Intel Arc A380E vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a stark performance hierarchy. The Intel Arc A380E holds a 50th percentile position among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile sits at the 84th percentile. The RTX 4090 Mobile's average benchmark score of 43,667 dwarfs the Arc A380E, which has no recorded benchmark scores in the database. For any workload that relies on compute, rendering, or raw throughput, the data points exclusively to the NVIDIA part. The Arc A380E, an end-of-life product from the Alchemist generation, occupies a fundamentally different market segment with its 75 W TDP and compact single-slot design. The RTX 4090 Mobile, an active product, is designed for premium portable systems where performance takes priority over power constraints. The data shows no scenario where the Arc A380E outperforms the RTX 4090 Mobile; the wins column confirms this with zero wins for Intel and zero wins for NVIDIA in the head-to-head table, though this reflects the absence of direct comparison benchmarks rather than a measured tie.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc A380E delivers its advantages in physical footprint and power envelope. It is a single-slot card with no external power connectors, a 75 W TDP, and a suggested power supply of 250 W. The RTX 4090 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 120 W TDP and no power connector specification, meaning it relies entirely on the host laptop's power delivery design. For compact systems, the Arc A380E's 254 mm length, 127 mm height, and 20 mm width provide a defined, installable form factor. The RTX 4090 Mobile has no recorded dimensions, as it is soldered into portable devices.

In memory configuration, the RTX 4090 Mobile wins capacity and bandwidth outright. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A380E has 6 GB on a 96-bit bus, producing 186.0 GB/s. That is a 3.1x bandwidth advantage for NVIDIA. The RTX 4090 Mobile also leads in every compute metric: 32.98 TFLOPS FP32 versus 4.096 TFLOPS, 32.98 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1) versus 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1), 189.8 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s, and 515.3 GTexel/s versus 128.0 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA part has 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores; the Intel part has 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The data suggests the RTX 4090 Mobile is the choice for any graphics-intensive or compute-heavy task, while the Arc A380E fits environments where a low-power, single-slot card is mandatory.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages. Intel's Arc A380E uses the DG2-128 chip built on the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist (Arc 3) generation. It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 7,200 million transistors on a 157 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 45.9M per mm². NVIDIA's RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 Mobile generation. It is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, yielding a density of 121.1M per mm². The NVIDIA chip contains 6.4x more transistors and is 2.4x larger physically, while also packing transistors 2.6x denser.

Core configurations diverge sharply. The Arc A380E has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. That is 9.5x more shading units, 4.75x more TMUs, and 3.5x more ROPs. Clock speeds tell a different story: Intel runs at a flat 2,000 MHz base and boost, while NVIDIA runs at 1,335 MHz base and 1,695 MHz boost. Intel's higher clocks do not compensate for the massive core deficit. The memory clocks also differ: Intel's GDDR6 runs at 1,937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective), while NVIDIA's runs at 2,250 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

Feature sets align on API support. Both list DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Intel card uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface and offers four DisplayPort 2.0 outputs. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has display outputs described as portable device dependent. NVIDIA's tensor cores (304 of them) represent a hardware capability the Intel card lacks entirely, which matters for AI and machine learning workloads in the database's compute benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43,667 across its recorded tests. The Arc A380E has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, so no numeric comparison is possible.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Arc A380E has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 186.0 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA's memory bandwidth is 3.1x higher.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The Arc A380E has a 75 W TDP with a 250 W suggested power supply. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a 120 W TDP and no suggested power supply listed, as it is an IGP designed for laptops.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: Both support ray tracing. The Arc A380E has 8 ray tracing cores, while the RTX 4090 Mobile has 76 ray tracing cores.

Q: Are both GPUs currently in production?

A: No. The Arc A380E is marked end-of-life, while the RTX 4090 Mobile is marked active. The Arc A380E's predecessor is Xe Graphics and its successor is Battlemage. The RTX 4090 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 30 Mobile and its successor is GeForce 50 Mobile.

Q: What is the FP32 compute performance of each?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 32.98 TFLOPS FP32. The Arc A380E delivers 4.096 TFLOPS FP32. That is an 8x advantage for NVIDIA.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark data is absent from the database, so the comparison relies on the RTX 4090 Mobile's individual benchmark suite and the Arc A380E's lack of scores. The RTX 4090 Mobile records 180,831 in Geekbench OpenCL and 170,774 in Geekbench Vulkan. In Passmark tests, it scores 27212 in G3D, 12347 in GPU compute, 984 in G2D, 310 in DirectX 9, 262 in DirectX 11, 173 in DirectX 10, and 107 in DirectX 12. These scores place it at the 84th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 43,667.

Nearby rivals in the database frame its standing. The NVIDIA Quadro M6000 averages 43,301, which is 0.8% behind the RTX 4090 Mobile. The GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile averages 43,268, 0.9% behind. The Quadro M6000 24 GB averages 43,262, also 0.9% behind. The RTX A6000 averages 44,075, which is 0.9% ahead of the RTX 4090 Mobile. These narrow margins show the RTX 4090 Mobile sitting in a tight cluster of high-end GPUs, none of which the Arc A380E can approach given its 50th percentile ranking and empty benchmark record.

The largest theoretical gap in the data is in shading throughput. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 9,728 shading units versus 1,024 for the Arc A380E, combined with the 32.98 TFLOPS versus 4.096 TFLOPS FP32 figures, indicates an 8x compute advantage. Pixel throughput shows a 3x gap (189.8 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s), and texture throughput shows a 4x gap (515.3 GTexel/s versus 128.0 GTexel/s). Memory bandwidth shows a 3.1x gap (576.0 GB/s versus 186.0 GB/s). The RTX 4090 Mobile also has 304 tensor cores and 76 ray tracing cores, versus 8 ray tracing cores and zero tensor cores for the Arc A380E. Every recorded metric favors NVIDIA.

Specification Differences

The two products differ in nearly every measurable specification. The Arc A380E uses the DG2-128 chip on Xe-HPG architecture, while the RTX 4090 Mobile uses AD103 on Ada Lovelace. Process nodes differ: 6 nm for Intel, 5 nm for NVIDIA, both from TSMC. Transistor counts are 7,200 million versus 45,900 million. Die sizes are 157 mm² versus 379 mm². Transistor densities are 45.9M per mm² versus 121.1M per mm².

Clock speeds differ in both base and boost. The Arc A380E runs at 2,000 MHz base and 2,000 MHz boost. The RTX 4090 Mobile runs at 1,335 MHz base and 1,695 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1,937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 2,250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Memory capacity is 6 GB versus 16 GB, both GDDR6. Bus widths are 96 bit versus 256 bit. Bandwidth is 186.0 GB/s versus 576.0 GB/s.

Core counts diverge: 1,024 shading units versus 9,728; 64 TMUs versus 304; 32 ROPs versus 112; 8 ray tracing cores versus 76; no tensor cores versus 304. Pixel rates are 64.00 GPixel/s versus 189.8 GPixel/s. Texture rates are 128.0 GTexel/s versus 515.3 GTexel/s. FP32 is 4.096 TFLOPS versus 32.98 TFLOPS. FP16 is 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 32.98 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP is 75 W versus 120 W.

Form factors differ completely. The Arc A380E is single-slot with dimensions of 254 mm by 127 mm by 20 mm, no power connectors, and a 250 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 Mobile is an IGP with no dimensions, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. Bus interfaces are PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 2.0 versus portable device dependent. Release dates differ: March 2024 for Intel, January 2023 for NVIDIA. Production status is end-of-life versus active. The Arc A380E has no launch MSRP recorded, and neither does the RTX 4090 Mobile.