Intel Arc A380E x2 vs NVIDIA L20 Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison between the Intel Arc A380E x2 and the NVIDIA L20 is defined by a massive gap in raw compute capability. The NVIDIA L20 sits in the 99th percentile among all GPUs, while the Intel Arc A380E x2 places at the 50th percentile. The L20 delivers an average benchmark score of 251,147, whereas the A380E x2 has no recorded benchmark scores in the database. This absence of data for the Intel part makes direct numerical comparison impossible, but the architectural specifications alone establish clear separation.

The NVIDIA L20 is the only one of the two with recorded performance metrics. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 274,276 and Vulkan score of 228,018 place it firmly in the upper tier of the database. The L20 outperforms the NVIDIA PG506-232 by 11.6% and the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D by 14.2%, while trailing the NVIDIA L40 by 11.6% and the RTX 6000 Ada Generation by 12.6%. These deltas position the L20 as a strong but not top-of-stack server GPU.

The Intel Arc A380E x2 is an end-of-life product from the Alchemist generation, released in March 2024. Its successor is Battlemage, and its predecessor is Xe Graphics. The NVIDIA L20 remains an active product, released in November 2023, with Server Ampere as predecessor and Server Hopper as successor. For any workload requiring the recorded performance levels of the L20, the Intel part cannot compete based on the available data. The A380E x2 would only be relevant for tasks where its specific output configuration or lower power envelope matters, but no benchmark evidence supports a performance case for it.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architecture families. The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses the DG2-128 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, specifically from the Alchemist (Arc 3) generation. It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA L20 uses the AD102 chip on Ada Lovelace architecture, from the Server Ada (Lxx) generation, fabricated on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC.

Transistor counts differ enormously. The Intel chip contains 7,200 million transistors on a 157 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.9 million per mm². The NVIDIA chip contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, for a density of 125.3 million per mm². The L20's die is nearly four times larger and packs over ten times the transistor count. The NVIDIA part also achieves a much higher transistor density, indicating a more advanced process implementation.

Memory architecture diverges sharply as well. The Intel A380E x2 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, delivering 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA L20 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s. That is eight times the capacity and more than four times the bandwidth. The memory clock also differs: the Intel part runs at 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA part runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

Compute resources follow the same pattern. The Intel GPU has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, and 8 RT cores. The NVIDIA GPU has 11,776 shading units, 368 TMUs, 128 ROPs, 92 RT cores, and 368 tensor cores. The NVIDIA part has no direct tensor core equivalent on the Intel side, as the A380E x2 lists no tensor cores at all. FP32 throughput is 4.096 TFLOPS for Intel versus 59.35 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 performance is 8.192 TFLOPS for Intel (with a 2:1 ratio) versus 59.35 TFLOPS for NVIDIA (with a 1:1 ratio). The L20 delivers roughly 14.5 times the FP32 throughput and over 7 times the FP16 throughput of the Intel part.

The interface and display outputs also differ. The Intel card uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and provides 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs. The NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API coverage is identical.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries for these two GPUs. The Intel Arc A380E x2 has zero recorded benchmark scores, a zero average benchmark score, and a percentile rank of 50. The NVIDIA L20 has two recorded benchmark scores: 274,276 in Geekbench OpenCL and 228,018 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average of 251,147.

Because the Intel part lacks any measured results, the only quantitative comparison available is against the L20's nearest rivals. The L20's average score of 251,147 is 11.6% higher than the NVIDIA PG506-232's 225,124 and 14.2% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D's 219,827. It is 11.6% lower than the NVIDIA L40's 284,111 and 12.6% lower than the RTX 6000 Ada Generation's 287,237. These figures show the L20 clustering within a tight band of high-end workstation and server GPUs, all within roughly 15% of each other.

The Intel part's 50th percentile placement means it sits at the median of all GPUs in the database, but with no benchmark scores to substantiate that rank, it cannot be compared directly to the L20's 99th percentile placement. The recorded data simply does not include any measured performance for the A380E x2. Every specification comparison in this analysis therefore relies on architectural fields rather than benchmark outcomes for the Intel side.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two products:

• Chip: DG2-128 versus AD102
• Architecture: Xe-HPG versus Ada Lovelace
• Generation: Alchemist (Arc 3) versus Server Ada (Lxx)
• Process node: 6 nm versus 5 nm
• Transistors: 7,200 million versus 76,300 million
• Die size: 157 mm² versus 609 mm²
• Transistor density: 45.9M / mm² versus 125.3M / mm²
• Base clock: 2000 MHz versus 1440 MHz
• Boost clock: 2000 MHz versus 2520 MHz
• Memory clock: 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective)
• Memory size: 6 GB versus 48 GB
• Memory bus width: 96 bit versus 384 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 186.0 GB/s versus 864.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 1024 versus 11,776
• TMUs: 64 versus 368
• ROPs: 32 versus 128
• RT cores: 8 versus 92
• Tensor cores: none listed versus 368
• Pixel rate: 64.00 GPixel/s versus 322.6 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 128.0 GTexel/s versus 927.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 4.096 TFLOPS versus 59.35 TFLOPS
• FP16: 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 59.35 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 130 W versus 275 W
• Slot width: Single-slot versus Dual-slot
• Power connectors: 1x 6-pin versus 1x 16-pin
• Suggested PSU: 300 W versus 600 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display outputs: 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a
• Dimensions: 265 mm length, 127 mm height, 20 mm width versus 267 mm length, 111 mm height, width not listed
• Production status: End-of-life versus Active
• Release date: 2024-03-31 versus 2023-11-15
• Predecessor: Xe Graphics versus Server Ampere
• Successor: Battlemage versus Server Hopper
• Percentile vs all GPUs: 50 versus 99
• Average benchmark score: 0 versus 251,147

Fields that match include manufacturer foundry (TSMC), memory type (GDDR6), DirectX support (12 Ultimate 12_2), OpenGL support (4.6), and Vulkan support (1.4). Neither product has a recorded launch MSRP in the database.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA L20 has an average benchmark score of 251,147. The Intel Arc A380E x2 has an average benchmark score of 0 and no recorded benchmark entries.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus. The NVIDIA L20 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: What are the FP32 performance figures?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 delivers 4.096 TFLOPS FP32. The NVIDIA L20 delivers 59.35 TFLOPS FP32.

Q: How does the NVIDIA L20 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The L20's average score of 251,147 is 11.6% higher than the NVIDIA PG506-232, 14.2% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D, 11.6% lower than the NVIDIA L40, and 12.6% lower than the RTX 6000 Ada Generation.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 has a TDP of 130 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The NVIDIA L20 has a TDP of 275 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: Which GPU supports tensor cores?

A: The NVIDIA L20 includes 368 tensor cores. The Intel Arc A380E x2 lists no tensor cores.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA L20 wins on compute density and throughput. The L20 provides 59.35 TFLOPS FP32 versus 4.096 TFLOPS for the Intel part, a 14.5x advantage. FP16 performance is 59.35 TFLOPS versus 8.192 TFLOPS. Pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 927.4 GTexel/s versus 128.0 GTexel/s. The L20 also has 368 tensor cores, which the Intel GPU lacks entirely, making the NVIDIA part the only option for tensor-based workloads among the two.

NVIDIA L20 wins on memory capacity and bandwidth. With 48 GB versus 6 GB and 864.0 GB/s versus 186.0 GB/s, the L20 supports substantially larger datasets and faster memory access. The 384-bit bus versus 96-bit bus underpins this difference.

NVIDIA L20 wins on ray tracing resources. The L20 has 92 RT cores versus 8 on the Intel part. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, but the NVIDIA GPU has over eleven times the RT core count.

NVIDIA L20 wins on measured performance. The L20 has recorded Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 274,276 and 228,018 respectively. The Intel part has no recorded scores, so no measured performance can be attributed to it.

Intel Arc A380E x2 wins on power consumption. The Intel GPU has a TDP of 130 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, compared to the L20's 275 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU. This makes the Intel part less demanding on system power delivery.

Intel Arc A380E x2 wins on physical footprint. The Intel card is single-slot, while the L20 is dual-slot. The Intel GPU is also shorter at 265 mm versus 267 mm, though the L20 is lower in height at 111 mm versus 127 mm.

Intel Arc A380E x2 wins on display output count and standard. The Intel card provides 8x mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, while the L20 provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Intel part supports the newer DisplayPort 2.0 standard and offers twice as many outputs.

Intel Arc A380E x2 wins on base clock. The Intel GPU runs at a 2000 MHz base clock versus 1440 MHz for the L20. However, the L20's boost clock of 2520 MHz exceeds the Intel part's fixed 2000 MHz boost.

The data shows a clear split: the NVIDIA L20 dominates in every measured and spec-derived performance category, while the Intel Arc A380E x2 holds advantages only in power draw, slot width, and display output configuration. For workloads that rely on tensor cores, large memory capacity, or high FP32 throughput, the L20 is the only viable choice between these two. For multi-display setups with lower power budgets, the Intel part offers a distinct configuration profile, but without any benchmark scores to validate its compute performance, its capabilities remain unquantified in the database.