Intel Arc A550M vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data positions the Intel Arc A550M and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile as two very different mobile graphics solutions, with the Arc A550M holding a clear performance advantage in the available benchmark suite. The Intel part scores 49,737 on average across the two Geekbench tests, while the NVIDIA part averages 39,568. That is a 25.7% gap in favor of Intel, based on the delta between their average benchmark scores. The Arc A550M also lands in the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX A500 Mobile sits at the 82nd percentile, meaning both are above the median, but Intel sits noticeably higher in the overall distribution.

For users who prioritize raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth, the Intel Arc A550M is the clear pick. It wins both head-to-head tests, with a 20.9% lead in OpenCL and a 30.9% lead in Vulkan. The RTX A500 Mobile does not win any recorded benchmark comparison, making it the weaker choice in every measured scenario. However, the NVIDIA part draws only 30 W compared to Intel's 60 W, and it uses a smaller 200 mm² die with 8,700 million transistors versus Intel's 406 mm² and 21,700 million. The data suggests the RTX A500 Mobile is designed for efficiency and lower power envelopes, while the Arc A550M trades that efficiency for substantially higher performance. Buyers who need maximum compute capability in a laptop should choose Intel; buyers who need a lower-power professional mobile GPU with NVIDIA's ecosystem and Tensor cores should consider the RTX A500 Mobile, accepting its lower benchmark scores.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A550M wins in both recorded benchmark categories. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 49,894 against the RTX A500 Mobile's 41,263, a 20.9% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens: Intel scores 49,580 versus NVIDIA's 37,873, a 30.9% lead. The Intel part also has a higher average benchmark score (49,737 versus 39,568) and a higher percentile ranking (86 versus 82). The data shows Intel winning in every measurable compute scenario.

The RTX A500 Mobile does not win any benchmark in the database. However, it does win in power efficiency. Its TDP is 30 W, exactly half of Intel's 60 W. Its die size is 200 mm², less than half of Intel's 406 mm², and its transistor count is 8,700 million versus Intel's 21,700 million. The NVIDIA part also includes 64 Tensor cores, which the Intel part does not list, making it the only option with dedicated AI acceleration hardware in the specifications. For workloads that rely on Tensor core acceleration, such as certain professional AI inference tasks, the RTX A500 Mobile may be more suitable despite its lower raw compute scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different process nodes and foundries. The Intel Arc A550M uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile uses an 8 nm process at Samsung. This explains part of the die size difference: Intel's DG2-512 chip measures 406 mm² with 21,700 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 53.4 million per mm². NVIDIA's GA107S chip measures 200 mm² with 8,700 million transistors, yielding 43.5 million per mm². Intel's denser design packs more than twice the transistors into a larger die.

The architectures themselves are different generations. Intel uses Xe-HPG with the Alchemist generation (Arc 5 Mobile), while NVIDIA uses Ampere with the Ampere-MW (Ax000) generation. The Intel part has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. The NVIDIA part also has 2,048 shading units, but only 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs. Both have 16 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA part includes 64 Tensor cores, a feature the Intel part does not list. Clock speeds differ: Intel runs at 900 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost, while NVIDIA runs at 832 MHz base and 1537 MHz boost. Intel's higher boost clock, combined with more TMUs and ROPs, explains its higher pixel rate (131.2 GPixel/s versus 49.18 GPixel/s) and texture rate (262.4 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s).

Memory configurations diverge significantly. Intel offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA offers 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. Intel's memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while NVIDIA's is 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The bus interface also differs: Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are marked as end-of-life, and NVIDIA's release date is recorded as March 21, 2022, while Intel's release date is not listed.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has an average benchmark score of 49,737, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile averages 39,568. Intel leads by roughly 25.7%.

Q: How much faster is the Intel Arc A550M in Vulkan?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, Intel scores 49,580 versus NVIDIA's 37,873, a 30.9% advantage for Intel.

Q: Does the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile have any hardware advantage?

A: Yes, it includes 64 Tensor cores, which the Intel Arc A550M does not list. It also consumes 30 W versus Intel's 60 W, making it a lower-power option.

Q: What are the memory capacities of these two GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do their pixel rates compare?

A: Intel's pixel rate is 131.2 GPixel/s, while NVIDIA's is 49.18 GPixel/s. Intel's texture rate is 262.4 GTexel/s versus NVIDIA's 98.37 GTexel/s.

Q: Which GPU ranks higher in the database's overall percentile?

A: The Intel Arc A550M sits at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile sits at the 82nd percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head tests are two Geekbench workloads, and Intel wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc A550M scores 49,894, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 41,263. The delta is 20.9%, a substantial margin that reflects Intel's higher FP32 throughput (8.397 TFLOPS versus 6.296 TFLOPS) and nearly double the memory bandwidth (224.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s). The OpenCL test is compute-heavy, and Intel's larger die with more TMUs and ROPs appears to scale accordingly.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an even larger gap. Intel scores 49,580, while NVIDIA scores 37,873, a 30.9% difference. Vulkan workloads often benefit from higher boost clocks and lower API overhead. Intel's 2050 MHz boost clock versus NVIDIA's 1537 MHz boost clock likely contributes to this result. The Intel part also has a 128-bit memory bus versus NVIDIA's 64-bit bus, which matters for memory-intensive rendering tasks. The 30.9% delta in Vulkan is the single biggest win in the dataset.

Looking at the nearest rivals for context, the Intel Arc A550M's average score of 49,737 places it just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49,957) and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (50,001). It is 2.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (50,951) and 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (48,477). This suggests the Arc A550M performs in the upper range of desktop-class GPUs from a few generations back, despite being a mobile part. The RTX A500 Mobile's average of 39,568 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39,555, 0% delta), 1.2% ahead of the Radeon Pro 575X (39,116), 1.2% behind the Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063), and 1.9% behind the Radeon Pro 580 (40,318). The NVIDIA part competes with older professional mobile GPUs, not modern desktop flagships.

The benchmark data clearly shows Intel's advantage in both OpenCL and Vulkan, with the Vulkan gap being 10 percentage points larger than the OpenCL gap. This pattern suggests that Intel's architecture responds better to modern graphics APIs, possibly due to its higher boost clock and larger memory subsystem. The RTX A500 Mobile's lower scores are consistent with its lower TDP and smaller memory bus, but the Tensor cores remain a differentiator not captured in these compute benchmarks.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The Intel Arc A550M uses a 6 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile uses an 8 nm Samsung process. Intel's die is 406 mm² with 21,700 million transistors, while NVIDIA's is 200 mm² with 8,700 million. Transistor density is 53.4M per mm² for Intel versus 43.5M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock speeds: Intel has a 900 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost; NVIDIA has 832 MHz base and 1537 MHz boost. Memory clocks: Intel runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), NVIDIA at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Memory capacity: Intel has 8 GB GDDR6, NVIDIA has 4 GB GDDR6. Bus width: 128-bit for Intel, 64-bit for NVIDIA. Bandwidth: 224.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s.

Compute resources: both have 2,048 shading units, but Intel has 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs, while NVIDIA has 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs. Both have 16 ray tracing cores. NVIDIA has 64 Tensor cores; Intel lists none. Pixel rates: 131.2 GPixel/s versus 49.18 GPixel/s. Texture rates: 262.4 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s. FP32: 8.397 TFLOPS versus 6.296 TFLOPS. FP16: Intel achieves 16.79 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, NVIDIA achieves 6.296 TFLOPS at 1:1, meaning Intel has over 2.6 times the FP16 throughput.

Power: Intel has a 60 W TDP, NVIDIA has 30 W. Both are IGP slot width with portable device dependent display outputs. Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x16, NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x8. NVIDIA lists no power connectors, while Intel lists none as well. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are end-of-life. NVIDIA's release date is March 21, 2022, with predecessor Quadro Turing-M and successor Ada-MW; Intel's release date, predecessor, and successor are not recorded.