Intel Arc A550M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database records only two shared tests between the Intel Arc A550M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the NVIDIA card wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 scores 154858 against 49894 for the Arc A550M, a delta of 67.8% in favor of NVIDIA. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens slightly: the RTX 4070 records 174152, while the Arc A550M manages 49580, a 71.5% difference.

These are not marginal wins. The RTX 4070 more than triples the Arc A550M's OpenCL output and more than triples its Vulkan output as well. The Arc A550M's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 49737, which places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 4070's average benchmark score is 37648, which places it in the 81st percentile. The percentile figures may seem counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but they reflect different test sets and different comparison pools. The Arc A550M has only the two Geekbench entries, while the RTX 4070 has ten entries spanning DirectX 9 through DirectX 12, 2D, 3D, and compute workloads.

The RTX 4070's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (average score 37628, delta 0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, delta 0.4%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, delta 1.3% higher than the RTX 4070). The Arc A550M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49957, delta 0.4% higher than the Arc), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (50001, delta 0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (50951, delta 2.4% higher). The Arc A550M sits within roughly 2.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, which scores 48477.

Looking at the raw specifications that drive these results, the RTX 4070 operates at a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, compared to the Arc A550M's 900 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card carries 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, while the Intel part has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 4070's FP32 throughput is 29.15 TFLOPS, versus 8.397 TFLOPS for the Arc A550M. Texture rate favors NVIDIA at 455.4 GTexel/s against 262.4 GTexel/s, and pixel rate favors NVIDIA at 158.4 GPixel/s versus 131.2 GPixel/s.

Memory bandwidth tells a similar story. The RTX 4070 uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth and 21 Gbps effective memory speed. The Arc A550M uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 14 Gbps effective memory speed. The NVIDIA card has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores; the Intel part has 16 RT cores and no tensor core field in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. That is the complete win record in the shared test set. The Arc A550M has zero head-to-head wins in the database. For workloads that resemble Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, which include general compute and graphics API performance across a range of tasks, the RTX 4070 is the stronger part by a wide margin.

The RTX 4070 also shows strength across the broader benchmark set recorded for it individually. In PassMark DirectX 9 it scores 320, in DirectX 11 it scores 244, in DirectX 10 it scores 139, and in DirectX 12 it scores 103. Its PassMark G3D score is 26927 and its GPU compute score is 14720. The 2D score is 1164. These numbers give the RTX 4070 a broader tested footprint than the Arc A550M, which only has Geekbench entries.

The Arc A550M's strengths are more contextual. Its 60 W TDP is a fraction of the RTX 4070's 200 W TDP. It is listed as an integrated graphics package with a slot width of IGP, meaning it is designed for portable devices with power constraints. Its 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database, based on its average score, indicates that relative to the full database it sits higher than the RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking, even though the RTX 4070's absolute scores are far higher. This is because the percentile reflects the positioning of each GPU against all others in the database using their respective average benchmark scores, not a direct comparison of the two parts.

For use cases that prioritize low power draw and compact integration, the Arc A550M is the only one of the two that appears in an IGP form factor. The RTX 4070 is a dual-slot discrete card measuring 240 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The Arc A550M's dimensions are not recorded in the database, but its slot width and power connector field (null) indicate a design intended for mobile or embedded integration rather than a desktop expansion slot.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A550M is built on the DG2-512 chip using the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist generation for Arc 5 Mobile. It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 53.4 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip with the Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 series. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter.

The density difference is stark. NVIDIA packs nearly 1.65 times the transistors into a die that is about 72% of the Intel chip's area. This density advantage is one reason the RTX 4070 achieves roughly 3.5 times the FP32 throughput of the Arc A550M with a much larger shader array.

Memory architecture differs in type, capacity, bus width, and speed. The RTX 4070 uses GDDR6X with 12 GB capacity, a 192-bit bus, and 21 Gbps effective speed. The Arc A550M uses GDDR6 with 8 GB capacity, a 128-bit bus, and 14 Gbps effective speed. Bandwidth is 504.2 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s.

The RTX 4070 includes 184 tensor cores and 46 RT cores. The Arc A550M has 16 RT cores and no tensor core entry in the database. FP16 performance on the RTX 4070 is 29.15 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the Arc A550M reaches 16.79 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The RTX 4070's FP16 output equals its FP32 output, indicating full-rate half-precision execution; the Arc A550M's FP16 is double its FP32 rate.

Both parts support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX 4070 has a 16-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 550 W; the Arc A550M has no power connector field in the database. The RTX 4070's display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Arc A550M's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

The RTX 4070 was released on 2023-04-11 with a launch MSRP of 599 USD. Its predecessor is the GeForce 30 series and its successor is the GeForce 50 series. The Arc A550M has no recorded release date, predecessor, successor, or launch MSRP in the database. Both parts are marked end-of-life in production status.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split by use case. For anyone comparing these two as discrete graphics solutions for desktop or high-performance laptop use, the RTX 4070 is the stronger part in every recorded head-to-head benchmark. It delivers 67.8% higher OpenCL scores and 71.5% higher Vulkan scores. It has more than double the memory capacity, more than double the bandwidth, roughly 3.5 times the FP32 throughput, and a much larger shader array. Its tensor cores and higher RT core count give it features the Arc A550M does not match in the recorded data.

The Arc A550M's case rests on efficiency and form factor. Its 60 W TDP is 30% of the RTX 4070's 200 W TDP. It is an IGP-class part, which means it can be integrated directly into portable devices without a separate power connector or dual-slot cooling solution. The RTX 4070 requires a 16-pin connector, a 550 W suggested PSU, and a dual-slot footprint with specific physical dimensions. For a thin-and-light laptop or an embedded system where power and space are the limiting factors, the Arc A550M is the only viable option between the two, even though it loses every recorded benchmark.

The percentile data adds nuance. The Arc A550M ranks in the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 4070 ranks in the 81st. This does not mean the Arc is faster; it reflects the fact that the two parts are benchmarked against different pools and the Arc's average score of 49737 places it higher relative to the full database than the RTX 4070's 37648 average does. The RTX 4070's nearest rivals in the database are much lower-scoring parts like the Tesla P4 and RX Vega 56, while the Arc A550M's nearest rivals are high-end desktop cards like the RX 6900 XT and RX 6800 XT.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 wins with a score of 154858 against 49894 for the Intel Arc A550M, a delta of 67.8%.

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 wins with a score of 174152 against 49580 for the Intel Arc A550M, a delta of 71.5%.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the power draw of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has a 60 W TDP. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has a 200 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Which GPU has tensor cores?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 184 tensor cores. The Intel Arc A550M has no tensor core entry in the database.

Q: What are the RT core counts?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has 16 RT cores. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 46 RT cores.

Specification Differences

| Field | Intel Arc A550M | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |

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

| Chip | DG2-512 | AD104 |

| Architecture | Xe-HPG | Ada Lovelace |

| Generation | Alchemist (Arc 5 Mobile) | GeForce 40 |

| Process node | 6 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 21,700 million | 35,800 million |

| Die size | 406 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Transistor density | 53.4M / mm² | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base clock | 900 MHz | 1920 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2050 MHz | 2475 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective | 1313 MHz, 21 Gbps effective |

| Memory size | 8 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |

| Memory bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 504.2 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2048 | 5888 |

| TMUs | 128 | 184 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| RT cores | 16 | 46 |

| Tensor cores | null | 184 |

| Pixel rate | 131.2 GPixel/s | 158.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 262.4 GTexel/s | 455.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.397 TFLOPS | 29.15 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 16.79 TFLOPS (2:1) | 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 60 W | 200 W |

| Slot width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power connectors | null | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | null | 550 W |

| Display outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions | null | 240 mm length, 110 mm height, 40 mm width |

| Release date | null | 2023-04-11 |

| Predecessor | null | GeForce 30 |

| Successor | null | GeForce 50 |

| Launch MSRP | null | 599 USD |