Intel Arc A750 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall win for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, which takes 8 of the 10 benchmark comparisons. The most lopsided result is in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, where the NVIDIA part scores 146 against the Intel Arc A750's 72, a 102.8% advantage. The DirectX 10 test is similarly one-sided: the RTX 3080 Mobile posts 120 versus 65, a 84.6% lead. These two results alone establish that the NVIDIA GPU holds a substantial edge in legacy DirectX API workloads.

The gap narrows considerably in the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Here the RTX 3080 Mobile edges out the Arc A750 by only 1.2%, with scores of 2644 and 2612 respectively. This near tie suggests that under current DirectX 12 titles, the two graphics processors are effectively equivalent in rasterization performance. The Passmark DirectX 12 result reinforces this pattern, with the NVIDIA card winning by just 2.9% (72 versus 70).

In compute-oriented workloads, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile demonstrates a clear advantage. The Passmark GPU Compute test shows the NVIDIA part scoring 7276 against the Intel Arc A750's 5368, a 35.5% difference. The Geekbench OpenCL result follows suit, with the RTX 3080 Mobile achieving 104831 versus 98554, a 6.4% win. The Geekbench Vulkan score is even more pronounced: 104066 versus 85631, giving the NVIDIA GPU a 21.5% lead in that API.

The overall Passmark G3D score, which aggregates DirectX performance across multiple versions, favors the RTX 3080 Mobile by 30.2% (16321 versus 12534). This is the largest margin in any aggregate metric and indicates that the NVIDIA card maintains its lead across the broader DirectX test suite.

The Intel Arc A750 secures two wins, both in specific Passmark subtests. In DirectX 9, the Arc A750 scores 181 against the RTX 3080 Mobile's 170, a 6.1% advantage. The second win comes in the Passmark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics and desktop composition performance: the Intel part scores 732 versus 637, a 13% lead. These wins, while real, are confined to a legacy API and a non-3D workload respectively.

The average benchmark score across all recorded tests puts the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile at 23628, compared to the Intel Arc A750's 20582. This 14.8% gap in average score underscores the overall performance differential. The RTX 3080 Mobile sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Arc A750 rests at the 66th percentile.

Looking at the nearest rival data for context, the RTX 3080 Mobile is bracketed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (0.5% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile (0.5% faster), with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 1% ahead and the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 1.3% behind. The Arc A750's closest competitors include the Intel Arc B570 (0.1% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.2% behind), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.4% ahead), with the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M 0.5% behind.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is the stronger performer in the majority of tests. It wins 8 out of 10 head-to-head comparisons, including all modern API tests (DirectX 12, Vulkan, OpenCL) and the aggregate G3D score. The margin of victory in compute workloads, particularly the 35.5% edge in Passmark GPU Compute, makes it the clear choice for GPU-accelerated tasks beyond gaming.

The Intel Arc A750, however, is not without merit. Its 6.1% win in DirectX 9 and 13% win in the G2D test suggest that it handles legacy 2D and older DirectX workloads with greater efficiency. For users whose primary applications rely on these older APIs, the Arc A750 may deliver a smoother experience.

The near-tie in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (1.2% difference) indicates that in modern DirectX 12 games, the two GPUs are essentially interchangeable in raw performance. Users who prioritize current-generation titles and do not heavily utilize compute workloads would see minimal practical difference between the two.

The RTX 3080 Mobile's 30.2% lead in Passmark G3D and its 21.5% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan tip the scales firmly in its favor for general-purpose 3D rendering and Vulkan-based applications. The data supports recommending the NVIDIA GPU for users who need consistent strong performance across a wide range of APIs and workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile dominates in compute and modern graphics APIs. Its 35.5% lead in Passmark GPU Compute makes it the superior choice for GPGPU tasks, machine learning inference, and other compute-heavy workloads. The 21.5% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan indicates strong performance in Vulkan-based games and applications, which increasingly represent the standard for new titles. The 6.4% edge in OpenCL further confirms its compute versatility.

In DirectX 10 and DirectX 11, the RTX 3080 Mobile wins by margins of 84.6% and 102.8% respectively. These are enormous gaps that suggest the NVIDIA architecture handles these APIs with significantly greater efficiency. Users running older games or applications that rely on DirectX 10 or 11 will see a substantial performance benefit from the NVIDIA card.

The Intel Arc A750's wins are narrower in scope but still relevant. Its 6.1% advantage in DirectX 9 shows that it retains strong support for the oldest DirectX iteration still in common use. The 13% lead in Passmark G2D indicates better 2D rendering and desktop compositing performance, which could matter for productivity applications and multi-monitor setups where 2D acceleration is frequently exercised.

For DirectX 12 workloads, the two GPUs are effectively tied, with the RTX 3080 Mobile leading by just 1.2% in 3DMark Steel Nomad and 2.9% in Passmark DirectX 12. Users focused exclusively on modern DirectX 12 games would find neither card has a meaningful advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 23628, compared to the Intel Arc A750's 20582, a difference of approximately 14.8%.

Q: How do the two compare in DirectX 9 performance?

A: The Intel Arc A750 wins the Passmark DirectX 9 test with a score of 181, which is 6.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile's score of 170.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest margin is in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 146 versus the Intel Arc A750's 72, a 102.8% advantage.

Q: Are they similar in modern DirectX 12 gaming?

A: Yes, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the RTX 3080 Mobile scoring 2644 and the Arc A750 scoring 2612, a difference of only 1.2%, indicating near parity in DirectX 12 rasterization.

Q: Which card performs better in compute workloads?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is significantly stronger, winning the Passmark GPU Compute test by 35.5% (7276 versus 5368) and the Geekbench OpenCL test by 6.4% (104831 versus 98554).

Q: Does the Intel Arc A750 win any tests?

A: Yes, the Arc A750 wins two tests: Passmark DirectX 9 (181 versus 170, a 6.1% lead) and Passmark G2D (732 versus 637, a 13% lead).

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is built on the GA104 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. The die measures 392 mm² and contains 17,400 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The Intel Arc A750 uses the DG2-512 chip with the Xe-HPG architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 6 nm node. Its die is slightly larger at 406 mm² but packs significantly more transistors: 21,700 million, giving it a higher density of 53.4 million per square millimeter.

The RTX 3080 Mobile features 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. It includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, the latter enabling hardware-accelerated AI workloads. Its peak FP32 performance is 18.98 TFLOPS, with FP16 performance at the same 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The Intel Arc A750 has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, along with 28 ray tracing cores but no tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 17.20 TFLOPS, while FP16 reaches 34.41 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), giving it a higher peak FP16 output despite lower FP32.

Memory configurations are similar in capacity: both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The RTX 3080 Mobile runs its memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), producing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The Arc A750 operates at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), achieving 512.0 GB/s, which is 14.3% higher bandwidth.

Clock speeds differ notably. The RTX 3080 Mobile has a base clock of 1110 MHz and a boost clock of 1545 MHz. The Arc A750 runs much higher at 2050 MHz base and 2400 MHz boost. Despite the higher clocks, the Arc A750's lower shading unit count results in lower FP32 throughput.

The power profiles are distinct. The RTX 3080 Mobile carries a TDP of 115 W and requires no power connectors, reflecting its mobile design and portable device dependent display outputs. The Arc A750 is a desktop card with a 225 W TDP, dual-slot cooling, and requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Arc A750 offers a fixed set of display outputs: one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 2.0 connections, while the RTX 3080 Mobile's outputs are dependent on the portable device it is installed in.

In terms of product lifecycle, the RTX 3080 Mobile was released on 2021-01-11 and is now end-of-life, succeeding the GeForce 20 Mobile series. The Arc A750 launched on 2022-10-11, is also end-of-life, and was succeeded by Battlemage. Its launch MSRP was 289 USD.