AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 vs Intel Arc A770 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 has a significantly higher average benchmark score of 92,466, while the Intel Arc A770 averages 68,809. This places the MI60 at the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, compared to the A770's 90th percentile.

Q: How does the Intel Arc A770 compare to the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 in OpenCL performance?

A: The Intel Arc A770 wins in Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 109,175, which is 15.3% ahead of the MI60's 92,488. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards in the recorded head-to-head tests.

Q: In Vulkan performance, which card comes out ahead?

A: The Intel Arc A770 also wins in Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 94,284 versus the MI60's 92,444, a margin of 2%. While the A770 wins, the difference is relatively small compared to the OpenCL gap.

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

A: The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 features 32 GB of HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The Intel Arc A770 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The Intel Arc A770 has a boost clock of 2400 MHz, notably higher than the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60's boost of 1800 MHz. The A770 also has a higher base clock at 2100 MHz versus 1200 MHz.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 was released in November 2018, while the Intel Arc A770 came later in October 2022.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 is built on the Vega 20 chip using GCN 5.1 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It contains 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.0 million per mm². The Intel Arc A770 uses the DG2-512 chip with Xe-HPG architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 6 nm node, packing 21,700 million transistors across a 406 mm² die for a density of 53.4 million per mm².

The MI60's GCN 5.1 design is a compute-oriented architecture with deep roots in data center workloads. It relies on raw shader throughput and massive memory bandwidth. The A770's Xe-HPG architecture is purpose-built for gaming and consumer workloads, featuring 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the MI60. The MI60 has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed, while the A770 also lacks tensor cores but includes hardware ray tracing support.

Both cards share identical shading unit counts at 4096 and identical texture mapping units at 256. The raster operation units differ significantly: the MI60 has 64 ROPs, while the A770 doubles that to 128 ROPs. This difference directly impacts pixel fill rates, with the A770 achieving 307.2 GPixel/s versus the MI60's 115.2 GPixel/s.

The memory subsystems represent a fundamental architectural split. The MI60 uses HBM2 with a 4096-bit bus, achieving 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The A770 uses GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. The MI60's bandwidth advantage is 2x, but the A770 compensates with higher clock speeds and more ROPs.

API support differs in DirectX: the MI60 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the A770 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), indicating the A770 has newer feature level support. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan versions differ: the MI60 supports Vulkan 1.3, and the A770 supports Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split based on workload type. For raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth, the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 is the stronger card. Its 1.02 TB/s memory bandwidth and 32 GB capacity make it suited for large data sets that exceed the A770's 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer. The MI60's average benchmark score of 92,466 places it 93rd percentile, and it sits 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A4500 and 1.5% ahead of the RTX A4500 Mobile.

For gaming and modern API workloads, the Intel Arc A770 is the more capable option. It wins both head-to-head benchmark tests, including a decisive 15.3% margin in OpenCL. Its 32 RT cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and higher clock speeds indicate it is built for real-time graphics. The A770's 90th percentile ranking is lower than the MI60's, but its average score is dragged down by the inclusion of a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result, which the MI60 does not have recorded.

The MI60's nearest rivals are professional workstation cards: the RTX A4500 and AMD Radeon Pro VII. The A770's nearest rivals include mining and older workstation parts like the NVIDIA CMP 90HX and Quadro P6000. This positioning reinforces that the MI60 targets professional compute, while the A770 targets consumer and prosumer graphics.

Users who need massive memory capacity, high bandwidth, and compute density should choose the MI60. Users who need ray tracing, modern DirectX features, and higher pixel throughput should choose the A770. The MI60 is end-of-life with no successor listed, while the A770 has a successor named Battlemage, indicating ongoing development for the Intel lineup.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 | Intel Arc A770 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.1 | Xe-HPG |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 13,230 million | 21,700 million |

| Die Size | 331 mm² | 406 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.0M / mm² | 53.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1200 MHz | 2100 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1800 MHz | 2400 MHz |

| Memory Size | 32 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.02 TB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz, 2 Gbps effective | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective |

| ROPs | 64 | 128 |

| RT Cores | None | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 115.2 GPixel/s | 307.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 460.8 GTexel/s | 614.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 14.75 TFLOPS | 19.66 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 29.49 TFLOPS (2:1) | 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 225 W |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | November 2018 | October 2022 |

| Successor | None | Battlemage |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct benchmark comparisons between these cards, both won by the Intel Arc A770. The first is Geekbench OpenCL, where the A770 scores 109,175 against the MI60's 92,488, a delta of 15.3% in favor of Intel. This is a substantial margin and indicates the A770's higher clock speeds and newer architecture deliver real compute advantages in OpenCL workloads.

The second test is Geekbench Vulkan, where the A770 scores 94,284 versus the MI60's 92,444, a 2% advantage. While this is a win for Intel, the margin is much narrower than in OpenCL. The MI60's GCN architecture holds up better in Vulkan, closing the gap significantly. The MI60's higher memory bandwidth likely helps in Vulkan workloads that are memory-intensive.

The MI60's average benchmark score of 92,466 is heavily influenced by its two Geekbench results, which are close to each other (92,488 and 92,444). The A770's average of 68,809 is pulled down by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,969, which is not directly comparable to the Geekbench scores. This means the A770's average does not reflect its competitive position in the head-to-head tests.

In terms of raw FP32 compute, the A770's 19.66 TFLOPS is 33% higher than the MI60's 14.75 TFLOPS. The FP16 numbers show the same pattern: 39.32 TFLOPS versus 29.49 TFLOPS. Despite these compute advantages, the MI60's nearest rival comparison shows it performs within 4.8% of the AMD Radeon Pro VII and 5.2% of the RX 7900M, indicating it remains competitive in its class.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 wins in scenarios that demand massive memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 32 GB HBM2 configuration with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth is more than double the A770's 512.0 GB/s. Workloads that involve large datasets, such as scientific computing, data center inference, or rendering scenes that exceed 16 GB, will favor the MI60. Its 4096-bit memory bus is a clear indicator of its data center pedigree.

The Intel Arc A770 wins in gaming and real-time graphics. Its 32 RT cores enable hardware ray tracing, which the MI60 cannot do. The A770's 307.2 GPixel/s pixel rate is 2.7x higher than the MI60's 115.2 GPixel/s, making it far better for high-resolution rasterization. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support grants access to features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, which the MI60's DirectX 12_1 cannot provide.

The A770 also wins on power efficiency. Its 225 W TDP is 25% lower than the MI60's 300 W, and it requires a 550 W PSU versus 700 W. The A770 delivers higher FP32 throughput (19.66 TFLOPS) while drawing less power, making it the better choice for systems with power constraints.

The MI60 wins on bandwidth density. Its 1.02 TB/s bandwidth with a 4096-bit bus is unmatched by the A770's 256-bit GDDR6. For compute tasks that are memory-bandwidth bound rather than shader-bound, the MI60 will outperform. The MI60's 93rd percentile ranking also indicates it sits higher in the overall GPU hierarchy than the A770's 90th percentile.

The A770 wins on display connectivity. It offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0, while the MI60 has only a single mini-DisplayPort 1.4a. This makes the A770 far more suitable for multi-monitor setups and modern display standards.

The MI60's end-of-life status with no successor suggests its architecture is mature and stable. The A770's successor, Battlemage, indicates Intel is iterating on this design. For long-term driver support and feature updates, the newer A770 platform may have more momentum. However, the MI60's compute focus and massive memory make it a specialist tool for specific workloads.