AMD Radeon RX 6450M vs Intel Arc A380E Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural differences between the AMD Radeon RX 6450M and the Intel Arc A380E?

A: The RX 6450M uses AMD’s RDNA 2.0 architecture on the Navi 24 chip, built on a 6 nm process at TSMC with 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die. The Arc A380E uses Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture on the DG2-128 chip, also on a 6 nm TSMC process, but with 7,200 million transistors on a larger 157 mm² die.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ between these two GPUs?

A: The RX 6450M has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A380E has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus, delivering 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RX 6450M has a TDP of 50 W and uses no power connectors, configured as an IGP. The Arc A380E has a TDP of 75 W, also uses no power connectors, but requires a recommended 250 W power supply and occupies a single-slot form factor.

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The Arc A380E leads in FP32 performance with 4.096 TFLOPS versus 3.779 TFLOPS for the RX 6450M. The Arc A380E also leads in FP16 with 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 7.557 TFLOPS (2:1).

Q: How do the shading units and texture units compare?

A: The Arc A380E has 1,024 shading units and 64 texture units, while the RX 6450M has 768 shading units and 48 texture units. Both have 32 ROPs.

Q: What are the release dates and production status for each?

A: The RX 6450M was released on January 3, 2023, and remains Active in production. The Arc A380E was released on March 31, 2024, and is marked as End-of-life, with its successor listed as Battlemage.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 6450M and the Intel Arc A380E represent two different approaches to low-power graphics. The RX 6450M is built on AMD’s RDNA 2.0 architecture, using the Navi 24 chip. This is a compact design: 5,400 million transistors packed into a 107 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 50.5M per mm². The Arc A380E uses Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture on the DG2-128 chip, which is physically larger at 157 mm² and carries 7,200 million transistors, though its density is slightly lower at 45.9M per mm². Both are fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, so the manufacturing node is identical.

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The RX 6450M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, providing 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A380E has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, increasing bandwidth to 186.0 GB/s. That extra memory capacity and bandwidth gives the Intel part a clear advantage in memory-heavy workloads.

Compute resources also favor the Arc A380E. It has 1,024 shading units and 64 texture units, versus 768 shading units and 48 texture units on the RX 6450M. Both GPUs have 32 ROPs, but the RX 6450M has 12 ray tracing cores, while the Arc A380E has 8. The RX 6450M compensates with higher boost clocks: 2460 MHz boost and 2220 MHz game clock, compared to the Arc A380E’s flat 2000 MHz base and boost. The RX 6450M also has a higher pixel rate at 78.72 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s for the Arc A380E, though the Arc A380E leads in texture rate at 128.0 GTexel/s versus 118.1 GTexel/s.

The interface and power profiles differ as well. The RX 6450M uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 connection and is classified as an IGP with no slot width. The Arc A380E uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and is a single-slot card measuring 254 mm in length, 127 mm in height, and 20 mm in width. The RX 6450M draws 50 W, while the Arc A380E draws 75 W, and the Intel card suggests a 250 W power supply. Display outputs also differ: the RX 6450M is portable-device dependent, while the Arc A380E offers 4x DisplayPort 2.0 outputs.

Where Each One Wins

The data indicates a split based on workload type. The AMD Radeon RX 6450M wins in pixel throughput and clock speed. Its 78.72 GPixel/s pixel rate is significantly higher than the Arc A380E’s 64.00 GPixel/s, which means it can fill framebuffers faster in rasterization-heavy scenarios. The higher boost clock of 2460 MHz also gives it an edge in latency-sensitive tasks where clock speed matters more than raw core count.

The Intel Arc A380E wins in compute throughput and memory capacity. Its 4.096 TFLOPS FP32 performance is ahead of the RX 6450M’s 3.779 TFLOPS, and its FP16 output of 8.192 TFLOPS beats the RX 6450M’s 7.557 TFLOPS. The 6 GB memory capacity and 186.0 GB/s bandwidth allow it to handle larger textures and datasets without hitting memory limits, which the 4 GB RX 6450M may struggle with in modern titles or compute workloads.

Texture-heavy workloads also favor the Arc A380E, as its 128.0 GTexel/s texture rate exceeds the RX 6450M’s 118.1 GTexel/s. The Intel card also has more shading units (1,024 versus 768) and more texture units (64 versus 48), so any workload that scales with those resources will show a measurable advantage. The RX 6450M counters with more ray tracing cores (12 versus 8), which suggests it may handle ray-traced effects with better parallel efficiency relative to its core count.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measured specification. The RX 6450M uses the Navi 24 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the Arc A380E uses DG2-128 with Xe-HPG. Transistor counts are 5,400 million versus 7,200 million, and die sizes are 107 mm² versus 157 mm². The RX 6450M has higher transistor density at 50.5M per mm² versus 45.9M per mm².

Clock speeds: the RX 6450M runs at 2000 MHz base, 2460 MHz boost, and 2220 MHz game clock. The Arc A380E runs at a flat 2000 MHz base and boost, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks are similar: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the RX 6450M versus 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) for the Arc A380E.

Memory: 4 GB GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 128.0 GB/s bandwidth for the RX 6450M, versus 6 GB GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 186.0 GB/s bandwidth for the Arc A380E.

Compute units: 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 12 RT cores for the RX 6450M; 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 8 RT cores for the Arc A380E.

Rates: the RX 6450M has 78.72 GPixel/s pixel rate and 118.1 GTexel/s texture rate, while the Arc A380E has 64.00 GPixel/s and 128.0 GTexel/s. FP32 is 3.779 TFLOPS for the RX 6450M and 4.096 TFLOPS for the Arc A380E. FP16 is 7.557 TFLOPS versus 8.192 TFLOPS, both at 2:1 ratio.

Power and form factor: 50 W TDP with IGP slot width and no power connectors for the RX 6450M; 75 W TDP with single-slot width, no power connectors, and a suggested 250 W PSU for the Arc A380E. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x4 for the RX 6450M and PCIe 4.0 x8 for the Arc A380E. Display outputs are portable-device dependent for the AMD card and 4x DisplayPort 2.0 for the Intel card.

The Arc A380E has a physical footprint of 254 mm by 127 mm by 20 mm, while the RX 6450M has no listed dimensions. Production status differs: Active for the RX 6450M, End-of-life for the Arc A380E, with the latter having Battlemage as a listed successor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark data shows no direct head-to-head scores between the two GPUs, but the specification analysis provides clear comparative signals. The Arc A380E leads by 8.4% in FP32 compute (4.096 TFLOPS versus 3.779 TFLOPS). That margin expands to 8.4% again in FP16 (8.192 TFLOPS versus 7.557 TFLOPS). These are small but consistent leads in raw math throughput.

The memory bandwidth gap is larger. The Arc A380E delivers 186.0 GB/s, which is 45.3% higher than the RX 6450M’s 128.0 GB/s. The 6 GB capacity versus 4 GB also means the Intel card can hold 50% more data on-board. This difference becomes decisive in scenes with large textures or in compute kernels that spill beyond 4 GB.

The RX 6450M counters with a 23.0% lead in pixel rate (78.72 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s). Its boost clock of 2460 MHz is 23.0% higher than the Arc A380E’s 2000 MHz. These metrics indicate the AMD card can push pixels through the rasterizer faster, which matters in traditional rendering paths that are fill-rate limited.

Texture rate tells a different story. The Arc A380E achieves 128.0 GTexel/s, which is 8.4% ahead of the RX 6450M’s 118.1 GTexel/s. This is a smaller advantage than the memory bandwidth lead, but it aligns with the Intel card’s higher TMU count (64 versus 48).

Ray tracing resources favor the RX 6450M with 12 RT cores versus 8, a 50% advantage in dedicated ray tracing hardware count. However, the Arc A380E’s higher shading unit count (1,024 versus 768) may compensate in hybrid workloads that mix raster and ray tracing.

Both GPUs share the same API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This means software compatibility is equal at the API level, and differences in performance will come down to hardware resource allocation.

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 6450M is the pick for systems where power draw and pixel throughput are the priority. Its 50 W TDP is lower than the Arc A380E’s 75 W, and its IGP form factor means it can fit into portable devices without dedicated slot space. The higher pixel rate and boost clock give it an edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios, and the 12 RT cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing that the Intel card lacks in count.

The Intel Arc A380E is the pick for workloads that demand more memory and compute throughput. Its 6 GB frame buffer with 186.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantially more capable than the RX 6450M’s 4 GB and 128.0 GB/s, making it better suited for modern game assets or compute tasks that exceed 4 GB. The 4.096 TFLOPS FP32 and 8.192 TFLOPS FP16 outputs are higher than the AMD card, and the single-slot form factor with 4x DisplayPort 2.0 outputs makes it a viable option for multi-display setups or embedded systems.

The RX 6450M remains in production and was released earlier, while the Arc A380E is end-of-life with a successor already named. That suggests the Intel card is a transitional product, while the AMD part has a longer support horizon. For a builder who needs a low-power, high-pixel-rate GPU for a compact device, the RX 6450M is the safer choice. For one who needs maximum memory bandwidth and compute density in a single-slot card, the Arc A380E delivers more raw capability despite its shorter lifecycle.

The data does not show a single winner across all metrics. The RX 6450M wins on pixel rate, clock speed, RT core count, and power efficiency. The Arc A380E wins on shading units, texture units, memory capacity, memory bandwidth, FP32, FP16, and texture rate. The choice hinges on which set of advantages matches the target application.