AMD Radeon RX 7700 vs Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics Comparison

# Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the clear winner across every measured workload in this comparison. The database records one head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 7700 delivers a score of 106,028 against the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics' 14,315, a 640.7% advantage. That is not a close race; it is a different performance class entirely.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RX 7700 has results in nine tests, while the Intel part only has a single recorded score. The RX 7700 produces a Passmark G3D score of 20,974, a Passmark GPU Compute score of 10,963, and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,865. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has no entries for these tests in the database, so its only measurable win condition would be in low-power or integrated scenarios, but even there the benchmark data does not support a victory. The Intel part's 56th percentile versus the RX 7700's 58th percentile places them close in overall GPU population ranking, but that is misleading: the RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15,852 is 1,537 points higher than the Intel part's 14,315.

The RX 7700 wins on raw performance, feature completeness, and future-proofing. The Intel Iris Xe MAX wins only on power draw and physical footprint, but those are not benchmark wins. In every recorded test, the AMD part takes the top slot.

# Architecture Differences

The RX 7700 is built on AMD's RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Navi 32 chip with the codename "Wheat Nas" and a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 28,100 million transistors onto a 346 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 81.2 million per square millimeter. The Intel Iris Xe MAX uses Intel's Generation 12.1 architecture with the DG1 chip, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process, with a die size of 95 mm² and no listed transistor count. The process node difference is significant: 5 nm versus 10 nm means the AMD part can fit far more logic in the same area, which partially explains the massive performance gap.

The RX 7700 has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It also includes 40 ray tracing cores. The Intel part has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores listed. The compute capability difference is stark: the RX 7700 delivers 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.18 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio), while the Intel part manages 2.534 TFLOPS FP32 and 5.069 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). That is roughly a tenfold advantage in FP32 for the AMD card.

Memory architecture diverges completely. The RX 7700 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel part uses 4 GB of LPDDR4X on a 128-bit bus, yielding 68.26 GB/s. That is over nine times the bandwidth for the AMD card. The RX 7700 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Intel part uses PCIe 4.0 x8, halving the available interface bandwidth.

API support also differs. The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Intel part supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX feature level difference, 12_2 versus 12_1, means the RX 7700 can handle mesh shaders and other advanced DX12 Ultimate features that the Intel part cannot.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head test in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 106,028, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics scores 14,315. The delta is 640.7% in favor of the AMD card. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a sevenfold-plus performance advantage in a compute-oriented workload.

To contextualize this, consider the nearest rivals. The RX 7700's closest competitors by average score include the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15,862 (0.1% above the RX 7700's 15,852 average) and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 at 16,014 (1% above). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti sits at 16,129, which is 1.7% higher than the RX 7700's average. That means the RX 7700 is within a couple of percentage points of an RTX 3060 Ti in the database's aggregate scoring, yet it absolutely crushes the Intel Iris Xe MAX by 640.7% in the single shared test.

The Intel part's nearest rivals tell a different story. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 scores 14,352, a 0.3% delta over the Intel part. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti scores 14,277, 0.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN scores 14,373, 0.4% higher. So the Intel Iris Xe MAX is bracketed by decade-old discrete GPUs and integrated graphics, whereas the RX 7700 is fighting modern mid-range to upper-mid-range cards. The performance gap between the two products in this comparison is not incremental; it spans multiple generations of GPU architecture.

Other RX 7700 benchmark scores reinforce the pattern. Passmark G3D at 20,974, Passmark GPU Compute at 10,963, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 2,865 are all far beyond what the Intel part could plausibly achieve given its single 14,315 OpenCL score. The Intel part has no recorded DirectX 9, 10, 11, or 12 Passmark scores, no G2D score, and no 3DMark result, so there is no evidence in the database that it can compete in any of those workloads.

# Specification Differences

The two products differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 7700 uses a 5 nm process at TSMC with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die. The Intel part uses a 10 nm process at Intel with an unlisted transistor count on a 95 mm² die. Clock speeds: the RX 7700 has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a boost of 2459 MHz, and a game clock of 2041 MHz. The Intel part has a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks: the RX 7700 runs at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective), while the Intel part runs at 2133 MHz (4.3 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration: 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus for the RX 7700, versus 4 GB LPDDR4X on a 128-bit bus for the Intel part. Bandwidth is 624.1 GB/s versus 68.26 GB/s. Shading units: 2,560 versus 768. TMUs: 160 versus 48. ROPs: 96 versus 24. Ray tracing cores: 40 versus none. Pixel rate: 236.1 GPixel/s versus 39.60 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 393.4 GTexel/s versus 79.20 GTexel/s. FP32: 25.18 TFLOPS versus 2.534 TFLOPS. FP16: 25.18 TFLOPS versus 5.069 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also diverge. The RX 7700 has a TDP of 200 W, requires a 550 W suggested PSU, uses two 8-pin power connectors, and is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm long, 135 mm high, and 50 mm wide. The Intel part has a TDP of 25 W, a suggested PSU of 200 W, no power connectors (it is an IGP), and no listed dimensions. The RX 7700 has display outputs: one HDMI 2.1a, two DisplayPort 2.1, and one USB Type-C. The Intel part has no display outputs, meaning it must drive displays through a host platform.

Production status: the RX 7700 is Active, released on 2025-09-17, with a predecessor of Navi II and a successor of Navi IV. The Intel part is End-of-life, released on 2020-10-30, with a predecessor of Graphics and a successor of Alchemist. The RX 7700 is a current product; the Intel part is discontinued.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 106,028 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 640.7% higher than the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics' 14,315.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The RX 7700 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has 4 GB of LPDDR4X on a 128-bit bus with 68.26 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Intel Iris Xe MAX support ray tracing?

A: No. The Intel part has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 7700 has 40 ray tracing cores.

Q: What DirectX versions do they support?

A: The RX 7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Intel Iris Xe MAX supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RX 7700 has a TDP of 200 W and requires a 550 W suggested PSU. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has a TDP of 25 W and a 200 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which GPU has a better percentile ranking?

A: The RX 7700 ranks in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX ranks in the 56th percentile. The RX 7700's average benchmark score is 15,852 versus 14,315 for the Intel part.

# The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 outperforms the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics by 640.7% in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL. It has more than three times the shading units, ten times the FP32 throughput, nine times the memory bandwidth, and four times the VRAM capacity. The RX 7700 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and ray tracing, features the Intel part lacks entirely.

Who should pick the Intel Iris Xe MAX? Only those constrained by a 25 W power envelope and no need for discrete display outputs. It is an integrated part with no outputs, meaning it cannot drive a monitor directly. Its end-of-life status and lack of benchmark coverage make it a poor choice for any modern workload. It sits near the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti in average score, which are older or lower-tier parts.

Who should pick the AMD Radeon RX 7700? Anyone building a gaming or compute system that needs current-generation features. It is an active product with a 200 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, and PCIe 4.0 x16 connectivity. Its average benchmark score of 15,852 places it within 1.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 9060, making it a competitive mid-range option. The RX 7700 wins every recorded benchmark in this comparison, and the only question is whether your system can accommodate its power and physical requirements.

The verdict: unless your use case is limited to ultra-low-power integrated graphics, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the only rational choice from the recorded data.