Intel Arc A730M vs NVIDIA Tesla P4 Comparison

The Intel Arc A730M and NVIDIA Tesla P4 occupy very different corners of the GPU landscape, yet the recorded benchmark data places them within striking distance in overall standing: the A730M sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the database with an average benchmark score of 45592, while the Tesla P4 sits in the 81st percentile with an average of 37628. Both parts are end-of-life, both were built by TSMC, and both deliver compute throughput that keeps them relevant in their respective niches. The head-to-head results, however, tilt decisively toward the newer Intel hardware.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc A730M wins every shared benchmark in the database, and by wide margins. In Geekbench OpenCL it posts 70352 against the Tesla P4's 34947, a 101.3% advantage, meaning the A730M more than doubles the P4's score in general GPU compute. In Geekbench Vulkan the gap narrows but remains large: 64693 versus 40309, a 60.5% lead for Intel. With two wins to zero for the Tesla P4, the use-case split is straightforward. The A730M is the stronger pick for anything that runs through OpenCL or Vulkan: general-purpose compute, modern graphics workloads, and ray-traced content via its 24 dedicated RT cores. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 also gives it a memory capacity and bandwidth edge for larger working sets.

The Tesla P4's case rests on its form factor and host integration rather than raw performance. It is a single-slot card with no power connectors, drawing 75 W, with a suggested PSU of only 250 W, and it measures 168 mm (6.6 inches) in length. It offers a 256-bit memory bus and passive-display positioning with no outputs, signaling a data-center inference orientation. Where a compact, low-profile accelerator that slots into an existing PCIe 3.0 system is required, the P4 fits roles the mobile-focused A730M cannot physically occupy.

Architecture Differences

The generational gap between these two parts is the root of the performance spread. The Arc A730M uses the DG2-512 chip on Intel's Xe-HPG architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 6 nm process. The Tesla P4 uses the GP104 chip on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 16 nm process. The node advantage shows directly in transistor density: 53.4M per mm² for the A730M versus 22.9M per mm² for the P4, more than double the density despite a larger 406 mm² die against the P4's 314 mm². Total transistor count reflects that scale: 21700 million for the A730M versus 7200 million for the P4.

Feature-wise, the A730M is the decisively more modern part. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (feature level 12_2) with 24 ray-tracing cores, while the P4 supports DirectX 12 (feature level 12_1) and has no RT cores. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so the API overlap is real, but the A730M's hardware feature set is a generation ahead. The P4's lineage is tesla-pascal, sandwiched between the Tesla Maxwell predecessor and the Tesla Volta successor.

Clock behavior also differs sharply. The A730M boosts to 2050 MHz from a base of 1100 MHz, while the P4 tops out at 1114 MHz from a base of 886 MHz, so the Intel part's boost clock nearly matches the P4's ceiling as its floor-plus-a-hair. Memory runs at 14 Gbps effective on GDDR6 for the A730M versus 6 Gbps effective on GDDR5 for the P4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two shared tests, and the Arc A730M takes both.

Geekbench OpenCL: 70352 for the Arc A730M versus 34947 for the Tesla P4, a 101.3% margin. This is the defining result of the comparison. The A730M's OpenCL score is almost exactly double the P4's, which tracks with its FP32 throughput of 12.60 TFLOPS against the P4's 5.704 TFLOPS. For any OpenCL-accelerated workload, the recorded data shows the Intel part delivering roughly twice the compute output.

Geekbench Vulkan: 64693 for the Arc A730M versus 40309 for the Tesla P4, a 60.5% margin. The P4 closes ground here relative to OpenCL, but a 60% deficit is still decisive. The Vulkan result is also notable for the P4 in isolation: it scores higher in Vulkan (40309) than in OpenCL (34947), while the A730M shows the opposite pattern, scoring higher in OpenCL (70352) than Vulkan (64693).

Context from the rivals list sharpens the picture. The A730M's average score of 45592 places it within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45152, delta 1%), just above the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384, delta 0.5%), and fractionally below the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (46043, delta -1%) and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45972, delta -0.8%). The Tesla P4's average of 37628 puts it essentially even with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (37648, delta -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, delta 0.3%), within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400, and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135).

The A730M also holds a unique entry in the Steel Nomad DirectX 12 test with a score of 1732; the P4 has no recorded result in that benchmark, so no direct comparison is possible there.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two parts:

• Manufacturer: Intel versus NVIDIA
• Chip: DG2-512 versus GP104
• Architecture: Xe-HPG versus Pascal
• Generation: Alchemist (Arc 7 Mobile) versus Tesla Pascal (Pxx)
• Process node: 6 nm versus 16 nm
• Transistors: 21700 million versus 7200 million
• Die size: 406 mm² versus 314 mm²
• Transistor density: 53.4M/mm² versus 22.9M/mm²
• Base clock: 1100 MHz versus 886 MHz
• Boost clock: 2050 MHz versus 1114 MHz
• Memory size: 12 GB versus 8 GB
• Memory type: GDDR6 versus GDDR5
• Memory bus: 192 bit versus 256 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 336.0 GB/s versus 192.3 GB/s
• Memory speed: 14 Gbps effective versus 6 Gbps effective
• Shading units: 3072 versus 2560
• TMUs: 192 versus 160
• ROPs: 96 versus 64
• RT cores: 24 versus none
• Pixel rate: 196.8 GPixel/s versus 71.30 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 393.6 GTexel/s versus 178.2 GTexel/s
• FP32: 12.60 TFLOPS versus 5.704 TFLOPS
• FP16: 25.19 TFLOPS (2:1 rate) versus 89.12 GFLOPS (1:64 rate)
• TDP: 80 W versus 75 W
• Slot width: IGP versus single-slot
• Power connectors: none listed versus none
• Suggested PSU: not listed versus 250 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16
• Display outputs: portable device dependent versus no outputs
• DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1)
• Length: not listed versus 168 mm (6.6 inches)
• Release date: not listed versus September 2016
• Predecessor/successor: not listed versus Tesla Maxwell and Tesla Volta
• Production status: both end-of-life

One structural note: despite the narrower 192-bit bus on the A730M, its faster GDDR6 still delivers substantially more bandwidth (336.0 GB/s) than the P4's wider 256-bit GDDR5 arrangement (192.3 GB/s).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster overall?

A: The Intel Arc A730M. It averages 45592 across recorded benchmarks versus 37628 for the Tesla P4, and it wins both head-to-head tests: Geekbench OpenCL by 101.3% (70352 vs 34947) and Geekbench Vulkan by 60.5% (64693 vs 40309).

Q: How does their standing compare against the full database?

A: The Arc A730M sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs; the Tesla P4 sits in the 81st percentile. They are close in ranking but the A730M is measurably ahead.

Q: Which GPUs are closest competitors to each?

A: The A730M's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (0.5%), NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (-0.8%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (1%), and NVIDIA RTX A2000 (-1%). The Tesla P4's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (-0.1%), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.3%), AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (-1.3%).

Q: Does either GPU support ray tracing?

A: Only the Intel Arc A730M, which has 24 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support. The Tesla P4 has no RT cores and supports DirectX 12 at feature level 12_1.

Q: How do power and physical requirements differ?

A: The Tesla P4 is a 75 W single-slot card with no power connectors, a 168 mm length, and a suggested 250 W PSU. The Arc A730M is an 80 W integrated mobile part with no listed power connectors or dimensions.

Q: Which has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The Arc A730M: 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus at 336.0 GB/s. The Tesla P4 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 192.3 GB/s.