Intel Arc A750 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Comparison

Intel Arc A750 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780: the data presents a generational chasm. The A750’s average benchmark score of 20,582 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 780’s 19,164 average sits at the 64th percentile; on the surface, these seem close, but the head-to-head results reveal a fundamental shift in compute and graphics capabilities. The Arc A750 wins both shared benchmarks decisively, and the underlying specifications confirm that this is not a contest of equals, but a look at how far GPU architecture has progressed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two benchmarks both cards share are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and in both, the Intel Arc A750 obliterates the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A750 scores 98,554 against the GTX 780’s 22,863, a delta of 331.1% in Intel’s favor. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a four-fold increase in raw compute throughput as measured by this test, reflecting the A750’s modern design and vastly higher shader count.

The Vulkan result tells a similar story. The Arc A750 posts 85,631 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the GTX 780 manages 24,514, resulting in a 249.3% advantage for Intel. Vulkan is a low-overhead API that scales well with parallel hardware, and the A750’s 3,584 shading units versus the GTX 780’s 2,304 clearly dominate this workload. The GTX 780, with its Kepler architecture from 2013, was never designed for modern API efficiency, and the data confirms that its Vulkan performance is less than a third of the A750’s.

It is worth remembering the GTX 780 has no direct 3DMark or Passmark results in the data, while the A750 shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,612 and Passmark G3D score of 12,534. This absence itself is telling: the GTX 780’s benchmark profile is incomplete, suggesting it cannot run or is not validated for many contemporary test suites. The A750’s percentile ranking of 66th versus the GTX 780’s 64th may seem close, but the head-to-head deltas of 331.1% and 249.3% show that the average score comparison is skewed by the GTX 780’s limited test pool.

The Verdict

From the data, the Intel Arc A750 is the superior product for any modern workload. It wins both shared benchmarks by overwhelming margins, offers more than double the FP32 compute (17.20 TFLOPS vs 4.156 TFLOPS), and supports current APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 780 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The A750’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is also categorically ahead of the GTX 780’s 3 GB GDDR5 with 288.4 GB/s, making the older card a bottleneck for texture-heavy scenes or high-resolution rendering.

The GTX 780’s only advantage is its launch MSRP of 649 USD, which is higher than the A750’s 289 USD, but since both are end-of-life products, this historical price is irrelevant to current buyers. For anyone choosing between these two today, the Arc A750 is the only rational pick. It is faster, more efficient per watt (225 W TDP vs 250 W), and has driver support for modern graphics features. The GTX 780 remains a relic of the Kepler era, and the benchmark data shows it cannot compete in any meaningful way.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The Intel Arc A750 uses the DG2-512 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 6 nm process, with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 uses the GK110 chip on the Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process with 7,080 million transistors on a larger 561 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the A750 packs 53.4 million transistors per mm², while the GTX 780 manages only 12.6 million per mm²—a 4.2x difference in density that explains the A750’s superior performance per watt and per area.

The A750’s memory subsystem is also generations ahead. It uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 780 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 288.4 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the A750’s faster memory clock (2000 MHz vs 1502 MHz) and newer memory type give it 77% more bandwidth. The A750 also introduces hardware ray tracing with 28 RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 780, which has no RT cores or tensor cores listed.

The A750 supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the GTX 780 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16, and the display outputs differ significantly: the A750 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0, whereas the GTX 780 provides 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The A750’s API support is also superior—DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs the GTX 780’s DirectX 12 (11_0), and Vulkan 1.4 vs 1.2.175. These are not minor revisions; they determine whether modern games and applications can run with advanced features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, which the GTX 780 cannot handle.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc A750 achieves 17.20 TFLOPS FP32, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 achieves 4.156 TFLOPS, making the A750 approximately 4.1 times faster in theoretical peak FP32 throughput.

Q: Does the GTX 780 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 780 has no RT cores listed in its specifications, while the Arc A750 includes 28 RT cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What is the memory capacity and bandwidth difference?

A: The A750 has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth. The A750 provides 77% more bandwidth and over double the capacity.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the Intel Arc A750 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 are marked as end-of-life products in the data.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The Arc A750 scores 85,631 in Geekbench Vulkan, compared to the GTX 780’s 24,514, a 249.3% advantage for Intel.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The Arc A750 has a TDP of 225 W, while the GTX 780 has a TDP of 250 W, meaning the A750 delivers significantly higher performance while consuming 10% less power.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A750 wins in every benchmark category where data exists. It wins in Geekbench OpenCL (98,554 vs 22,863) and Geekbench Vulkan (85,631 vs 24,514). It also has scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (2,612), Passmark G3D (12,534), and Passmark GPU Compute (5,368), which the GTX 780 lacks entirely. The A750’s win profile covers compute, graphics, and modern API workloads, making it the clear choice for gaming, content creation, and general-purpose GPU compute.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 has no benchmark wins in the data, but it does have a Geekbench Metal score of 10,114, which the A750 does not have. This suggests the GTX 780 retains some compatibility with Apple’s Metal API, but this is a niche advantage given the A750’s overwhelming lead in all other tests. The GTX 780’s higher launch MSRP of 649 USD (vs 289 USD) does not translate into any performance advantage; it was simply a premium product at its 2013 release, but time has eroded its standing. For any practical use case—gaming, rendering, or compute—the Arc A750 is the definitive winner.

Specification Differences

The specifications where the two GPUs differ are extensive. The process node differs: the A750 uses 6 nm, the GTX 780 uses 28 nm. Transistors: 21,700 million vs 7,080 million. Die size: 406 mm² vs 561 mm². Transistor density: 53.4M/mm² vs 12.6M/mm². Base clock: 2050 MHz vs 863 MHz. Boost clock: 2400 MHz vs 902 MHz. Memory clock: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) vs 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Memory size: 8 GB vs 3 GB. Memory type: GDDR6 vs GDDR5. Bus width: 256 bit vs 384 bit. Bandwidth: 512.0 GB/s vs 288.4 GB/s. Shading units: 3,584 vs 2,304. TMUs: 224 vs 192. ROPs: 112 vs 48. RT cores: 28 vs none. Pixel rate: 268.8 GPixel/s vs 43.30 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 537.6 GTexel/s vs 173.2 GTexel/s. FP32: 17.20 TFLOPS vs 4.156 TFLOPS. The A750 has FP16 performance of 34.41 TFLOPS (2:1), while the GTX 780 has no FP16 data.

TDP: 225 W vs 250 W. Suggested PSU: 550 W vs 600 W. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 vs PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 vs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2. DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (11_0). Vulkan support: 1.4 vs 1.2.175. The GTX 780 has physical dimensions of 267 mm length, 111 mm height, and 38 mm width, while the A750’s dimensions are not listed. The GTX 780 also supports Geekbench Metal, which the A750 does not. Release dates differ: the A750 launched on 2022-10-11, while the GTX 780 launched on 2013-05-22, a gap of nearly a decade that explains the technological divide.