Intel Arc A380E x2 vs NVIDIA H800 SXM5 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the basic specifications of the Intel Arc A380E x2 and NVIDIA H800 SXM5?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses the DG2-128 chip on the Xe-HPG architecture, built on a 6 nm process at TSMC with 7,200 million transistors on a 157 mm² die. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 uses the GH100 chip on the Hopper architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ between these two GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus, delivering 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 has 80 GB of HBM3 memory on a 5120-bit bus, delivering 3.36 TB/s of bandwidth, which is over 18 times the bandwidth of the Intel card.

Q: What are the FP32 compute capabilities of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 delivers 4.096 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 delivers 59.30 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is approximately 14.5 times higher than the Intel GPU.

Q: What is the power consumption of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 has a TDP of 130 W and requires a 300 W suggested PSU with a single 6-pin power connector. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 has a TDP of 700 W and requires a 1100 W suggested PSU with an 8-pin EPS power connector.

Q: What display outputs do these GPUs provide?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 provides 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, making it suitable for multi-display configurations. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 has no display outputs, as it is designed for server compute workloads.

Q: What is the production status of each product?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 is End-of-life, with a release date of 2024-03-31 and a successor in Battlemage. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 is Active, with a release date of 2023-03-20, a predecessor in Server Ada, and a successor in Server Blackwell.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture of two GPUs designed for fundamentally different purposes. The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 is a server-class compute accelerator with 80 GB of HBM3 memory, 59.30 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and 237.2 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (4:1). It targets workloads that demand massive memory capacity, extremely high bandwidth, and tensor core acceleration. The 528 tensor cores and 16896 shading units make it a formidable choice for large-scale compute tasks.

The Intel Arc A380E x2 is a compact, single-slot card with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, 4.096 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and 8.192 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (2:1). Its 1024 shading units and 8 ray tracing cores, combined with 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, position it for embedded or edge applications requiring multiple display outputs in a low-power footprint. The 130 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement stand in stark contrast to the H800's 700 W TDP and 1100 W suggested PSU.

The percentile data shows both GPUs at the 50th percentile against all GPUs in the database, but this is a case where the percentile alone does not capture the divergent design goals. The H800 SXM5 excels in raw compute throughput and memory capacity, while the Arc A380E x2 delivers display functionality and low power draw. For workloads requiring HBM3 memory capacity, tensor core acceleration, and high FP16 throughput, the H800 SXM5 is the only viable option in this comparison. For applications needing multiple display outputs, modest compute, and minimal power consumption, the Arc A380E x2 fills that role.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the Intel Arc A380E x2 and the NVIDIA H800 SXM5. However, the specification-level comparison reveals the scale of the performance gap.

In FP32 compute, the H800 SXM5 delivers 59.30 TFLOPS versus 4.096 TFLOPS for the Arc A380E x2, a difference of approximately 14.5 times. This advantage is amplified in FP16 workloads, where the H800 SXM5 reaches 237.2 TFLOPS (4:1) compared to 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Intel card, a gap of roughly 29 times. The H800 SXM5 also dominates in texture throughput with 926.6 GTexel/s against 128.0 GTexel/s for the Arc A380E x2.

Memory bandwidth is another area of decisive advantage. The H800 SXM5 offers 3.36 TB/s of bandwidth from its HBM3 memory, while the Arc A380E x2 provides 186.0 GB/s from GDDR6. This 18-fold difference in bandwidth makes the H800 SXM5 substantially better suited for memory-intensive workloads such as large model inference or training.

The Intel card does hold advantages in certain metrics. Its pixel rate of 64.00 GPixel/s exceeds the H800 SXM5's 42.12 GPixel/s, which reflects the Arc A380E x2's focus on display-oriented tasks. The Arc A380E x2 also has 32 ROPs compared to 24 ROPs on the H800 SXM5, further indicating its rasterization-oriented design. The base clock of 2000 MHz on the Intel card is notably higher than the 1095 MHz base clock on the H800 SXM5, though the NVIDIA GPU boosts to 1755 MHz.

The H800 SXM5's 16896 shading units dwarf the Arc A380E x2's 1024 shading units. Similarly, the H800 SXM5 has 528 TMUs versus 64 TMUs on the Intel card. These differences translate directly into the compute throughput disparities observed above. The H800 SXM5's 528 tensor cores have no equivalent on the Arc A380E x2, which lists no tensor core count.

The bus interface also differs significantly: the H800 SXM5 uses PCIe 5.0 x16, providing substantially higher host interconnect bandwidth than the Arc A380E x2's PCIe 4.0 x8. This matters for workloads that frequently transfer data between host memory and GPU memory.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measurable specification. The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses a 6 nm TSMC process with 7,200 million transistors on a 157 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.9M per mm². The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 uses a 5 nm TSMC process with 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 98.3M per mm².

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Arc A380E x2 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 186.0 GB/s bandwidth. The H800 SXM5 has 80 GB of HBM3 on a 5120-bit bus with 3.36 TB/s bandwidth. Memory clocks also differ: the Intel card runs at 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card runs at 1313 MHz (5.3 Gbps effective), though the vastly wider bus on the H800 SXM5 more than compensates.

Clock speeds show the Intel card with a 2000 MHz base and boost clock. The H800 SXM5 has a 1095 MHz base clock and 1755 MHz boost clock. The Arc A380E x2's higher clocks reflect its smaller, more power-efficient design.

Compute resources differ by an order of magnitude: 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs on the Intel card versus 16896 shading units, 528 TMUs, and 24 ROPs on the NVIDIA card. The Arc A380E x2 includes 8 ray tracing cores; the H800 SXM5 lists no ray tracing core count. The H800 SXM5 includes 528 tensor cores; the Arc A380E x2 lists none.

Power and physical specifications differ substantially. The Arc A380E x2 has a 130 W TDP, is single-slot, uses a 1x 6-pin power connector, and requires a 300 W suggested PSU. It measures 265 mm in length, 127 mm in height, and 20 mm in width. The H800 SXM5 has a 700 W TDP, is an SXM Module form factor, uses an 8-pin EPS power connector, and requires a 1100 W suggested PSU. No dimensions are recorded for the SXM module.

Display outputs and API support also diverge. The Arc A380E x2 provides 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The H800 SXM5 has no display outputs and lists no API support, consistent with its server-oriented role.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A380E x2 is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-128 chip from the Alchemist (Arc 3) generation. This architecture is designed for graphics rendering and display workloads, as evidenced by the 8 ray tracing cores, 32 ROPs, and 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs. The Xe-HPG architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it a full-featured graphics solution. Its predecessor is Xe Graphics, and its successor is Battlemage.

The NVIDIA H800 SXM5 is built on the Hopper architecture, specifically the GH100 chip from the Server Hopper (Hxx) generation. This architecture is optimized for server compute, with 528 tensor cores and massive FP16 throughput of 237.2 TFLOPS (4:1). The Hopper architecture lacks display outputs entirely, confirming its compute-only design. Its predecessor is Server Ada, and its successor is Server Blackwell.

The manufacturing processes reflect different priorities. The Arc A380E x2 uses a 6 nm TSMC process, which enables its 130 W TDP and compact single-slot design. The H800 SXM5 uses a 5 nm TSMC process with a much larger 814 mm² die and 80,000 million transistors, enabling its 59.30 TFLOPS FP32 and 3.36 TB/s memory bandwidth but requiring 700 W of power.

Transistor density also differs: the H800 SXM5 achieves 98.3M transistors per mm², while the Arc A380E x2 achieves 45.9M per mm². This reflects the different design philosophies, with the Hopper architecture packing far more compute resources into a larger die.

The memory architectures are fundamentally different. The Arc A380E x2 uses GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, typical of consumer and embedded graphics cards. The H800 SXM5 uses HBM3 on a 5120-bit bus, a high-bandwidth memory solution designed for server workloads. This explains the 3.36 TB/s versus 186.0 GB/s bandwidth gap.

The bus interfaces differ as well: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the Intel card versus PCIe 5.0 x16 for the NVIDIA card. This gives the H800 SXM5 significantly more host interconnect bandwidth, which is critical for data-intensive server workloads. The production status also differs: the Arc A380E x2 is end-of-life, while the H800 SXM5 remains active in production.