Intel Arc A770 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A770 records an average benchmark score of 68,809, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 averages 56,083. The Arc A770 sits in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, and the RTX 5080 sits in the 87th percentile.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5080's average score is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S, 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, and 2.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: Both cards have 16 GB of memory and a 256-bit bus width. The Arc A770 uses GDDR6 with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5080 uses GDDR7 with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5080 boosts to 2617 MHz, whereas the Arc A770 boosts to 2400 MHz. The RTX 5080 also has a higher base clock at 2295 MHz compared to 2100 MHz.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Arc A770 has a TDP of 225 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RTX 5080 has a TDP of 360 W and a suggested PSU of 750 W.

Q: Which card wins in the head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 wins all three recorded head-to-head tests: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. The Arc A770 does not win any of the head-to-head tests.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A770 is built on the DG2-512 chip with the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist (Arc 7) generation. It uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, packs 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 53.4M per mm². The RTX 5080 uses the GB203 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 50 series. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,600 million transistors on a smaller 378 mm² die, yielding a much higher transistor density of 120.6M per mm².

The shading unit count differs massively. The Arc A770 has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The RTX 5080 has 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware also differs: the Arc A770 has 32 RT cores, while the RTX 5080 has 84 RT cores. The RTX 5080 adds 336 tensor cores, a feature the Arc A770 does not list at all.

FP32 compute tells the performance story. The Arc A770 delivers 19.66 TFLOPS, while the RTX 5080 delivers 56.28 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Arc A770, while the RTX 5080 achieves 56.28 TFLOPS on a 1:1 basis.

Memory architecture shares the same 16 GB capacity and 256-bit bus, but the type and bandwidth differ. The Arc A770 uses GDDR6 at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5080 uses GDDR7 at 1875 MHz with 30 Gbps effective and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, nearly doubling the memory throughput.

The bus interface also differs: the Arc A770 runs PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5080 runs PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are similar in count: both offer one HDMI and three DisplayPort. The Arc A770 has HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0, while the RTX 5080 has HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b.

Production status separates the two clearly. The Arc A770 is end-of-life, released on 2022-10-11, with the Xe Graphics as its predecessor and Battlemage as its successor. The RTX 5080 is active, released on 2025-01-29, following the GeForce 40 and preceding the GeForce 60.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data gives the RTX 5080 a clean sweep in the head-to-head tests, so the Arc A770 has no recorded wins in direct comparison. The RTX 5080 wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. For any workload measured by these tests, the RTX 5080 is the stronger choice.

The Arc A770 does hold a higher average benchmark score across the database at 68,809 versus 56,083. That average includes a broader set of tests, so the Arc A770 can appear competitive in aggregate metrics even though it loses every direct head-to-head comparison. The Arc A770 also sits in the 90th percentile versus the RTX 5080's 87th percentile, which reflects its standing relative to all GPUs in the database.

For users who prioritize the specific head-to-head tests, the RTX 5080 is the clear winner. For users who look at the average benchmark score and percentile ranking, the Arc A770 looks better in aggregate. The delta between the two in head-to-head tests is large: the RTX 5080 leads by 65.6% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 53.7% in Geekbench OpenCL, and 63.1% in Geekbench Vulkan.

The Arc A770's advantage in average score comes from its inclusion of only three benchmarks, while the RTX 5080 includes ten benchmarks. The RTX 5080's PassMark scores pull its average down, including a PassMark G3D score of 36,565 and a PassMark GPU Compute score of 21,789, which are dwarfed by its Geekbench Vulkan score of 255,450.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The Arc A770 has a base clock of 2100 MHz and boost clock of 2400 MHz. The RTX 5080 runs at 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost. Memory clock differs: the Arc A770 runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5080 runs at 1875 MHz with 30 Gbps effective.

Shading units: 4,096 for the Arc A770 versus 10,752 for the RTX 5080. TMUs: 256 versus 336. ROPs: 128 versus 112. RT cores: 32 versus 84. Tensor cores: not listed for the Arc A770, 336 for the RTX 5080.

Pixel rate: 307.2 GPixel/s for the Arc A770 versus 293.1 GPixel/s for the RTX 5080. Texture rate: 614.4 GTexel/s versus 879.3 GTexel/s. FP32: 19.66 TFLOPS versus 56.28 TFLOPS. FP16: 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1).

TDP: 225 W versus 360 W. Power connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin for the Arc A770, 1x 16-pin for the RTX 5080. Suggested PSU: 550 W versus 750 W. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16.

Dimensions are only listed for the RTX 5080: 304 mm length, 137 mm height, 40 mm width. The Arc A770 has no recorded dimensions. Both are dual-slot cards.

Process node: 6 nm for the Arc A770, 5 nm for the RTX 5080. Transistors: 21,700 million versus 45,600 million. Die size: 406 mm² versus 378 mm². Transistor density: 53.4M per mm² versus 120.6M per mm².

Memory type: GDDR6 versus GDDR7. Memory bandwidth: 512.0 GB/s versus 960.0 GB/s. Both have 16 GB capacity and 256-bit bus width.

The API support is identical: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 for both.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the RTX 5080 scoring 8,637 against the Arc A770's 2,969. The RTX 5080 leads by 65.6%. This is the largest percentage gap in the head-to-head set, and it reflects the raw DX12 rendering performance difference between the two architectures.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5080 scores 255,450 versus 94,284 for the Arc A770, a 63.1% lead. This test exercises the Vulkan API, so it measures a different rendering path than the DX12 test. The RTX 5080's advantage remains consistent across both APIs.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the RTX 5080 at 235,901 versus 109,175 for the Arc A770, a 53.7% lead. OpenCL is a compute-oriented workload, so this gap indicates the RTX 5080 has substantially more compute throughput, consistent with its 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 rating versus 19.66 TFLOPS for the Arc A770.

The RTX 5080 wins all three head-to-head tests, with no wins recorded for the Arc A770. The smallest lead for the RTX 5080 is 53.7% in OpenCL, which is still a dominant margin. The data shows no test in this set where the Arc A770 comes close.

The average benchmark scores tell a different story at the aggregate level. The Arc A770 averages 68,809 across its three benchmarks, while the RTX 5080 averages 56,083 across its ten benchmarks. The Arc A770's average is higher because its benchmark set is small and does not include the PassMark tests that drag down the RTX 5080's average.

The Verdict

The RTX 5080 is the clear winner in direct head-to-head testing. It leads by 65.6% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 63.1% in Geekbench Vulkan, and 53.7% in Geekbench OpenCL. Anyone choosing between these two for rendering or compute workloads should pick the RTX 5080 based on the recorded data.

The RTX 5080 also brings more modern hardware: GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, 84 RT cores, 336 tensor cores, and 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It is built on a smaller 5 nm process with a higher transistor density of 120.6M per mm², indicating a newer design.

The Arc A770 has one notable advantage in the aggregate data: an average benchmark score of 68,809 versus 56,083, placing it in the 90th percentile versus the RTX 5080's 87th percentile. This higher average score, however, comes from only three benchmarks and does not translate into any head-to-head wins. The Arc A770 loses every direct comparison.

The RTX 5080 is the active product, released on 2025-01-29, while the Arc A770 is end-of-life with a release date of 2022-10-11. The RTX 5080 also has a higher TDP of 360 W and a larger suggested PSU of 750 W, reflecting its higher performance ceiling.

For a user building a system today, the RTX 5080 is the practical choice. The launch MSRP for the RTX 5080 is 999 USD, and the launch MSRP for the Arc A770 is 329 USD. The performance gap in the benchmark data far exceeds what the average score difference suggests, so the RTX 5080 is simply the faster card in every test that matters most for gaming and compute workloads.