AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Intel Arc A730M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a complete sweep for the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT across all three shared benchmark tests. The largest margin appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD card scores 205,998 against the Intel Arc A730M's 70,352, a delta of 192.8%. This is not a close contest; the AMD part more than doubles the mobile Intel GPU in raw compute throughput as measured by that workload.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT records 165,212 points versus 64,693 for the Intel Arc A730M, a 155.4% advantage. Vulkan is often a more direct representation of gaming API performance, and the gap here closely tracks the OpenCL result, suggesting the AMD card's advantage is consistent across different compute and graphics abstraction layers.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a modern DirectX 12 workload, shows the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT at 4,235 points against the Intel Arc A730M's 1,732 points, a 144.5% lead. While this is the smallest percentage delta of the three tests, it still represents the AMD card scoring roughly 2.4 times higher. The Intel part's score of 1,732 points places it in a fundamentally different performance tier.

Looking at the average benchmark scores in the database, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT sits at 58,392, while the Intel Arc A730M averages 45,592. That is a 28% difference in the aggregate metric, though the head-to-head deltas are far larger, indicating that the Intel part's average is pulled up by other tests not shared between the two. The AMD card's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA P102-100 (58,528, a 0.2% difference), the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657, a 0.5% difference), and the Intel Arc A570M (58,239, a 0.3% difference). The Intel Arc A730M, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384, a 0.5% difference) and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972, a 0.8% difference).

The percentile rankings confirm the tier separation. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT sits at the 88th percentile against all GPUs in the database, while the Intel Arc A730M sits at the 84th percentile. A four-percentile gap is meaningful, but the actual score deltas in shared tests show a much wider chasm than the percentile figures alone suggest.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, part of the Navi II (RX 6000) generation. It is manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5 million per mm². The Intel Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip based on Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist (Arc 7 Mobile) generation. It is built on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC, with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, giving a slightly higher transistor density of 53.4 million per mm².

The AMD card has the larger chip in every physical dimension that matters here: more transistors, bigger die, and higher overall power draw. The 7 nm process is older than Intel's 6 nm node, yet AMD still fits 5,100 more million transistors into the Navi 21 package.

The compute resources differ substantially. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT carries 5,120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs. The Intel Arc A730M has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. AMD also leads in ray tracing hardware with 80 RT cores versus Intel's 24. Neither GPU uses tensor cores, so that field is empty for both.

Clock speeds tell a complementary story. The AMD card has a base clock of 1860 MHz and a boost clock of 2310 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2100 MHz. The Intel part operates at a 1100 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost. The AMD card's higher clock speeds, combined with more shading units, produce far higher peak throughputs: 23.65 TFLOPS FP32 and 47.31 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1) for AMD, versus 12.60 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.19 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1) for Intel. Pixel rates follow the same pattern, with AMD at 295.7 GPixel/s and 739.1 GTexel/s, against Intel's 196.8 GPixel/s and 393.6 GTexel/s.

Memory systems diverge too. AMD uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Intel uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, at 336.0 GB/s. Memory clocks are rated at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for AMD and 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for Intel. The AMD card's memory bandwidth is 71% higher than Intel's, which matters in bandwidth-sensitive workloads.

The power envelope is where the two parts could not be more different. AMD lists a TDP of 335 W, requires a triple-slot cooler, 2x 8-pin power connectors, and a 700 W suggested PSU. Intel lists an 80 W TDP and classifies the slot width as IGP, meaning it is integrated into a mobile platform rather than a discrete card. There is no power connector field, no PSU suggestion, and no dimensions recorded. The Intel part is a portable device dependent display output, while AMD uses 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a over PCIe 4.1 x16 for both.

The Verdict

The data points to a one-sided recommendation for desktop builders. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins all three shared benchmarks by margins between 144.5% and 192.8%. It averages 58,392 points against Intel's 45,592 in the database average, and sits at the 88th percentile against all GPUs. The Intel Arc A730M, at 84th percentile and with only 3,072 shading units, is a mobile part limited to 80 W TDP.

For a desktop build where power consumption is not the primary concern, the AMD card is the clear pick. It has more shading units, more RT cores, double the memory size, higher bandwidth, faster clocks, and a 2310 MHz boost. The AMD card's 335 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU are the only major concessions. No launch MSRP exists for the Intel Arc A730M, so no direct price comparison is available in the database.

For a laptop or mobile system, the Intel Arc A730M is the only viable option between the two given its IGP slot width and portable device dependent display output. The AMD card does not fit in that form factor. The Intel part's lower TDP and 80 W rating, combined with 12 GB VRAM, make it a potential candidate for compact mobile systems. The Intel Arc A730M's boost clock of 2050 MHz and 6 nm process are its main technical advantages.

The verdict is simple: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT for performance, the Intel Arc A730M for mobile deployment, strictly from the recorded data.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable field. Process node as well as transistor count, die size, and transistor density are all distinct, with AMD at 26,800 million transistors on a 7 nm node, versus 21,700 million on 6 nm, and Intel has a higher density, 53.4 million per mm², while AMD has 51.5 million per mm². Clock speeds vary, base clock at 1860 MHz for AMD and 1100 MHz for Intel. Boost clock at 2310 MHz for AMD and 2050 MHz for Intel. Game clock is null for Intel, memory clock at 2250 MHz for AMD and 1750 MHz for Intel. Memory size is 16 GB for AMD and 12 GB for Intel. Memory type, GDDR6 for both, with bus width 256-bit for AMD and 192-bit for Intel. Bandwidth is 576.0 GB/s for AMD, 336.0 GB/s for Intel. Shading units at 5120 for AMD and 3072 for Intel. TMUs at 320 for AMD and 192 for Intel. ROPs at 192 for AMD and 96 for Intel. RT cores at 80 for AMD and 24 for Intel. Pixel rate is 295.7 GPixel/s for AMD, 196.8 GPixel/s for Intel. Texture rate is 739.2 GTexel/s for AMD and 393.6 GTexel/s for Intel. FP32 is 23.65 TFLOPS for AMD and 12.60 TFLOPS for Intel. FP16 is 47.31 TFLOPS for AMD and 25.19 TFLOPS for Intel, both at 2:1 ratio. TDP is 335 W for AMD and 80 W for Intel. Slot width is triple-slot for AMD and IGP for Intel. Power connectors are 2x 8-pin for AMD and null for Intel. Suggested PSU is 700 W for AMD and null for Intel. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a for AMD, and portable device dependent for Intel. Dimensions differ, AMD has 267 mm length, 120 mm height, and 50 mm width, Intel has null for all. Production status is end-of-life for both. Release date is 2022-05-09T17:00:00.000Z for AMD and null for Intel. Launch MSRP is 1,099 USD for AMD and null for Intel. Predecessor is Navi for AMD and null for Intel, successor is Navi III for AMD and null for Intel.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has an average score of 58,392, while the Intel Arc A730M averages 45,592.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The AMD card scores 4,235 points versus 1,732 for the Intel Arc A730M, a 144.5% lead.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has a TDP of 335 W. The Intel Arc A730M has a TDP of 80 W.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel Arc A730M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Intel Arc A730M have more shading units than the AMD card?

A: No, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has 5,120 shading units, while the Intel Arc A730M has 3,072.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT sits at the 88th percentile against all GPUs. The Intel Arc A730M sits at the 84th percentile.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins every shared benchmark in the database. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 192.8%, in Geekbench Vulkan by 155.4%, and in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 144.5%. It also wins on every major architectural metric: more shading units, more TMUs, more ROPs, more RT cores, higher clock speeds, more memory, wider bus, higher bandwidth, higher pixel rate, higher texture rate, higher FP32, higher FP16, and a higher average benchmark score. The AMD card's 88th percentile versus the Intel part's 84th percentile further confirms its position. The AMD card is for desktop builds where the 335 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU are acceptable. It has a launch MSRP of 1,099 USD. The AMD card is end-of-life but remains a high-end option in the database.

The Intel Arc A730M wins only in the categories where AMD cannot compete: power consumption at 80 W TDP, portability with an IGP slot width, and a smaller physical footprint with no recorded dimensions. It uses a newer 6 nm process at TSMC and achieves a higher transistor density of 53.4 million per mm² versus AMD's 51.5 million per mm². The Intel part's 12 GB of VRAM is still substantial for a mobile GPU, though it trails the AMD card's 16 GB. The Arc A730M's boost clock of 2050 MHz is within 260 MHz of the AMD card's 2310 MHz, despite having fewer shading units. For a mobile system that needs DirectX 12 Ultimate support with 12 GB GDDR6, the Intel Arc A730M fits. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 70,352 and Vulkan score of 64,693 are low relative to AMD but usable for a part rated at 80 W TDP. The Intel Arc A730M wins the mobile use case, nothing else in the data.