Intel Arc A530M vs NVIDIA Tesla T4 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy between these two GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla T4 wins both head-to-head tests, and the margins are substantial. In OpenCL compute workloads, the Tesla T4 scores 61,276 against the Arc A530M's 49,735, a 23.2% advantage. The Vulkan gap is even wider: 72,190 versus 43,492, a 66% lead for the Tesla T4.

The Tesla T4 sits at the 90th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 66,733. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon VII (1.1% higher average score), the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (2.5% lower), the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 (2.7% higher), and the Intel Arc A770 (3% lower). This places the T4 in a performance tier that competes with high-end workstation and datacenter accelerators from the previous generation.

The Intel Arc A530M, by contrast, holds the 85th percentile with an average score of 46,614. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6550M (0.2% lower), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (1.2% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (1.4% higher). This is a mobile-class GPU that lands in the upper midrange of the database.

Who should pick which? The data suggests the Tesla T4 for any workload that stresses Vulkan rendering or OpenCL compute, particularly if the task benefits from the higher absolute throughput. The Arc A530M is the choice for portable, low-power systems where the 65 W TDP and integrated form factor matter more than raw performance. The Tesla T4 does draw slightly more power at 70 W, but it delivers markedly higher scores per watt in both recorded tests. There is no benchmark in the database where the Arc A530M wins, so the decision rests on platform constraints rather than performance superiority.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA Tesla T4 uses the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The chip is the TU104, which is a large die at 545 mm² with 13,600 million transistors. The transistor density works out to 25.0 million per square millimeter, which is modest by modern standards but reflects the older process node.

The Intel Arc A530M uses the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-256 chip. It is manufactured on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC, and the die is substantially smaller at 269 mm². The transistor count is 11,500 million, which is lower in absolute terms but much denser: 42.8 million per square millimeter. This is a 71.2% higher density than the Tesla T4, a direct consequence of the more advanced process node.

The compute resources differ significantly. The Tesla T4 has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also carries 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, the latter being a key feature for AI and deep learning workloads. The Arc A530M has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with 12 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed in the database.

The Tesla T4 is a PCIe 3.0 x16 card, single-slot, with no display outputs and no power connectors. The Arc A530M is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface and display outputs described as portable device dependent. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API coverage is identical.

The memory architecture is another differentiator. The Tesla T4 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A530M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s. The Tesla T4's memory clock is 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective), while the Arc A530M runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The higher clock on the Arc does not compensate for the narrower bus.

Clock speeds also diverge. The Tesla T4 has a base clock of 585 MHz and a boost of 1590 MHz. The Arc A530M has a higher base of 900 MHz but a lower boost of 1300 MHz. The Tesla T4's boost advantage of 290 MHz, combined with more shading units, explains much of the performance gap.

The production status differs as well: the Tesla T4 is end-of-life with a release date of September 12, 2018, while the Arc A530M is active with a release date of July 31, 2023. The Tesla T4's predecessor is Tesla Volta and its successor is Server Ampere; the Arc A530M has no recorded predecessor or successor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla T4 scores 61,276 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Intel Arc A530M scores 49,735. The Tesla T4 leads by 23.2%.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: The Tesla T4 scores 72,190 in Geekbench Vulkan against the Arc A530M's 43,492. That is a 66% advantage for the NVIDIA part.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes. Both report DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. There is no API-level difference in the recorded data.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Tesla T4 has 320.0 GB/s from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The Arc A530M has 224.0 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The Tesla T4 has a TDP of 70 W and a suggested power supply of 250 W. The Arc A530M has a TDP of 65 W and no suggested PSU listed. Both are relatively low power, but the Tesla T4 delivers much higher performance per watt in the recorded benchmarks.

Q: Is the Arc A530M competitive with the Tesla T4 in any metric?

A: In the recorded data, no. The Tesla T4 wins both head-to-head tests, with 2 wins and 0 wins for the Arc A530M. The Arc's only advantages are a smaller die, a denser transistor layout, a higher base clock, a newer process node, and a lower TDP.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ, per the database.

| Specification | NVIDIA Tesla T4 | Intel Arc A530M |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | Turing | Xe-HPG |

| Generation | Tesla Turing (Txx) | Alchemist (Arc 5 Mobile) |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 13,600 million | 11,500 million |

| Die Size | 545 mm² | 269 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.0M / mm² | 42.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 585 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1590 MHz | 1300 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz, 10 Gbps effective | 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 320.0 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 160 | 96 |

| ROPs | 64 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 40 | 12 |

| Tensor Cores | 320 | null |

| Pixel Rate | 101.8 GPixel/s | 62.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 254.4 GTexel/s | 124.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.141 TFLOPS | 3.994 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 16.28 TFLOPS (2:1) | 7.987 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 70 W | 65 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | None | null |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | null |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 168 mm (6.6 inches) length | null |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2018-09-12 | 2023-07-31 |

| Predecessor | Tesla Volta | null |

| Successor | Server Ampere | null |

The Tesla T4 has a 103.9% higher FP32 throughput (8.141 TFLOPS versus 3.994 TFLOPS) and a 103.9% higher FP16 throughput (16.28 TFLOPS versus 7.987 TFLOPS). Its pixel rate is 63.1% higher and its texture rate is 103.8% higher. The Arc A530M counters with a 53.8% higher base clock, a 53.3% higher memory clock, and a 71.2% higher transistor density.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two head-to-head comparisons, and the Tesla T4 wins both. The OpenCL test is the closer of the two, but the margin is still decisive.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Tesla T4 scores 61,276 and the Arc A530M scores 49,735. The delta is 23.2% in favor of the NVIDIA part. This aligns with the raw compute specifications: the Tesla T4 has 2,560 shading units against 1,536, and its FP32 throughput of 8.141 TFLOPS is more than double the Arc's 3.994 TFLOPS. The memory bandwidth advantage, 320.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s, also contributes to higher sustained compute throughput. The Arc A530M's nearest rival in the database is the AMD Radeon RX 5600M with a 0% delta, which suggests the Arc is well positioned among mobile GPUs but not in the same class as the Tesla T4.

The Vulkan test shows an even larger disparity. The Tesla T4 scores 72,190, while the Arc A530M scores 43,492, a 66% difference. This is the single biggest win in the head-to-head data. Vulkan workloads tend to exercise the geometry pipeline, draw call throughput, and memory subsystem heavily. The Tesla T4's 160 TMUs and 64 ROPs, combined with its 256-bit memory bus, provide a structural advantage that the Arc A530M's 96 TMUs and 48 ROPs cannot match. The Arc's 128-bit bus is a particular bottleneck for bandwidth-sensitive Vulkan tasks.

The Arc A530M's Vulkan score is notably lower than its OpenCL score, which is unusual. In the database, the Arc scores 49,735 in OpenCL but only 43,492 in Vulkan, a 12.5% drop. The Tesla T4 shows the opposite trend, scoring higher in Vulkan (72,190) than in OpenCL (61,276), a 17.8% increase. This suggests the Turing architecture handles Vulkan's low-level command processing more efficiently, while the Xe-HPG architecture in the Arc may have driver or hardware overhead in Vulkan paths.

The average benchmark scores reflect the overall picture. The Tesla T4 averages 66,733 across all recorded tests, while the Arc A530M averages 46,614, a 43.2% gap. The Tesla T4's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon VII, is only 1.1% higher, meaning the T4 is effectively at parity with a flagship AMD compute card from the same era. The Arc A530M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, is at exact parity (0%), placing the Arc firmly in mobile gaming territory.

The wins tally is straightforward: 2 wins for the Tesla T4, 0 for the Arc A530M. There is no recorded test where the Arc comes out ahead. The only consolation for the Arc A530M is its lower TDP (65 W versus 70 W) and its integrated form factor, which makes it suitable for laptops and compact devices where a single-slot PCIe card with no display outputs would be impractical.

In summary, the benchmark data shows a GPU that is two performance tiers apart. The Tesla T4 is a datacenter accelerator that, despite its 2018 release date, still outperforms a 2023 mobile GPU by margins ranging from 23.2% to 66%. The Arc A530M is a capable mobile part for its class, but it is not in the Tesla T4's league in any recorded metric.