Intel Arc A550M vs Intel Arc A730M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy between these two Intel Arc mobile GPUs, with the Arc A730M dominating both recorded head-to-head tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A730M scores 70,352 against the A550M’s 49,894, a delta of -29.1% from the perspective of the A550M. That means the A730M outperforms the A550M by roughly 41% in raw compute throughput as measured by OpenCL. The Vulkan result tells a similar story: the A730M posts 64,693 versus the A550M’s 49,580, a -23.4% delta. In percentage terms, the A730M leads by about 30.5% in Vulkan. Across the two shared tests, the A730M wins both, giving it a 2–0 sweep in the head-to-head comparison.

The A550M’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 49,737, placing it at the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (average 49,957, delta -0.4%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (50,001, -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (50,951, -2.4%). The A550M also sits 2.6% above the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (48,477). This clustering suggests the A550M performs in a tight band around 50,000 points, with all four nearest rivals within roughly 2.5% of its average. The A730M, by contrast, has an average score of 45,592, which lands at the 84th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384, 0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972, -0.8%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152, 1% ahead), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (46,043, -1%).

There is a notable paradox here: the A730M wins every direct head-to-head test against the A550M, yet its average benchmark score is lower (45,592 vs. 49,737). This discrepancy arises because the A730M’s average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,732, a test that the A550M does not have recorded. The A730M’s Geekbench scores (70,352 OpenCL and 64,693 Vulkan) are far higher than its average suggests, indicating that the 3DMark result drags its aggregate down. The A550M, with only Geekbench scores recorded, benefits from having no such outlier. For direct comparison, the Geekbench tests are the only shared metrics, and there the A730M is decisively faster.

When contextualizing the A730M’s single 3DMark score, it is useful to note that the A730M’s percentile ranking (84th) is only two points below the A550M’s (86th), despite the large gap in their average scores. This implies that the 3DMark Steel Nomad test, which measures DX12 performance, places the A730M in a different performance tier than its Geekbench results would suggest. The data does not contain a corresponding 3DMark score for the A550M, so a direct comparison on that workload is impossible. However, the Geekbench results are consistent and unambiguous: the A730M holds a substantial lead in both OpenCL and Vulkan.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the most head-to-head benchmark tests?

A: The Intel Arc A730M wins both recorded head-to-head tests. It beats the A550M by -29.1% in Geekbench OpenCL (70,352 vs. 49,894) and by -23.4% in Geekbench Vulkan (64,693 vs. 49,580).

Q: How does the A550M compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The A550M’s average score is 49,737. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49,957) by 0.4%, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (50,001) by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (50,951) by 2.4%. It leads the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (48,477) by 2.6%.

Q: Why is the A730M’s average benchmark score lower than the A550M’s despite winning all head-to-head tests?

A: The A730M’s average of 45,592 includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,732, which is substantially lower than its Geekbench scores. The A550M has no 3DMark result recorded, so its average of 49,737 is based solely on Geekbench OpenCL (49,894) and Vulkan (49,580) scores. The inclusion of the low 3DMark score drags the A730M’s aggregate down.

Q: What are the percentile rankings of both GPUs?

A: The A550M sits at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the A730M sits at the 84th percentile. Despite the A730M’s lower average score, the two GPUs are only two percentile points apart.

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench Vulkan score?

A: The Intel Arc A730M has the higher Vulkan score at 64,693, compared to the A550M’s 49,580. The A730M leads by 23.4% in this test.

Q: Does the A550M have any benchmark where it beats the A730M?

A: No. In the two recorded head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the A730M wins both. The A550M has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the same fundamental architecture: they are built on Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture using the DG2-512 chip. The process node is identical at 6 nm, fabricated by TSMC. The transistor count is the same for both at 21,700 million, and the die size is also identical at 406 mm², yielding the same transistor density of 53.4 million transistors per square millimeter. This means the two GPUs are essentially the same silicon, differentiated primarily by how many functional units are enabled and how they are configured.

The core configuration differs significantly. The A550M has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), 64 render output units (ROPs), and 16 ray tracing cores. The A730M scales this up substantially: it has 3,072 shading units (50% more), 192 TMUs (50% more), 96 ROPs (50% more), and 24 ray tracing cores (50% more). This uniform 1.5x scaling across all shader-related units indicates that the A730M is a more fully enabled version of the same DG2-512 die, while the A550M likely has some compute units disabled.

The clock speeds also differ. The A550M has a base clock of 900 MHz, while the A730M has a base clock of 1100 MHz — a 22.2% higher base frequency. Both GPUs share the same boost clock of 2050 MHz. The memory clock is identical at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These clock differences, combined with the larger core count, explain the performance gap in the benchmark data.

Both GPUs support the same API set: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Neither has tensor cores listed. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface and have portable device dependent display outputs. The slot width is listed as IGP for both, indicating they are integrated into mobile platforms. Neither has a power connector listed, and neither has a suggested PSU value.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystem is a major differentiator. The A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The A730M doubles down with 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth — exactly 50% more bandwidth. The memory type, clock speed, and effective data rate are identical (GDDR6, 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective), but the wider bus on the A730M allows for proportionally higher throughput.

The compute throughput numbers scale accordingly. The A550M delivers 8.397 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 16.79 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). The A730M delivers 12.60 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.19 TFLOPS FP16. That is exactly 50% higher in both metrics, matching the core count increase. The pixel rate is 131.2 GPixel/s for the A550M and 196.8 GPixel/s for the A730M (again 50% higher). The texture rate is 262.4 GTexel/s for the A550M and 393.6 GTexel/s for the A730M (50% higher).

The TDP differs as well: the A550M is rated at 60 W, while the A730M is rated at 80 W — a 33.3% higher power envelope. This is consistent with the additional cores and higher base clock. The generation naming also differs: the A550M is in the "Alchemist (Arc 5 Mobile)" generation, while the A730M is in the "Alchemist (Arc 7 Mobile)" generation. Both are marked as end-of-life in production status. Neither has a launch MSRP listed.

The benchmark score sets also differ. The A550M has two Geekbench results (OpenCL and Vulkan), while the A730M has those two plus a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score. The A550M has no 3DMark result recorded.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Intel Arc A730M is the faster GPU in every shared benchmark. It wins both Geekbench tests by margins of 29.1% (OpenCL) and 23.4% (Vulkan). The A730M’s advantage stems from a 50% larger core configuration — 3,072 vs. 2,048 shading units, 24 vs. 16 ray tracing cores — combined with a 22.2% higher base clock (1100 MHz vs. 900 MHz) and 50% more memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s vs. 224.0 GB/s). The result is exactly 50% higher FP32 throughput (12.60 vs. 8.397 TFLOPS) and proportionally higher pixel and texture rates.

The A730M also offers 12 GB of memory versus 8 GB, which is a meaningful capacity advantage for large workloads. The cost of this performance is a higher TDP: 80 W versus 60 W, a 33.3% increase. For mobile platforms, this power difference could be a deciding factor, but the benchmark data does not include any power efficiency measurements.

The A550M’s position in the database is nonetheless respectable. Its average score of 49,737 places it above the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (48,477) by 2.6%, and it trails high-end desktop GPUs like the RX 6900 XT by only 2.4%. Its percentile ranking of 86th is actually two points higher than the A730M’s 84th, a quirk driven by the A730M’s low 3DMark score. For buyers or system integrators selecting between these two, the choice depends on priorities. The A730M is the clear performance pick, offering 50% more compute resources and a 50% wider memory bus. The A550M is the more power-efficient option on paper, with a 25% lower TDP (60 W vs. 80 W), though the data does not include any measured power consumption figures to verify real-world efficiency.

The A730M’s nearest rivals in the database — the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (0.5% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (0.8% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (1% ahead) — all fall within a 1.8% band around its average score. The A550M’s rivals are similarly clustered, with all four within 5 percentage points. Neither GPU is an outlier in its respective peer group; they both sit in dense performance neighborhoods. The verdict is straightforward: the A730M is the superior GPU by every measured metric, and the A550M is a lower-power, lower-performance alternative within the same architecture family. For anyone who needs the extra 4 GB of memory and the higher compute throughput, the A730M is the justified choice. For those constrained by power budgets, the A550M offers the same architecture at a reduced TDP, with benchmark results showing it retains competitive standing among desktop-class GPUs.