Intel Arc A770 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The Intel Arc A770 and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation occupy very different positions in the GPU landscape, and the recorded benchmark data shows a decisive advantage for the NVIDIA card in the one test where both were measured directly. The Arc A770, built on Intel’s Xe-HPG architecture, is an end-of-life consumer product, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is an active workstation part with a much larger memory pool and significantly higher raw compute throughput. The database’s head-to-head results, aggregate benchmarks, and architectural specifications all point to the same conclusion: the RTX 5880 is the stronger card for compute-heavy workloads, but the Arc A770 still holds its own in specific legacy or API-bound scenarios.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is lopsided. The Intel Arc A770 scores 109,175, while the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898. That is a delta of -66.6% for the Arc A770, meaning the NVIDIA card delivers roughly three times the OpenCL performance. This is not a marginal difference; it is a generational gap in raw compute throughput. The RTX 5880’s FP32 rating of 69.27 TFLOPS versus the Arc A770’s 19.66 TFLOPS explains much of this gap, as OpenCL heavily exercises floating-point shader work. The NVIDIA card also has 14,080 shading units compared to 4,096 on the Intel part, and its boost clock of 2460 MHz edges out the Arc A770’s 2400 MHz, so the per-clock and per-core advantages compound into a massive overall lead.

The database records only one head-to-head win, which goes to the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation. The Intel Arc A770 has zero wins in this comparison. However, the aggregate benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The Arc A770’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 68,809, which places it at the 90th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation, despite winning the OpenCL test decisively, has an average benchmark score of only 45,972 and sits at the 85th percentile. This seems contradictory at first, but the explanation lies in the test suite composition. The Arc A770’s benchmarks include 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (score 2,969), Geekbench OpenCL (109,175), and Geekbench Vulkan (94,284). The RTX 5880’s benchmarks include several Passmark tests, where its scores are modest: DirectX 10 at 167, DirectX 11 at 228, DirectX 12 at 70, DirectX 9 at 335, G2D at 777, G3D at 25,096, and GPU Compute at 14,208. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 70 is particularly low, dragging down the average. This suggests that the RTX 5880’s architectural strengths are not fully captured by all legacy benchmarks, while the Arc A770 performs more consistently across the tests recorded for it.

Looking at nearest rivals in the database, the Arc A770’s average score of 68,809 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA CMP 90HX at 69,000 (delta -0.3%) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 at 68,562 (delta +0.4%). It also trails the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, delta -1.5%) and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986, delta -1.7%) by small margins. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation, with its average of 45,972, sits close to the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (46,043, delta -0.2%), Intel Arc A730M (45,592, delta +0.8%), and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384, delta +1.3%). It also slightly trails the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (46,601, delta -1.4%). The implication is that, while the RTX 5880 dominates in OpenCL compute, its overall benchmark profile in this database is more modest, and it does not crack the same percentile tier as the Arc A770.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for raw compute performance. The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins the only head-to-head test by a margin of roughly 200% (from 109,175 to 326,898), and its FP32 throughput of 69.27 TFLOPS is more than triple the Arc A770’s 19.66 TFLOPS. For anyone running OpenCL-heavy workloads, scientific simulations, or large-scale rendering that leverages FP32 shader cores, the RTX 5880 is the clear choice. Its 48 GB of GDDR6 memory (versus 16 GB on the Intel card) and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth (versus 512.0 GB/s) also make it far better suited for large datasets that exceed the Arc A770’s frame buffer.

However, the aggregate benchmark score and percentile ranking favor the Intel Arc A770. With an average score of 68,809 and a 90th percentile placement, the Arc A770 outperforms the RTX 5880’s average of 45,972 and 85th percentile in the database’s overall ranking. This is driven by the Arc A770’s strong Geekbench Vulkan score of 94,284 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 2,969, which are not matched by the RTX 5880’s Passmark results in this dataset. If the workload is gaming or DirectX 12 gaming-centric tasks, the Arc A770 appears to hold up better based on recorded metrics.

The verdict depends on the use case. For workstation compute, large memory footprints, and OpenCL acceleration, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the superior product, and its active production status and newer release date (January 2024 versus October 2022) reinforce that it is the more forward-looking choice. For budget-conscious builds or scenarios where Vulkan and DX12 performance matter more than raw OpenCL throughput, the Arc A770 still offers competitive results, though its end-of-life production status and smaller memory pool are limiting factors. The data does not support a single winner; it supports a split decision based on workload priority.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The Intel Arc A770 uses the DG2-512 chip with the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist generation (Arc 7). It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 53.4 million per mm². The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip with the Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the Workstation Ada generation. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 125.3 million per mm². The NVIDIA chip has more than three times the transistor count and more than double the density, reflecting a more advanced design and manufacturing process.

The core configurations diverge sharply. The Arc A770 has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, plus 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores. The NVIDIA card’s shading unit count is 3.4 times higher, and its tensor cores enable AI-accelerated workloads that the Intel card lacks entirely. Clock speeds are closer: the Arc A770 has a base clock of 2100 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz, while the RTX 5880 has a base clock of 975 MHz and a boost of 2460 MHz. The NVIDIA card’s lower base clock is offset by a higher boost and a vastly wider execution pipeline.

Memory architecture also differs. The Arc A770 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5880 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has three times the memory capacity and 68.75% more bandwidth. The effective memory speed is 16 Gbps for the Intel card versus 18 Gbps for the NVIDIA card. In terms of output, the Arc A770 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0, while the RTX 5880 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Power consumption differs as well: the Arc A770 has a TDP of 225 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W, while the RTX 5880 has a TDP of 285 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin for the Intel card versus 1x 16-pin for the NVIDIA card. Both are dual-slot designs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The Intel Arc A770 has an average benchmark score of 68,809, while the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average score of 45,972. The Arc A770 also ranks at the 90th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 85th percentile for the RTX 5880.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5880 in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 5880 scores 326,898 compared to the Arc A770’s 109,175, which represents a 66.6% higher score for the NVIDIA card. In other words, the RTX 5880 is roughly three times faster in this specific test.

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

A: The Arc A770 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 5880 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 5880 also has higher bandwidth at 864.0 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the Arc A770 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Arc A770 has 32 ray tracing cores. The RTX 5880 has 110 ray tracing cores, which is more than three times as many.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc A770 is listed as end-of-life, while the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as active. The Arc A770 was released in October 2022, and the RTX 5880 was released in January 2024.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a boost clock of 2460 MHz, slightly higher than the Arc A770’s boost clock of 2400 MHz. However, the Arc A770 has a much higher base clock at 2100 MHz versus 975 MHz for the NVIDIA card.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A770 wins in aggregate benchmark standing. Its average score of 68,809 places it at the 90th percentile, well above the RTX 5880’s 85th percentile and average of 45,972. It also performs strongly in Vulkan, with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 94,284, and in DirectX 12, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,969. These results suggest that for gaming-oriented workloads, particularly those using Vulkan or DX12 APIs, the Arc A770 is competitive despite its lower raw compute specs. Its lower TDP of 225 W (versus 285 W) and smaller suggested PSU requirement of 550 W (versus 600 W) also make it easier to integrate into a variety of systems. The Arc A770 has a launch MSRP of 329 USD, which is recorded in the database, though no comparable figure exists for the RTX 5880.

The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins in raw compute and memory capacity. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 326,898 is 66.6% higher than the Arc A770’s, and its FP32 throughput of 69.27 TFLOPS is more than triple the Intel card’s 19.66 TFLOPS. The 48 GB memory pool is three times larger, and the 864.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantially higher, making it the clear choice for large-scale data processing, AI inference (supported by 440 tensor cores), and professional rendering. The RTX 5880 also has more texture units (440 versus 256) and ROPs (176 versus 128), which translates to higher pixel and texture rates: 433.0 GPixel/s versus 307.2 GPixel/s, and 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 614.4 GTexel/s. Its active production status and newer release date also mean it is a more sustainable purchase for long-term workstation use.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two cards are as follows. The process node is 6 nm for the Intel Arc A770 and 5 nm for the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Transistor count is 21,700 million versus 76,300 million, and die size is 406 mm² versus 609 mm². Transistor density is 53.4 million per mm² for the Intel card and 125.3 million per mm² for the NVIDIA card. Base clocks are 2100 MHz (Arc A770) and 975 MHz (RTX 5880), while boost clocks are 2400 MHz and 2460 MHz, respectively. Memory size is 16 GB versus 48 GB, with bus widths of 256-bit and 384-bit, and bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s versus 864.0 GB/s. Shading units are 4,096 versus 14,080, TMUs are 256 versus 440, and ROPs are 128 versus 176. Ray tracing cores are 32 versus 110, and the RTX 5880 has 440 tensor cores while the Arc A770 has none. Pixel rate is 307.2 GPixel/s versus 433.0 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 614.4 GTexel/s versus 1,082.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 19.66 TFLOPS versus 69.27 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance is 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 69.27 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP is 225 W versus 285 W, with power connectors of 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin versus 1x 16-pin, and suggested PSUs of 550 W versus 600 W. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 with 3x DisplayPort 2.0 versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Arc A770 has a launch MSRP of 329 USD, while the RTX 5880 has no recorded launch MSRP. Both cards use PCIe 4.0 x16 and are dual-slot.