as sharply. The HD 8970M has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The B570 has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. In terms of raw throughput, the HD 8970M delivers 2.304 TFLOPS of FP32, while the B570 delivers 11.52 TFLOPS — exactly five times more. The B570 also has FP16 capability at 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), which the HD 8970M lacks entirely. The B570 has 18 dedicated ray tracing cores; the HD 8970M has none.

Memory architecture is another major split. The HD 8970M uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth. The B570 uses 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. The B570’s narrower bus is compensated by faster memory (19 Gbps effective versus 4.8 Gbps effective), resulting in much higher bandwidth. The HD 8970M’s memory clock is 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective), while the B570’s is 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

The B570 also modernizes the interface and power delivery. It uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The B570 is a dual-slot card with a 1x 8-pin power connector and a suggested 450 W PSU, drawing 150 W TDP. The HD 8970M is an MXM module with 100 W TDP and portable-device-dependent display outputs — it’s not a desktop card at all. The B570 has 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1 outputs; the HD 8970M’s outputs are entirely dependent on the laptop or mobile chassis.

The Verdict

The data points to a lopsided matchup. The Intel Arc B570 wins the only shared benchmark by 74.6%, offers more than double the memory (10 GB versus 4 GB), more than double the bandwidth (380.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s), five times the FP32 throughput (11.52 TFLOPS versus 2.304 TFLOPS), and adds features the HD 8970M simply cannot match: ray tracing cores, FP16 support, and a modern API stack (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4). The HD 8970M’s only advantages are a lower TDP (100 W versus 150 W) and a smaller physical footprint (MXM module versus dual-slot card), but those are form-factor benefits, not performance wins.

Who should pick the HD 8970M? Only someone maintaining legacy portable hardware that requires an MXM module with a 100 W TDP cap and PCIe 3.0 x16 support. It’s an end-of-life product with no modern feature set. Who should pick the Arc B570? Anyone building or upgrading a desktop system that needs a current, active GPU with ray tracing, high-bandwidth GDDR6 memory, and strong compute performance. The B570’s nearest rivals — the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750 — are all within 0.1% of its average score, so it’s a well-positioned mid-range option. The HD 8970M is not a competitor; it’s a relic.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8970M | Intel Arc B570 |

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

| Chip | Neptune | BMG-G21 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Xe2-HPG |

| Generation | Solar System (HD 8900M) | Battlemage (Arc 5) |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | TSMC |

| Transistors | 2,800 million | 19,600 million |

| Die Size | 212 mm² | 272 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 72.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 850 MHz | 2500 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 900 MHz | 2500 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) | 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 10 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 160 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 153.6 GB/s | 380.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 80 | 144 |

| ROPs | 32 | 80 |

| RT Cores | None | 18 |

| Pixel Rate | 28.80 GPixel/s | 200.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 72.00 GTexel/s | 360.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.304 TFLOPS | 11.52 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not specified | 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 100 W | 150 W |

| Slot Width | MXM Module | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 450 W |

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

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 |

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

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2013-05-13 | 2025-01-15 |

| Predecessor | London | Alchemist |

| Successor | Gem System | Not specified |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 219 USD |

Where Each One Wins

Intel Arc B570: The B570 wins every performance category where data exists. It is 74.6% ahead in OpenCL compute. It has 5x the FP32 throughput, 5x the texture rate (360.0 GTexel/s versus 72.00 GTexel/s), and nearly 7x the pixel rate (200.0 GPixel/s versus 28.80 GPixel/s). It has more than double the memory bandwidth and 2.5x the VRAM capacity. It supports ray tracing (18 cores) and modern APIs (Vulkan 1.4, DirectX 12 Ultimate). It has a higher clock speed (2500 MHz versus 900 MHz boost) and a higher transistor density. It is an active product with a known launch MSRP of 219 USD. For any gaming, compute, or content-creation workload that can use modern features, the B570 is the clear choice.

AMD Radeon HD 8970M: The HD 8970M wins in exactly one area: power efficiency and form factor. It draws 100 W versus 150 W, and it comes as an MXM module, which means it can fit in portable devices where a dual-slot card cannot. It also uses a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 160-bit), though that does not compensate for the much lower bandwidth. It has a smaller die (212 mm² versus 272 mm²) and fewer transistors, but those are not advantages — they are consequences of older, less dense manufacturing. For a legacy laptop that requires an MXM upgrade with a 100 W TDP ceiling, the HD 8970M is the only option here. For anything else, the data says the B570 wins outright.