Intel Arc A380E x2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The comparison between the Intel Arc A380E x2 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is fundamentally lopsided, with the database recording no benchmark scores for the Intel part. The RTX 4090 Mobile, by contrast, has a full suite of recorded results across Geekbench and Passmark tests. Its average benchmark score of 43,667 places it at the 84th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Arc A380E x2 sits at the 50th percentile with no recorded average score.

The RTX 4090 Mobile's strongest recorded result is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 180,831. Its Geekbench Vulkan result is slightly lower at 170,774, indicating a modest gap between compute and graphics workloads. In Passmark testing, the G3D score of 27,212 is the standout, while the GPU compute score reaches 12,347. The DirectX-specific Passmark results show a clear hierarchy: DirectX 9 scores 310, DirectX 11 scores 262, DirectX 10 scores 173, and DirectX 12 scores 107. The G2D score of 984 reflects 2D rasterization performance, which is a smaller fraction of the overall workload.

Since the Arc A380E x2 has no recorded benchmarks in the database, there are no head-to-head wins in either direction. The absence of data for the Intel part means every comparison in this analysis relies on the RTX 4090 Mobile's recorded performance and its position relative to its nearest rivals. The nearest rivals list for the RTX 4090 Mobile includes the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 with an average score of 43,301 and a delta of 0.8 percent, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at 43,268 with a 0.9 percent delta, the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43,262 with a 0.9 percent delta, and the NVIDIA RTX A6000 at 44,075 with a negative 0.9 percent delta. These deltas indicate the RTX 4090 Mobile performs within one percent of each of these cards, effectively a statistical tie in aggregate scoring.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 Mobile wins every category that has recorded data, by definition. Its compute capabilities are substantial, with the Geekbench OpenCL score of 180,831 demonstrating strong general-purpose compute throughput. The Vulkan score of 170,774 shows that graphics workloads via modern APIs also perform at a high level, though slightly below the OpenCL result. The Passmark G3D score of 27,212 indicates the card is well-suited to 3D rendering tasks, while the GPU compute score of 12,347 covers compute-heavy applications like physics simulations or machine learning inference.

The Arc A380E x2 has no recorded wins because there are no recorded benchmark scores for it. The database shows its percentile ranking at 50, which places it at the median of all GPUs, but without an average benchmark score, there is no quantitative basis to claim any specific workload advantage. The card's specification sheet suggests it could handle entry-level graphics duties, but the recorded data does not support any performance claims.

The RTX 4090 Mobile's DirectX results are worth parsing. The DirectX 9 score of 310 is the highest of the four DirectX tests, while DirectX 12 scores only 107. This pattern is common for newer architectures that prioritize modern API features, but it does mean legacy DirectX 9 titles may run relatively better than DirectX 12 titles in Passmark's specific test methodology. The DirectX 11 score of 262 sits between the two extremes, and DirectX 10 lands at 173.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages. The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses the DG2-128 chip built on 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, yielding a transistor density of 45.9 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 Mobile generation. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 121.1 million per mm².

The transistor counts are dramatically different. The RTX 4090 Mobile packs over six times as many transistors as the Arc A380E x2, and the die is more than twice as large. The density difference is also notable: the RTX 4090 Mobile crams nearly three times as many transistors per mm², reflecting the tighter 5 nm node versus the 6 nm node.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Arc A380E x2 runs at a base and boost clock of 2000 MHz, while the RTX 4090 Mobile has a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. The Intel part's clocks are higher, but it has far fewer execution units to drive. The memory clocks differ as well: the Arc A380E x2 uses 1937 MHz memory with 15.5 Gbps effective speed, while the RTX 4090 Mobile runs 2250 MHz memory at 18 Gbps effective.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different in scale. The Arc A380E x2 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, delivering 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s. That is over three times the bandwidth on the NVIDIA part, which directly impacts texture-heavy workloads and high-resolution rendering.

Execution resources are where the gap becomes most apparent. The Arc A380E x2 has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, and 76 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA part has 9.5 times the shading units, 4.75 times the TMUs, 3.5 times the ROPs, and 9.5 times the ray tracing cores. Tensor cores are present only on the RTX 4090 Mobile, with 304 units; the Arc A380E x2 lists none.

The compute throughput reflects these resource differences. The Arc A380E x2 delivers 4.096 TFLOPS of FP32 and 8.192 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 and 32.98 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. The NVIDIA card is roughly eight times faster in FP32 and four times faster in FP16, but its FP16 runs at full rate, not half rate.

Power and physical design also differ. The Arc A380E x2 has a TDP of 130 W, is single-slot, uses a 1x 6-pin power connector, and requires a suggested PSU of 300 W. It is 265 mm long, 127 mm tall, and 20 mm wide. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a TDP of 120 W, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor, in laptop context), has no power connectors, and lists no dimensions. The bus interface differs too: the Arc A380E x2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 4090 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Arc A380E x2 have any recorded benchmark scores in the database?

A: No. The database shows no benchmark entries for the Arc A380E x2, only a percentile ranking of 50 and an average benchmark score of 0.

Q: What is the RTX 4090 Mobile's best and worst recorded benchmark result?

A: Its best is Geekbench OpenCL at 180,831, and its worst is Passmark DirectX 12 at 107.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 Mobile compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43,667, while the RTX A6000 averages 44,075. The delta is negative 0.9 percent, meaning the RTX A6000 is about one percent ahead in aggregate scoring.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 has a base and boost clock of 2000 MHz. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each GPU have?

A: The Arc A380E x2 delivers 186.0 GB/s from its 6 GB GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus. The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 576.0 GB/s from its 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two chips?

A: The Intel DG2-128 chip has a density of 45.9 million transistors per mm², while the NVIDIA AD103 chip has 121.1 million transistors per mm².

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The Arc A380E x2 uses the DG2-128 chip on Xe-HPG architecture from the Alchemist generation, while the RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip on Ada Lovelace from the GeForce 40 Mobile generation. The process node is 6 nm for Intel and 5 nm for NVIDIA, both at TSMC. Transistors count 7,200 million on Intel versus 45,900 million on NVIDIA. Die size is 157 mm² versus 379 mm².

Clock speeds: the Arc A380E x2 runs at 2000 MHz base and boost, while the RTX 4090 Mobile runs at 1335 MHz base and 1695 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) for Intel and 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA. Memory size is 6 GB versus 16 GB, both GDDR6, but bus widths are 96-bit versus 256-bit, and bandwidth is 186.0 GB/s versus 576.0 GB/s.

Execution units differ starkly: 1024 shading units versus 9728, 64 TMUs versus 304, 32 ROPs versus 112, 8 ray tracing cores versus 76, and 0 tensor cores versus 304. Pixel rate is 64.00 GPixel/s versus 189.8 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 128.0 GTexel/s versus 515.3 GTexel/s. FP32 is 4.096 TFLOPS versus 32.98 TFLOPS. FP16 is 8.192 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio versus 32.98 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio.

TDP is 130 W for Intel and 120 W for NVIDIA. The Intel card is single-slot with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 300 W; the NVIDIA part is an IGP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 for Intel versus "Portable Device Dependent" for NVIDIA. Dimensions exist only for Intel: 265 mm long, 127 mm tall, 20 mm wide. The Intel part is end-of-life, released 2024-03-31, with the predecessor Xe Graphics and successor Battlemage. The NVIDIA part is active, released 2023-01-02, with the predecessor GeForce 30 Mobile and successor GeForce 50 Mobile.

The Verdict

The data supports only one conclusion: the RTX 4090 Mobile is in a completely different performance class. Its recorded average benchmark score of 43,667 versus a score of 0 for the Arc A380E x2 reflects the absence of any Intel benchmark data, but the specification sheet corroborates the gap. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 9.5 times the shading units, 8 times the FP32 throughput, and more than three times the memory bandwidth. Its ray tracing core count of 76 versus 8, and tensor core count of 304 versus 0, make it suitable for workloads the Intel part cannot approach.

The Arc A380E x2 has some advantages on paper. Its clock speed is higher at 2000 MHz versus 1695 MHz boost, its TDP is slightly higher at 130 W versus 120 W, and it offers eight mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, which is a specific feature set for multi-display setups. Its 50th percentile ranking suggests it is a mid-range part, but with no benchmark scores, the database cannot quantify its actual performance.

For a builder choosing between these two, the RTX 4090 Mobile is the only option for high-end gaming, compute, or ray tracing workloads. Its nearest rivals are within one percent in aggregate scoring, meaning it trades blows with the Quadro M6000, RTX 5050 Mobile, and RTX A6000, but it is not decisively ahead of any of them. The Arc A380E x2, with its end-of-life status and no recorded performance data, is a speculative choice at best. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 84th percentile ranking, combined with its massive execution resource advantage, makes it the clear pick for any performance-oriented application.