AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs Intel Arc A570M Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is the clear performance leader in this matchup. Its average benchmark score of 78,940 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel Arc A570M sits at 58,239 in the 88th percentile. The data shows a 46% advantage for the AMD part in the single shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, and that gap is representative of a broader architectural gulf. The RX 6850M XT is the choice for users who prioritize raw compute and gaming performance in a high-end laptop, while the Arc A570M serves the segment that needs a much lower power draw at 75 W versus 165 W.

The Radeon part is an end-of-life product from the Radeon RX 6000 series, built on RDNA 2.0 with 2,560 shading units and a boost clock of 2,581 MHz. It offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A570M, in contrast, is an active product from Intel's Alchemist generation, with 2,048 shading units, a modest 1,300 MHz boost clock, and 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus for 224.0 GB/s. The performance gap is not close: the AMD part has 2.48 times the FP32 throughput (13.21 TFLOPS vs. 5.325 TFLOPS) and 2.48 times the texture rate (413.0 GTexel/s vs. 166.4 GTexel/s).

For users who can tolerate the higher power envelope, the RX 6850M XT is the only option here for high-refresh or high-detail gaming. The Arc A570M, with its 75 W TDP, is a sensible choice for thin-and-light designs where thermals and battery life outweigh peak performance. The database records no benchmark win for the Intel part, so any decision to pick it must rest on power efficiency and availability, not on measured compute superiority.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs stem from different design philosophies and process technologies. AMD's Radeon RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process, with 17,200 million transistors in a 335 mm² die. Intel's Arc A570M uses the DG2-256 chip on a 6 nm TSMC process, with 11,500 million transistors in a 269 mm² die. The AMD chip has a higher transistor density at 51.3 million per mm² versus 42.8 million per mm² for Intel. The RDNA 2.0 architecture emphasizes raw shader throughput, while Xe-HPG is Intel's dedicated graphics architecture with a focus on feature completeness.

Memory architecture differs significantly. The RX 6850M XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 with a 192-bit interface and 2250 MHz memory clock (18 Gbps effective), yielding 432.0 GB/s. The Arc A570M uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus and 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), yielding 224.0 GB/s. That is exactly half the bandwidth of the AMD part, a critical deficit in memory-heavy workloads. The AMD GPU also has more execution resources: 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, against Intel's 2,048 shaders, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing cores differ as well: 40 on the AMD side versus 16 on the Intel side.

Clock behavior is another differentiator. The AMD part runs a base clock of 2,321 MHz and a game clock of 2,463 MHz, boosting to 2,581 MHz. Intel's base clock is just 900 MHz, with a 1,300 MHz boost. This 1,281 MHz boost gap explains much of the compute difference, as the AMD GPU sustains far higher operating frequencies. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 4.0 x16 for AMD, PCIe 4.0 x8 for Intel. Both are integrated into a portable device (IGP slot width) with no power connectors listed, and both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has better raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. It delivers 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 versus 5.325 TFLOPS on the Intel Arc A570M, a 2.48x advantage. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD scores 85,040 against 58,239 for Intel, a 46% lead.

Q: How do memory capacities and bandwidth compare?

A: The AMD part has 12 GB of GDDR6 with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel part has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 224.0 GB/s. The AMD GPU offers exactly twice the bandwidth and 50% more memory capacity.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The Intel Arc A570M has a 75 W TDP, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has a 165 W TDP. The Intel part draws less than half the power, but the recorded benchmarks show no performance win for it.

Q: What are the release timelines for these GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT was released on 2022-01-03 and is end-of-life. The Intel Arc A570M was released on 2023-07-31 and remains active in production.

Q: Which GPU has higher ray tracing core count?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has 40 ray tracing cores. The Intel Arc A570M has 16 ray tracing cores. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, so ray tracing is enabled on both, but the AMD part has 2.5x more RT hardware.

Q: How do the GPUs rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT sits in the 92nd percentile, with an average score of 78,940. The Intel Arc A570M sits in the 88th percentile, with an average score of 58,239.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT | Intel Arc A570M |

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

| Process node | 7 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 17,200 million | 11,500 million |

| Die size | 335 mm² | 269 mm² |

| Transistor density | 51.3M / mm² | 42.8M / mm² |

| Base clock | 2321 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2581 MHz | 1300 MHz |

| Game clock | 2463 MHz | None |

| Memory clock | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) |

| Memory size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory bus | 192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2560 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 160 | 128 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| Ray tracing cores | 40 | 16 |

| Pixel rate | 165.2 GPixel/s | 83.20 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 413.0 GTexel/s | 166.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 13.21 TFLOPS | 5.325 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1) | 10.65 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 165 W | 75 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Release date | 2022-01-03 | 2023-07-31 |

| Production status | End-of-life | Active |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 85,040, while the Intel Arc A570M scores 58,239. That is a 46% delta in favor of the AMD part, with a clear winner in the `winsA` column. The AMD GPU leads in every recorded metric that can be compared.

The compute gap is stark. The AMD part produces 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32, versus 5.325 TFLOPS for Intel. That means the Radeon GPU can process more than twice as many floating-point operations per second. The texture rate follows the same pattern: 413.0 GTexel/s versus 166.4 GTexel/s. The pixel rate tells a similar story, 165.2 GPixel/s versus 83.20 GPixel/s, which is a 98.6% advantage for AMD. The memory bandwidth differential is even more pronounced, 432.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s, exactly double.

The only area where the Intel part shows a relative advantage is power consumption. At 75 W, the Arc A570M uses 45.5% of the AMD GPU's 165 W TDP. However, the performance per watt comparison is not favorable to Intel, because the AMD part delivers 2.48x the FP32 throughput while drawing 2.2x the power. The efficiency ratio is roughly balanced, but the absolute performance gap is what matters for high-end workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins in every performance category recorded in the database. It leads in compute, memory bandwidth, pixel throughput, and texture throughput. The 92nd percentile ranking versus the 88th percentile for Intel confirms its superior standing among all GPUs. The nearest rivals for the AMD part include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (within 0.6%), the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.8% behind), and the GeForce RTX 5090 (1.1% behind), while it leads the RTX 5090 D by 1.6%. The Intel part's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (0.3% behind), the RX 5600 OEM (0.3% ahead), and the NVIDIA P102-100 (0.5% behind). This places the Intel GPU in a much lower performance tier.

The AMD GPU is the pick for gaming laptops where the chassis can handle 165 W of thermal load. It offers 12 GB of VRAM, which is better suited to high-resolution textures, and its 432.0 GB/s bandwidth prevents memory bottlenecks in modern titles. The 40 ray tracing cores provide a solid foundation for DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, and the boost clock of 2,581 MHz ensures sustained performance.

The Intel Arc A570M wins in the power-constrained segment. Its 75 W TDP makes it viable for thinner laptops where the AMD part would be thermally impractical. The 6 nm process and 269 mm² die show a modern manufacturing approach, but the low base clock of 900 MHz and the 128-bit memory bus limit its ceiling. For users who need a discrete GPU with modest power draw and do not demand top-tier frame rates, the Arc A570M is the reasonable option. However, the data shows no benchmark where it beats the RX 6850M XT, so any choice in its favor must be based on the power envelope, not on performance.