AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Intel Arc A730M Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Intel Arc A730M

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two comparable cross-platform tests, and the results split evenly between the two cards. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc A730M posts a score of 70352 against the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56’s 61930. That gives Intel a 12% advantage in this compute-oriented workload, a decisive margin that places the Arc A730M clearly ahead in raw OpenCL throughput. The delta is substantial enough to suggest a real architectural edge in general-purpose compute tasks rather than a measurement artifact.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the situation reverses. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 66004, while the Intel Arc A730M records 64693. The AMD card wins by 2%, a narrower margin than Intel’s OpenCL lead but still a measurable victory. The Vulkan result indicates that the Radeon Pro Vega 56 holds its own in graphics API workloads, even against a newer architecture with higher peak clock speeds. The 2% delta is modest, yet it is consistent with AMD’s GCN 5.0 design maintaining competitive driver-level performance in Vulkan.

Looking at the broader benchmark averages, the two cards diverge significantly. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has an average benchmark score of 63693 across its tested workloads, while the Intel Arc A730M averages 45592. That difference is stark: AMD’s average sits roughly 39.7% higher than Intel’s. However, this average is skewed by the test sets. The AMD card was tested only in Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, all of which produced scores between 61930 and 66004. The Intel card includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1732, which pulls its average down heavily. The 3DMark result is not directly comparable to the Geekbench scores, so the average should be interpreted with caution. Still, the database shows that AMD’s card lands in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, while Intel’s lands in the 84th percentile.

The nearest rival data reinforces the positioning. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 sits within 0.1% to 0.8% of cards like the AMD Radeon RX 7600M, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP, the NVIDIA CMP 30HX, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100. Its average score of 63693 is effectively neck-and-neck with the RX 7600M’s 63775, trailing by just 0.1%. The Intel Arc A730M, by contrast, is clustered around the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, and NVIDIA RTX A2000, with deltas ranging from 1% ahead of the RTX 5090 Mobile to 1% behind the RTX A2000. The Intel card’s average of 45592 places it in a lower performance tier than the AMD card, despite its higher peak FP32 throughput.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split based on workload type. For OpenCL compute tasks, the Intel Arc A730M is the stronger choice, delivering 12% higher scores than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56. Its 12.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 25.19 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, both higher than AMD’s 8.960 TFLOPS and 17.92 TFLOPS respectively, support this result. The Intel card also draws only 80 W versus AMD’s 210 W, making it far more power-efficient per unit of compute throughput.

For Vulkan graphics workloads, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 takes the win, albeit by a smaller margin. Its 2% lead in Geekbench Vulkan, combined with its higher average benchmark score of 63693 and 89th percentile ranking, suggests it is the more consistent performer across the tested API surface. The AMD card also benefits from 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and a 2048-bit memory bus with 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth, all of which contribute to its strong graphics performance.

The Intel Arc A730M is the pick for users prioritizing OpenCL compute and power efficiency, or those who need 12 GB of memory and hardware ray tracing support. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is the pick for users who care about Vulkan performance, higher average scores, and a broader API compatibility profile that includes Metal, a test the Intel card does not have recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Intel Arc A730M wins with a score of 70352 against the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56’s 61930, a 12% advantage.

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins with a score of 66004 against the Intel Arc A730M’s 64693, a 2% margin.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has an average benchmark score of 63693, while the Intel Arc A730M has an average of 45592.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory capacity and type?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus, while the Intel Arc A730M has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The Intel Arc A730M has 12.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56’s 8.960 TFLOPS.

Q: What is the power draw difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W, while the Intel Arc A730M has a TDP of 80 W.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 uses 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Intel Arc A730M uses 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. AMD has more shading units and texture mapping units, while Intel has more render output units.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. AMD pairs 8 GB of HBM2 with a 2048-bit bus and 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Intel pairs 12 GB of GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card’s memory clock is listed at 786 MHz with 1572 Mbps effective, while Intel’s runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective.

Clock speeds favor Intel in boost state. AMD’s base clock is 1138 MHz with a boost of 1250 MHz. Intel’s base clock is 1100 MHz with a boost of 2050 MHz. The boost delta is substantial: Intel can reach 2050 MHz, a 64% higher boost clock than AMD’s 1250 MHz.

Fill rates and texture rates follow the clock and unit counts. AMD achieves 80.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 280.0 GTexel/s texture rate. Intel achieves 196.8 GPixel/s pixel rate and 393.6 GTexel/s texture rate. Intel’s pixel rate is more than double AMD’s, and its texture rate is roughly 40% higher.

Compute throughput also favors Intel. AMD delivers 8.960 TFLOPS FP32 and 17.92 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio. Intel delivers 12.60 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.19 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio.

Power and interface specs differ as well. AMD has a TDP of 210 W, no power connectors, and a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface. Intel has a TDP of 80 W, no power connector data, and a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. Both are listed as IGP slot width.

Display outputs differ. AMD provides 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Intel’s outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is built on the Vega 10 chip using the GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The Intel Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip with the Xe-HPG architecture, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference is significant: Intel’s 6 nm node allows a transistor density of 53.4 million transistors per square millimeter, while AMD’s 14 nm node achieves 25.3 million per square millimeter.

Transistor counts and die sizes reflect the different design philosophies. AMD packs 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die. Intel packs 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die. Intel fits 73.6% more transistors into a smaller die, enabled by the denser process node.

The architectures differ fundamentally in feature support. Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture includes 24 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from AMD’s GCN 5.0 design. Neither card lists tensor cores. DirectX support differs: AMD supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while Intel supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan support also differs, with AMD at version 1.3 and Intel at version 1.4. OpenGL support is identical at 4.6.

The memory architectures reflect the generational gap. AMD uses HBM2, a high-bandwidth stacked memory design, while Intel uses GDDR6, a conventional discrete memory type. The bus widths reflect this: AMD’s 2048-bit HBM2 bus versus Intel’s 192-bit GDDR6 bus. AMD’s bandwidth advantage (402.4 GB/s vs 336.0 GB/s) comes from the wider bus, despite Intel’s higher memory clock.

The API profiles also differ. AMD’s generation is listed as Radeon Pro Mac (Vega Series), indicating a Mac-oriented product line. Intel’s generation is Alchemist (Arc 7 Mobile), indicating a mobile-first design. AMD’s release date is recorded as August 13, 2017, while Intel’s release date is not recorded. Both are marked end-of-life in production status.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins in Vulkan benchmarks, posting a 2% higher score than the Intel Arc A730M. It also wins on average benchmark score, with 63693 versus 45592, and on percentile ranking, sitting at 89th versus Intel’s 84th. The AMD card’s higher shading unit count (3584 vs 3072) and TMU count (224 vs 192) contribute to its graphics workload performance. Its 2048-bit HBM2 memory bus delivers 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 19.8% higher than Intel’s 336.0 GB/s. For users running Vulkan-based applications or relying on Metal workloads, where the AMD card has recorded scores and Intel does not, the Radeon Pro Vega 56 is the stronger option.

The Intel Arc A730M wins in OpenCL compute, with a 12% higher score than the AMD card. It also wins on FP32 throughput (12.60 TFLOPS vs 8.960 TFLOPS), FP16 throughput (25.19 TFLOPS vs 17.92 TFLOPS), pixel rate (196.8 GPixel/s vs 80.00 GPixel/s), and texture rate (393.6 GTexel/s vs 280.0 GTexel/s). Its 24 ray tracing cores provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced workloads, a feature the AMD card lacks entirely. The 12 GB memory capacity is 50% larger than AMD’s 8 GB, which benefits workloads with large working sets. The 80 W TDP makes it far more power-efficient than AMD’s 210 W, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface doubles the bus bandwidth of AMD’s PCIe 3.0 x16. The Intel card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, newer API versions than AMD’s DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

The performance split is clean: AMD for Vulkan and overall average scores, Intel for OpenCL, raw compute throughput, ray tracing, memory capacity, and power efficiency.