AMD Radeon HD 6950 vs Intel Arc A310 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only common benchmark recorded for both cards is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The Intel Arc A310 scores 30,607 points, while the AMD Radeon HD 6950 manages 6,210. That is a 392.9% advantage for the Arc A310, a nearly five-fold performance gap in compute throughput.

This is not a close contest. The Arc A310's OpenCL score places it in the 40th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the HD 6950 sits in the 36th percentile. The margin between them, however, is far larger than the percentile difference suggests. The Arc A310's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 7,550, whereas the HD 6950's average is 6,210.

Looking at the Arc A310's other recorded results gives context for its overall standing. Its Passmark G3D score is 5,433, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 2,157. In the older DirectX APIs, it records 69 in Passmark DirectX 9, 33 in DirectX 11, 31 in DirectX 10, and 29 in DirectX 12. Its Passmark G2D score is 625. The HD 6950 has no comparable entries in these tests, so the only direct head-to-head measurement remains OpenCL.

The nearest rivals in the database further illustrate where the Arc A310 sits. It trails the AMD Radeon R7 250 by 0.1% and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 by 0.4%, while leading the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 by 1% and the AMD Radeon HD 8850M by 1.4%. These are all close margins, indicating the Arc A310 competes in a tight cluster around its average score. The HD 6950's nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W600, which it trails by 0.2%, and the NVIDIA Quadro K620, which it trails by 1.1%. Two NVIDIA entries, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 and the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER, both score 6,270, putting them 0.9% ahead of the HD 6950.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc A310 wins the only direct comparison, and it wins by a substantial margin. In OpenCL compute, its 30,607 score against 6,210 represents a 392.9% lead. This makes the Arc A310 the clear choice for any workload that leverages OpenCL compute acceleration. Its additional benchmark results, including a Passmark G3D score of 5,433 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 2,157, suggest broader applicability across modern rendering and compute tasks.

The HD 6950 has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data. Its single benchmark entry, the Geekbench OpenCL score of 6,210, is its only measurable data point. In every recorded category where both cards have data, the Arc A310 leads.

For users focused on legacy DirectX workloads, the Arc A310's Passmark scores show it handles older APIs, with its best legacy result in DirectX 9 at 69. The HD 6950 has no comparable measurements, so no direct comparison is possible in these older APIs. However, the HD 6950's architecture supports DirectX 11.2, which may be relevant for software that requires that specific API version. The Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, a far more modern feature set.

The use-case split is therefore straightforward. The Arc A310 dominates in modern compute and general 3D performance. The HD 6950's only advantage is its API compatibility with DirectX 11.2, which could matter for specific legacy applications. In every measured performance category, the Arc A310 wins.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from entirely different eras and design philosophies. The Intel Arc A310 uses the DG2-128 chip built on the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist generation (Arc 3). It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 7,200 million transistors packed into a 157 mm² die. That works out to a transistor density of 45.9 million per square millimeter. The HD 6950, by contrast, uses the Cayman chip on the TeraScale 3 architecture, part of the Northern Islands generation (HD 6900). It is built on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC, with 2,640 million transistors on a much larger 389 mm² die, giving a density of just 6.8 million per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The Arc A310 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 124.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 6950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s. Despite the HD 6950's wider bus and higher raw bandwidth, the Arc A310's memory runs at 15.5 Gbps effective, far faster than the HD 6950's 5 Gbps effective.

The compute configurations tell a similar story of generational change. The Arc A310 has 768 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. It also includes 6 ray tracing cores. The HD 6950 has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but no ray tracing cores. The HD 6950's raw shader count is higher, yet its FP32 throughput of 2.253 TFLOPS is lower than the Arc A310's 2.688 TFLOPS. The Arc A310 also supports FP16 at 5.376 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the HD 6950 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Pixel and texture rates favor different aspects of each card. The Arc A310 achieves 28.00 GPixel/s and 56.00 GTexel/s. The HD 6950 achieves 25.60 GPixel/s and 70.40 GTexel/s. The HD 6950 has a higher texture rate, but the Arc A310 has a higher pixel rate.

Power and physical characteristics are starkly different. The Arc A310 has a TDP of 30 W, is single-slot, requires no power connectors, and needs only a 200 W suggested PSU. The HD 6950 has a TDP of 200 W, is dual-slot, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU. The HD 6950 measures 286 mm in length, 126 mm in height, and 42 mm in width.

The bus interfaces also differ. The Arc A310 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the HD 6950 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are another generational leap: the Arc A310 has four mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, while the HD 6950 has two DVI, one HDMI 1.4a, and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs.

API support reflects the architectural gap. The Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 6950 supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support recorded.

The release dates are separated by nearly twelve years. The HD 6950 was released in December 2010, while the Arc A310 arrived in October 2022. The HD 6950's predecessor is Evergreen, and its successor is Southern Islands. The Arc A310's predecessor is Xe Graphics, and its successor is Battlemage. Both cards are end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The Intel Arc A310 scores 30,607 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to 6,210 for the AMD Radeon HD 6950. That is a 392.9% advantage for the Arc A310.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The Intel Arc A310 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus with 124.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does either card support ray tracing?

A: The Intel Arc A310 includes 6 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 has no ray tracing cores recorded.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Arc A310 has a TDP of 30 W, needs no power connectors, and requires a 200 W suggested PSU. The HD 6950 has a TDP of 200 W, requires two 6-pin connectors, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The Arc A310 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 6950 supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support.

Q: How do these cards rank among all GPUs?

A: The Arc A310 is in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 6950 is in the 36th percentile. The Arc A310's average benchmark score is 7,550, and the HD 6950's is 6,210.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category.

The process node is 6 nm for the Arc A310 and 40 nm for the HD 6950. Transistor counts are 7,200 million versus 2,640 million. Die size is 157 mm² versus 389 mm². Transistor density is 45.9 million per mm² versus 6.8 million per mm².

Memory differs in size, type, bus width, and bandwidth: 4 GB GDDR6 on 64-bit with 124.0 GB/s versus 2 GB GDDR5 on 256-bit with 160.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 15.5 Gbps effective for the Arc A310 and 5 Gbps effective for the HD 6950.

Shading units are 768 versus 1,408. TMUs are 32 versus 88. ROPs are 16 versus 32. The Arc A310 has 6 ray tracing cores; the HD 6950 has none. FP32 throughput is 2.688 TFLOPS versus 2.253 TFLOPS. FP16 is 5.376 TFLOPS for the Arc A310, with no FP16 recorded for the HD 6950.

Pixel rate is 28.00 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 56.00 GTexel/s versus 70.40 GTexel/s.

TDP is 30 W versus 200 W. Slot width is single-slot versus dual-slot. The Arc A310 has no power connectors; the HD 6950 has two 6-pin connectors. Suggested PSU is 200 W versus 550 W.

Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 versus 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.

DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 11.2 (11_0). OpenGL is 4.6 versus 4.4. Vulkan is 1.4 for the Arc A310, with no Vulkan support for the HD 6950.

The HD 6950 has recorded dimensions of 286 mm length, 126 mm height, and 42 mm width. The Arc A310 has no recorded dimensions. The HD 6950 has a launch MSRP of 299 USD. The Arc A310 has no launch MSRP recorded.