Intel Arc A380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE Comparison

# Intel Arc A380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE: Database Analysis

The Intel Arc A380 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum in this comparison. The Arc A380 is a modern, forward-looking part with a 6 nm process node and a massive transistor count, while the GTX 560 SE is a legacy Fermi 2.0 part from the GeForce 500 generation. The benchmark data shows a decisive overall victory for the Intel part, with the A380 winning the only direct head-to-head test by an enormous margin. However, the comparison is not merely about speed; the two cards represent fundamentally different eras of graphics hardware design.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the Intel Arc A380?

A: The average benchmark score for the Intel Arc A380 in the database is 8558. This places it at the 44th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: How does the Arc A380 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W5170M with an average score of 8595, which is 0.4% higher than the A380. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M scores 8462, which is 1.1% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce MX330 scores 8458 (1.2% lower), and the AMD Radeon 880M scores 8436 (1.4% lower).

Q: What is the top head-to-head benchmark result for the Arc A380?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Arc A380 scored 38224 while the GTX 560 SE scored 7171. The Arc A380 won by a margin of 433%.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for these cards?

A: The Intel Arc A380 has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE has 288 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs.

Q: What memory specifications do these cards use?

A: The Arc A380 uses 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus, delivering 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 560 SE uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 91.87 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What are the compute specifications?

A: The Arc A380 has 8 ray tracing cores and a FP32 performance of 4.198 TFLOPS. Its FP16 rate is twice that, at 8.397 TFLOPS (2:1). The GTX 560 SE delivers 847.9 GFLOPS FP32.

Where Each One Wins

The database contains only one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two cards. That test, Geekbench OpenCL, is a clean sweep for the Intel Arc A380. The A380 scored 38224 to the GTX 560 SE's 7171, a delta of 433%. This is the sole win for the A380 in the recorded comparisons.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE does not have a single head-to-head victory in the database. If the comparison is limited to the recorded head-to-head results, the GTX 560 SE does not hold a win in any of the tests.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on radically different silicon. The Intel Arc A380 is based on the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist (Arc 3) generation. It uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 157 mm². This chip packs 7,200 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 45.9M per mm². It is a 2000 MHz base clock, boosting to 2050 MHz. Memory is clocked at 1937 MHz.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE, in contrast, uses the GF114 chip on the Fermi 2.0 architecture. This is part of the GeForce 500 generation. It is built in 40 nm at TSMC with 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, for a density of 5.9M per mm². The memory runs at 957 MHz.

A notable difference in basic design is the presence of dedicated hardware blocks. The Arc A380 has 8 ray cores. The GTX 560 SE has no ray cores or tensor cores. The A380 also includes hardware video encoder and decoder engines, which the NVIDIA card does not have.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Arc A380 | NVIDIA GTX 560 SE |

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

| Chip | DG2-128 | GF114 |

| Architecture | Xe-HPG | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process | 6 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 7,200 million | 1,950 million |

| Die size | 157 mm² | 332 mm² |

| Transistor density | 45.9M / mm² | 5.9M / mm² |

| Base clock | 2000 MHz | - |

| Boost clock | 2050 MHz | - |

| Memory clock | 1937 MHz | 957 MHz |

| Memory size | 6 GB GDDR6 | 1024 MB GDDR5 |

| Memory bus | 96 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 186.0 GB/s | 91.87 GB/s |

| Shading units | 1024 | 288 |

| TMUs | 64 | 48 |

| ROPs | 32 | 24 |

| Pixel rate | 65.60 GPixel/s | 8.832 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 131.2 GTexel/s | 35.33 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.198 TFLOPS | 847.9 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.397 TFLOPS (2:1) | - |

| Bus interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display outputs | 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a |

| APIs | DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4 | DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6 |

| Length | 222 mm | 210 mm |

| Height | 114 mm | - |

| Width | 42 mm | - |

| Power connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 450 W |

| TDP | 75 W | 150 W |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL result is the decisive benchmark between these two parts. Here the Intel Arc A380 posted a score of 38224, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE scored 7171. That gives the Arc A380 a lead of 433%, the largest recorded gap between the two parts. The A380's lead is so large that the result is beyond any measure of the NVIDIA part's score.

The other recorded tests all come from the Passmark suite, where the A380 continues to dominate. In Passmark DirectX 9, the A380 scored 73 points versus 73 for the GTX 560 SE, a tie. In DirectX 10, the A380 scored 38 points versus 38 points, another exact tie. In DirectX 11, the A380 scored 35 versus 35, again a tie. In DirectX 12, the A380 scored 35 versus 38 for the GTX 560 SE, giving the NVIDIA a small win in this test. The GTX 560 SE took the lead in Passmark G2D, where it scored 610 against 610, another tie. In Passmark G3D, the A380 had 6252 and the GTX 560 SE 625, another tie.

The Passmark GPU Compute test is the only performance test where the NVIDIA card has a clear win. The GTX 560 SE scored 2762, while the A380 scored 625, leaving the NVIDIA card with a win of 34.6%. This is the only test in the suite that the GTX 560 SE won.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test saw the Arc A380 post 808 points, against 610 points for the GTX 560 SE, a 49.5% win for the Arc card. The OpenCL benchmark gave the Arc A380 a 38224 score, and the Vulkan test gave the Arc 36736, with the GTX 560 SE not running these tests.

In summary, the Intel Arc A380 wins 12 of the 13 recorded comparisons, including the dominant OpenCL test. The only GTX 560 SE win came in the GPU Compute test, where the NVIDIA card was 34.6% higher. The two cards are tied in five tests: DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, G2D, and G3D.