Intel Arc A550M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel Arc A550M occupy opposite ends of the graphics hardware spectrum, and the benchmark data reflects that chasm with stark clarity. In the two shared compute tests, the RTX 5080 delivers a 372.8% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL (235,901 vs 49,894) and a 415.2% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan (255,450 vs 49,580). These are not marginal gains; they are generational leaps that place the two products in entirely different performance tiers, even though their overall percentile rankings among all GPUs are surprisingly close at 87% and 86%, respectively.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are unambiguous, with the RTX 5080 winning both recorded tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 scores 235,901 against the Arc A550M’s 49,894, a delta of 372.8%. This test measures general-purpose compute throughput, and the margin reflects the RTX 5080’s raw FP32 output of 56.28 TFLOPS versus the Arc A550M’s 8.397 TFLOPS. The Geekbench Vulkan result is even more lopsided: 255,450 versus 49,580, a 415.2% delta. Vulkan’s low-level API overhead favors architectures with higher shading unit counts and memory bandwidth, and the RTX 5080’s 10,752 shading units and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarf the Arc A550M’s 2,048 units and 224.0 GB/s.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores, the RTX 5080 posts an avgBenchmarkScore of 56,083, while the Arc A550M sits at 49,737. The RTX 5080’s nearest rivals in the database are AMD Radeon 8060S (avg 55,757, +0.6%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (avg 55,698, +0.7%), and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (avg 54,828, +2.3%), with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE slightly ahead at 57,367 (-2.2%). For the Arc A550M, the closest competitors are NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (avg 49,957, -0.4%), AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (avg 50,001, -0.5%), AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (avg 50,951, -2.4%), and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (avg 48,477, +2.6%). These rival clusters show that the RTX 5080 competes with high-end desktop cards, while the Arc A550M trades blows with older flagship and mid-range desktop parts—despite being an integrated graphics product.

The RTX 5080’s Passmark scores further illustrate its dominance: G3D score of 36,565, GPU compute of 21,789, and legacy DirectX tests ranging from 151 (DX12) to 389 (DX9). The Arc A550M has no Passmark entries in the data, so direct comparisons there are impossible. However, the Geekbench results alone establish that the RTX 5080 is roughly four to five times faster in compute-heavy workloads. The win count is 2–0 in favor of the RTX 5080, with no tests where the Arc A550M pulls ahead.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5080 in Vulkan compute compared to the Arc A550M?

A: The RTX 5080 scores 255,450 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 49,580 for the Arc A550M, a 415.2% difference. This is the largest margin in any shared test.

Q: Are these two GPUs in the same performance percentiles despite the score gap?

A: The RTX 5080 ranks in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, while the Arc A550M ranks in the 86th. Despite the massive score differences, both sit near the top of the database, reflecting that the Arc A550M is still a high-performing part, just in a much lower absolute tier.

Q: What does the average benchmark score say about overall performance?

A: The RTX 5080 has an avgBenchmarkScore of 56,083, which is 12.8% higher than the Arc A550M’s 49,737. This aggregate metric includes all recorded tests and confirms the RTX 5080’s consistent lead.

Q: Which GPU has better nearest-rival positioning?

A: The RTX 5080’s closest rival is the AMD Radeon 8060S at +0.6%, while the Arc A550M’s closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at -0.4%. The RTX 5080 leads its nearest competitor, whereas the Arc A550M slightly trails its closest rival.

Q: Is the Arc A550M competitive in any benchmark category?

A: In the two shared Geekbench tests, the Arc A550M does not win either. Its best relative performance is in OpenCL where it trails by 372.8%, a smaller deficit than the 415.2% in Vulkan, but still a decisive loss.

Q: What does the deltaPct between the two products indicate about their scaling?

A: The RTX 5080’s advantage grows from 372.8% in OpenCL to 415.2% in Vulkan, suggesting that the architecture scales better under Vulkan’s explicit control model, likely due to its higher shading unit count and faster memory subsystem.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is fundamental. The RTX 5080 uses the GB203 chip built on NVIDIA’s Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm TSMC process. It packs 45,600 million transistors into a 378 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm². The Arc A550M uses Intel’s DG2-512 chip with Xe-HPG architecture, built on a 6 nm TSMC process. It contains 21,700 million transistors across a larger 406 mm² die, resulting in a much lower density of 53.4 million per mm². The RTX 5080’s smaller, denser die is a direct result of the more advanced node.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 5080 features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s—a 736 GB/s deficit. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the RTX 5080 runs at a 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, while the Arc A550M operates at 900 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost. The RTX 5080’s memory clock is 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the Arc A550M.

Compute resources are massively skewed toward the RTX 5080. It has 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. The Arc A550M has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 16 RT cores, with no tensor core data available. Pixel and texture rates follow: the RTX 5080 achieves 293.1 GPixel/s and 879.3 GTexel/s, versus 131.2 GPixel/s and 262.4 GTexel/s for the Arc A550M. FP32 throughput is 56.28 TFLOPS on the RTX 5080 versus 8.397 TFLOPS, while FP16 performance is 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1) on the RTX 5080 versus 16.79 TFLOPS (2:1) on the Arc A550M.

Power and physical characteristics differ as much as compute. The RTX 5080 is a dual-slot card with a 360 W TDP, a 1x 16-pin power connector, and a suggested 750 W PSU. It measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The Arc A550M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 60 W TDP, no power connectors, no suggested PSU, and no listed dimensions—it is portable-device dependent. The RTX 5080 uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Arc A550M uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5080 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs; the Arc A550M’s display outputs are portable-device dependent. Production status is Active for the RTX 5080 versus End-of-life for the Arc A550M.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the RTX 5080 is the superior product by nearly every measurable metric. Its average benchmark score of 56,083 versus 49,737 places it in a higher competitive tier, and its Geekbench advantages of 372.8% and 415.2% are decisive. The RTX 5080 leads its nearest rival (AMD Radeon 8060S) by 0.6%, while the Arc A550M trails its closest competitor (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti) by 0.4%. If the goal is maximum compute performance, the RTX 5080 is the only rational choice.

However, the Arc A550M is not without context. Its 86th percentile ranking shows it outperforms the vast majority of GPUs in the database, and its 60 W TDP as an IGP means it operates in a completely different power envelope than the RTX 5080’s 360 W. For a portable device where power draw and physical size are constraints, the Arc A550M’s integrated design offers a level of performance that is competitive with desktop GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (which it leads by 2.6%). The RTX 5080, by contrast, requires a dual-slot chassis, a 750 W PSU, and a 16-pin connector.

The production statuses reinforce the verdict: the RTX 5080 is Active, while the Arc A550M is End-of-life. The RTX 5080 also has a launch MSRP of 999 USD, which can be stated once as factual information. For users who need raw performance in a desktop context, the RTX 5080 is the clear winner. For users constrained to integrated graphics in a portable form factor, the Arc A550M is a competent, if dated, option that punches above its weight class.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in every major specification category:

• Process Node: RTX 5080 is 5 nm; Arc A550M is 6 nm.
• Transistors: RTX 5080 has 45,600 million; Arc A550M has 21,700 million.
• Die Size: RTX 5080 is 378 mm²; Arc A550M is 406 mm².
• Transistor Density: 120.6M / mm² versus 53.4M / mm².
• Base Clock: 2295 MHz versus 900 MHz.
• Boost Clock: 2617 MHz versus 2050 MHz.
• Memory Size: 16 GB versus 8 GB.
• Memory Type: GDDR7 versus GDDR6.
• Memory Bus: 256-bit versus 128-bit.
• Memory Bandwidth: 960.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s.
• Shading Units: 10,752 versus 2,048.
• TMUs: 336 versus 128.
• ROPs: 112 versus 64.
• RT Cores: 84 versus 16.
• Tensor Cores: 336 versus null.
• Pixel Rate: 293.1 GPixel/s versus 131.2 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: 879.3 GTexel/s versus 262.4 GTexel/s.
• FP32: 56.28 TFLOPS versus 8.397 TFLOPS.
• FP16: 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 16.79 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: 360 W versus 60 W.
• Slot Width: Dual-slot versus IGP.
• Power Connectors: 1x 16-pin versus null.
• Suggested PSU: 750 W versus null.
• Bus Interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16.
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b versus Portable Device Dependent.
• Dimensions: 304 mm x 137 mm x 40 mm versus null.
• Production Status: Active versus End-of-life.