GPU Comparison

The Intel Arc A730M and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT sit on opposite sides of the GPU design spectrum, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them within a whisper of each other. The Arc A730M averages 45,592 points, while the Radeon Pro 5500 XT averages 45,384 points, a mere 0.5% separation. This narrow gap masks deep architectural and performance divergences that become apparent only when examining individual workloads and technical specifications. The data reveals a mobile-first, feature-rich Intel part colliding with a workstation-oriented, power-hungry AMD product, each with distinct strengths that defy their near-identical overall standing.

FAQ

Q: How close are the Intel Arc A730M and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT in overall performance?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical: the Arc A730M scores 45,592, while the Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45,384. The delta is a slim 0.5%, placing both in the 84th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL and Vulkan benchmarks?

A: The Intel Arc A730M dominates both available head-to-head tests. It scores 70,352 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 41,772 for the Radeon Pro 5500 XT (a 68.4% advantage), and 64,693 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 39,601 (a 63.4% advantage).

Q: What is the transistor and die size difference between the two?

A: The Intel chip packs 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, while the AMD chip contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die. Intel’s transistor density is 53.4M per mm², compared to AMD’s 40.5M per mm².

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The Intel Arc A730M has an 80 W TDP, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT draws 125 W. AMD also lists a 300 W suggested PSU, whereas Intel specifies no power connector or PSU requirement.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The Intel Arc A730M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The Intel part offers 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD part provides 8 GB on a 128-bit bus, resulting in 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A730M is built on the DG2-512 chip using the Xe-HPG architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 6 nm process. It belongs to the Alchemist generation (Arc 7 Mobile). The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, produced on TSMC’s 7 nm node and part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Series) generation. Both come from TSMC, but the 6 nm node gives Intel a density edge: 53.4M transistors per mm² versus AMD’s 40.5M per mm². Intel crams 21,700 million transistors into 406 mm², while AMD fits just 6,400 million into 158 mm².

The compute layout diverges sharply. Intel deploys 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. AMD counters with 1,536 shaders, 96 TMUs, and only 32 ROPs. Intel also integrates 24 ray tracing cores; AMD has none. This structural difference explains Intel’s raw throughput numbers: 12.60 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.19 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), versus AMD’s 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). Intel’s pixel rate is 196.8 GPixel/s and texture rate is 393.6 GTexel/s; AMD manages 56.22 GPixel/s and 168.7 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture follows suit. Intel uses 12 GB GDDR6 over a 192-bit interface, achieving 336.0 GB/s. AMD uses 8 GB GDDR6 over 128 bits, delivering 224.0 GB/s. The Intel GPU runs a base clock of 1100 MHz and boosts to 2050 MHz; AMD starts at 1187 MHz but only boosts to 1757 MHz. Both use 1750 MHz memory (14 Gbps effective). The bus interface differs too: Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while AMD uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Intel lists display outputs as portable-device dependent; AMD has none.

The API support reflects their generations: Intel hits DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) with hardware ray tracing, while AMD stops at DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Power envelopes are inverted relative to performance: Intel draws 80 W, AMD draws 125 W. AMD requires a 300 W suggested PSU and has no power connectors, while Intel specifies none. Both are end-of-life products, with AMD’s release date recorded as 2020-08-03.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmark tests, Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, tell a one-sided story. In OpenCL, the Intel Arc A730M scores 70,352 against the Radeon Pro 5500 XT’s 41,772. That is a 68.4% lead, an enormous gap that underscores the Intel chip’s superior raw compute resources. The 3,072 shaders and 12.60 TFLOPS FP32 output simply overwhelm AMD’s 1,536 shaders and 5.398 TFLOPS. The Vulkan test repeats the pattern: Intel scores 64,693, AMD scores 39,601, a 63.4% delta. Intel wins both head-to-head matchups, giving it 2 wins against 0 for AMD.

These results are striking because the average benchmark scores are nearly tied. The Arc A730M’s 45,592 average versus 45,384 for the Radeon Pro 5500 XT suggests that either AMD wins in tests not included here, or the Intel GPU’s performance is highly variable across workloads. The Geekbench tests show Intel at its best, compute-heavy, driver-optimized scenarios. The absence of a 3DMark Steel Nomad result for AMD, while Intel scores 1,732 there, leaves a gap in the data. The nearest rivals for Intel include the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972, -0.8% relative) and the GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152, +1%). For AMD, the same NVIDIA cards appear, plus the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44,795, +1.3%). Both GPUs sit in a dense performance cluster where 1-2% swings separate competitors.

The deltaPct values in the head-to-head confirm the scale of Intel’s victory: 68.4% and 63.4% are not marginal gains. They reflect fundamental architectural advantages, more than double the shaders, nearly double the TMUs, triple the ROPs, and a wider memory bus. The AMD GPU’s higher base clock (1187 MHz versus 1100 MHz) cannot compensate for its smaller execution footprint. The data implies that for compute-bound and API-agnostic tasks, the Arc A730M is in a different league, despite the near-parity in average scores.

The Verdict

The benchmark data points to a clear split: the Intel Arc A730M is the superior compute performer in the tests available, winning both head-to-head benchmarks by over 60%. Its 68.4% OpenCL lead and 63.4% Vulkan lead are decisive, driven by 2x the shading units, 2x the TMUs, 3x the ROPs, 24 ray tracing cores, and 50% more memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s). The 12 GB frame buffer versus 8 GB further favors Intel for memory-heavy workloads. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT’s only advantages are a smaller die (158 mm² versus 406 mm²) and a higher base clock (1187 MHz versus 1100 MHz), but these do not translate into benchmark wins.

However, the near-identical average scores (0.5% delta) and shared 84th percentile ranking suggest that the Radeon Pro 5500 XT may excel in workloads not captured here, likely single-threaded or latency-sensitive tasks, or Metal API environments given its Mac-oriented generation. AMD’s 125 W TDP versus Intel’s 80 W suggests it trades power for stability in sustained professional workloads. The Intel GPU’s 80 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface make it a more mobile-friendly option, while AMD’s no-output design and 300 W suggested PSU indicate a card meant for a fixed workstation chassis. For buyers prioritizing raw compute and modern DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the data favors Intel. For those needing a proven professional card with a specific release date and legacy ecosystem, AMD remains a candidate, but the evidence from these benchmarks is lopsided.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measurable specification. The Intel Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip on a 6 nm process, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses Navi 14 on 7 nm. Intel has 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die; AMD has 6,400 million on 158 mm². Transistor density is 53.4M/mm² for Intel versus 40.5M/mm² for AMD. Base clocks are 1100 MHz (Intel) and 1187 MHz (AMD), but boost clocks favor Intel at 2050 MHz versus 1757 MHz. Memory is 12 GB GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth for Intel; AMD offers 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s.

Compute units differ dramatically: Intel has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 24 ray tracing cores; AMD has 1,536 shaders, 96 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and no ray tracing cores. Pixel rate is 196.8 GPixel/s (Intel) versus 56.22 GPixel/s (AMD); texture rate is 393.6 GTexel/s versus 168.7 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 12.60 TFLOPS (Intel) versus 5.398 TFLOPS (AMD); FP16 is 25.19 TFLOPS versus 10.80 TFLOPS (both 2:1). TDP is 80 W for Intel and 125 W for AMD. Power connectors are none for AMD, unspecified for Intel; AMD lists a 300 W suggested PSU. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for Intel and PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD. Display outputs are portable-device dependent for Intel, none for AMD. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) for Intel and 12 (12_1) for AMD. Both use GDDR6 memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A730M wins every benchmark where both GPUs have data. Its 68.4% OpenCL lead and 63.4% Vulkan lead make it the clear choice for compute-heavy applications, ray tracing workloads (thanks to 24 dedicated cores), and tasks requiring large memory capacity (12 GB versus 8 GB) or high bandwidth (336.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s). Its 80 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface also position it for mobile or power-constrained systems. The higher boost clock (2050 MHz) and triple the ROPs (96 versus 32) suggest better fill-rate-bound performance in rasterization, though no direct head-to-head confirms this.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT wins no available benchmark, but its data hints at niche strengths. Its 125 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU indicate it is built for sustained professional workloads where power draw is less of a concern. The higher base clock (1187 MHz) might benefit certain lightly threaded or clock-sensitive tasks. Its smaller die (158 mm²) and lower transistor count (6,400 million) suggest lower manufacturing complexity, though this does not translate into performance gains. The absence of display outputs and its Mac-oriented generation (release date 2020-08-03) imply it targets fixed, Apple-ecosystem workstations rather than general-purpose systems. Its only head-to-head edge is the 0.5% average score closeness, which comes from unlisted tests. The data shows Intel as the unequivocal winner in compute benchmarks, with AMD’s case resting on professional ecosystem fit rather than demonstrated performance advantages.