Intel Arc A530M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Arc A530M compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile in OpenCL performance?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 166,986 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Arc A530M scores 49,735. This represents a 70.2% advantage for the NVIDIA part.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A530M has an average benchmark score of 46,614, compared to the RTX 5080 Mobile's 38,349. However, the Intel part sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA part sits at the 81st percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each GPU according to the database?

A: The Arc A530M's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5600M with a nearly identical average score of 46,601. The RTX 5080 Mobile's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX570, which scores 38,299, just 0.1% behind.

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

A: The Arc A530M has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth.

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

A: The Intel DG2-256 chip contains 11,500 million transistors on a 269 mm² die, while the NVIDIA GB203 chip contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip has roughly 4 times the transistor count.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile boosts to 1500 MHz, while the Arc A530M boosts to 1300 MHz. The NVIDIA GPU also has a higher base clock at 975 MHz versus 900 MHz.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A530M is built on the Xe-HPG architecture using the DG2-256 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It belongs to the Alchemist generation of Arc 5 Mobile GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, built on a 5 nm process at the same foundry. The process difference is small, but the transistor density tells a larger story: Intel's chip packs 42.8 million transistors per square millimeter, while NVIDIA's GB203 reaches 120.6 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The Arc A530M has 1,536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The RTX 5080 Mobile fields 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. That is 5 times the shading units, 2.5 times the TMUs, and double the ROPs.

Ray tracing and AI acceleration also split sharply. The Intel GPU has 12 ray tracing cores and no dedicated tensor cores. The NVIDIA GPU has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. This structural difference means the RTX 5080 Mobile has dedicated hardware for both ray tracing workloads and tensor-based compute, while the Arc A530M relies on its general-purpose shader array for those tasks.

Memory architecture reinforces the gap. The Arc A530M uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s. That is exactly 4 times the memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA part also connects via PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Intel part uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

The power envelopes differ as well. The Arc A530M has a 65 W TDP, while the RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP. Both are integrated into portable devices, and both share the same API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data includes two benchmark tests, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile wins both by wide margins.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 166,986 against the Arc A530M's 49,735. The delta is 70.2% in favor of NVIDIA. This test exercises general compute through the OpenCL API, and the result reflects the massive difference in shading units, memory bandwidth, and raw FP32 throughput. The Arc A530M's 3.994 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is dwarfed by the RTX 5080 Mobile's 23.04 TFLOPS, a 5.77 times advantage.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens further. The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 169,754, while the Arc A530M scores 43,492. The delta is 74.4% in favor of NVIDIA. Vulkan tends to scale well with both compute resources and memory bandwidth, and the RTX 5080 Mobile has decisive advantages in both categories. Its texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s is nearly 3 times the Arc A530M's 124.8 GTexel/s, and its pixel rate of 144.0 GPixel/s is more than double the Intel part's 62.40 GPixel/s.

The Intel GPU has no recorded wins in the head-to-head tests. Every benchmark in the database that compares these two directly goes to the NVIDIA part.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category.

The process nodes are close but not identical: Intel uses 6 nm, NVIDIA uses 5 nm, both at TSMC. The transistor counts diverge sharply, 11,500 million for the Intel DG2-256 versus 45,600 million for the NVIDIA GB203. Die size also differs: 269 mm² for Intel versus 378 mm² for NVIDIA. Transistor density follows: 42.8M per mm² versus 120.6M per mm².

Clock speeds favor NVIDIA. The Arc A530M has a 900 MHz base clock and 1300 MHz boost. The RTX 5080 Mobile has a 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost. Memory clocks are identical in base frequency at 1750 MHz, but the effective data rate differs: 14 Gbps for the Intel part versus 28 Gbps for the NVIDIA part.

Memory capacity doubles: 8 GB GDDR6 versus 16 GB GDDR7. Bus width doubles: 128-bit versus 256-bit. Bandwidth quadruples: 224.0 GB/s versus 896.0 GB/s.

Compute resources show the largest gaps. Shading units: 1,536 versus 7,680. TMUs: 96 versus 240. ROPs: 48 versus 96. RT cores: 12 versus 60. Tensor cores: none versus 240.

Pixel rate: 62.40 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 124.8 GTexel/s versus 360.0 GTexel/s. FP32: 3.994 TFLOPS versus 23.04 TFLOPS. FP16: 7.987 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus 23.04 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

TDP: 65 W versus 80 W. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Power connectors: none listed for either. Both are IGP slot width and both have portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Release dates differ by nearly two years: the Arc A530M launched in July 2023, while the RTX 5080 Mobile launched in April 2025. The NVIDIA part lists its predecessor as GeForce 40 Mobile; the Intel part has no predecessor or successor listed. Both are marked as Active in production status.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile wins in every measured benchmark category. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 166,986 is 70.2% ahead of the Arc A530M, and its Geekbench Vulkan score of 169,754 is 74.4% ahead. For any workload that stresses raw compute, ray tracing, or memory bandwidth, the RTX 5080 Mobile is the clear choice.

The RTX 5080 Mobile also offers double the VRAM at 16 GB versus 8 GB, with GDDR7 memory and a 256-bit bus. This gives it 4 times the bandwidth of the Intel part, which matters for high-resolution textures, large data sets, and memory-intensive compute tasks. Its 240 tensor cores provide dedicated AI acceleration that the Arc A530M lacks entirely.

The Intel Arc A530M still has a role. Its 65 W TDP is lower than the RTX 5080 Mobile's 80 W, which can matter in thermally constrained portable designs. Its average benchmark score of 46,614 is higher than the RTX 5080 Mobile's 38,349, and it sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs versus the NVIDIA part's 81st percentile. The Arc A530M's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at nearly identical performance, the AMD Radeon RX 6550M at 0.2% ahead, and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 1.2% behind. This places it in a performance class that is competitive with midrange mobile GPUs from the previous generation.

For users whose workloads fit within its 8 GB memory capacity and who do not require tensor-based acceleration, the Arc A530M delivers respectable compute performance at a lower power draw. The database shows it outperforms the RTX 5080 Mobile in average benchmark score across all recorded tests, even though it loses the two direct head-to-head comparisons. This suggests the Intel part has strengths in specific test categories that are not captured by the Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan results.

The RTX 5080 Mobile is the stronger GPU for demanding 3D workloads, ray tracing, AI inference, and any application that can use its 23.04 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput. Its 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores make it suitable for modern game engines with hardware ray tracing and for machine learning tasks. The 896.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that memory-bound workloads have ample headroom.

The Arc A530M is better suited for users who prioritize lower power consumption and who primarily run applications that do not need the NVIDIA GPU's specialized hardware. Its 7.987 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, delivered at a 2:1 ratio, still provides solid half-precision compute for compatible workloads. Its Xe-HPG architecture supports the same DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs as the NVIDIA part, so software compatibility is not a limiting factor.

In summary, the RTX 5080 Mobile dominates on raw performance, memory capacity, bandwidth, and feature set. The Arc A530M counters with lower power draw and a higher aggregate benchmark score across the full database. Users seeking maximum frame rates and compute throughput should choose the NVIDIA GPU; users optimizing for power efficiency in a portable device may find the Intel part sufficient for their needs.