Intel Arc A770M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data splits cleanly down the middle: five wins for the Intel Arc A770M, five for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile. But the margins tell a more interesting story than the raw win count.

The Arc A770M’s biggest victory comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 2278 against the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 1821. That is a 25.1% lead, a substantial gap in a modern DirectX 12 workload. This is not a marginal win; it suggests the Intel part has real headroom in current-gen APIs. The Arc also takes PassMark DX12 with a 20.7% advantage (70 vs. 58), reinforcing that pattern. In legacy DirectX 9, the Intel part scores 178 versus 146, a 21.9% margin, and it wins PassMark G2D 711 to 588, a 20.9% edge in 2D workloads.

The NVIDIA part fights back in other arenas. Its most decisive win is in PassMark DX10, where it scores 90 against the Arc’s 56 — a 37.8% advantage. That is the single largest delta in the entire comparison. It follows up with a 37.3% lead in PassMark DX11 (110 vs. 69). In PassMark G3D, the RTX 3060 Mobile posts 13230 versus 11774, an 11% edge, and in PassMark GPU Compute it wins 5718 to 4778, a 16.4% margin.

The compute-oriented Geekbench results split the difference. The Arc A770M wins OpenCL with 89494 against 79483, a 12.6% lead. The RTX 3060 Mobile wins Vulkan with 80344 against 74422, a 7.4% edge. So the Intel part is faster in OpenCL compute, while NVIDIA is faster in Vulkan compute.

Averaging everything out, the Arc A770M holds a 1.2% lead in average benchmark score (18383 vs. 18159). That is within noise, but it means the Intel part is not just competitive — it is marginally ahead on aggregate. Both parts sit at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, and their nearest rivals cluster tightly: the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 sits 1.1% behind the Arc and 0.2% ahead of the RTX 3060 Mobile, while the AMD RX 460 is 0.1% behind the Arc and 1.2% behind the NVIDIA part.

The Verdict

If you are buying for modern DirectX 12 gaming, the data points to the Intel Arc A770M. It wins the most representative next-gen test by 25.1%, and its DX12 PassMark lead of 20.7% confirms that this is not a fluke. The Arc also handles legacy DX9 better, which matters for older titles in a library. On the other hand, if your workload leans on DirectX 10 or 11 — which still covers a huge portion of the PC gaming catalog — the RTX 3060 Mobile is clearly stronger, with leads of 37.8% and 37.3% respectively.

For compute, the choice depends on the API. OpenCL users get 12.6% more performance from the Arc. Vulkan compute users get 7.4% more from the RTX 3060 Mobile. If you are doing general GPU compute and can pick your API, the Intel part is the better raw performer. If you are locked into Vulkan, NVIDIA wins.

The RTX 3060 Mobile also has a meaningful edge in PassMark G3D (11%) and GPU Compute (16.4%). Those are broad, synthetic measures of overall gaming and compute capability, so they should not be ignored. But the Arc’s wins are concentrated in the workload most likely to matter going forward: DirectX 12.

There is no clean winner. The data says: choose the Arc A770M if you prioritize DX12 and OpenCL. Choose the RTX 3060 Mobile if you prioritize DX10/DX11, Vulkan, or the PassMark G3D/Compute suite. In aggregate, the Intel part is 1.2% ahead, but that margin is smaller than the variance between individual tests.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The Intel Arc A770M uses the DG2-512 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 6 nm process. It packs 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 53.4M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile uses the GA106 chip on Ampere architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, with a density of 43.5M per mm².

The Intel part is physically larger and denser, which translates to more raw resources. It has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The Intel GPU also has 32 ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA part has 30 RT cores. Notably, the RTX 3060 Mobile includes 120 tensor cores, which the Arc A770M does not list at all — a feature difference that matters for AI workloads and DLSS-style upscaling.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Arc A770M runs at a 1650 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost. The RTX 3060 Mobile runs at a much lower 900 MHz base and 1425 MHz boost. Despite that, the NVIDIA part wins several tests, which speaks to architectural efficiency in certain APIs.

Memory is another major split. The Arc A770M has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The RTX 3060 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). That is a 52.4% bandwidth advantage for Intel, and 10 GB more capacity.

Power draw differs substantially. The Arc A770M is rated at 120 W TDP; the RTX 3060 Mobile is rated at 80 W. That 40 W delta means the NVIDIA part is more power-efficient per frame in many tests, though the Intel part posts higher raw throughput in DX12. The RTX 3060 Mobile also lists no power connectors, while the Arc A770M is an IGP (integrated graphics package) — both are portable-device-dependent for display output.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in DirectX 12?

A: The Intel Arc A770M. It wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 25.1% (2278 vs. 1821) and PassMark DX12 by 20.7% (70 vs. 58).

Q: Which GPU is better for older DirectX versions?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile wins DX10 by 37.8% (90 vs. 56) and DX11 by 37.3% (110 vs. 69). The Intel Arc A770M wins DX9 by 21.9% (178 vs. 146).

Q: How do the two compare in compute performance?

A: The Arc A770M wins Geekbench OpenCL by 12.6% (89494 vs. 79483). The RTX 3060 Mobile wins Geekbench Vulkan by 7.4% (80344 vs. 74422) and PassMark GPU Compute by 16.4% (5718 vs. 4778).

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The Intel Arc A770M has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 6 GB on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the overall average benchmark score difference?

A: The Arc A770M averages 18383, which is 1.2% higher than the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 18159. Both sit at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the RTX 3060 Mobile have tensor cores?

A: Yes, it has 120 tensor cores. The Intel Arc A770M does not list tensor cores in its specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A770M wins in modern graphics APIs. Its 25.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the clearest signal that it is the better choice for new DirectX 12 titles. The 20.7% PassMark DX12 win reinforces this. It also handles legacy DX9 better, with a 21.9% margin, making it a stronger pick for older games that still use that API. In OpenCL compute, the 12.6% lead means it is the better option for general-purpose GPU computing that uses OpenCL. The 20.9% PassMark G2D win shows it is also faster in 2D rendering tasks.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile wins in the legacy DirectX space that still dominates many game libraries. Its 37.8% DX10 and 37.3% DX11 leads are massive, and those APIs cover a large catalog of popular titles. It also wins PassMark G3D by 11%, which is the broadest gaming-oriented synthetic test in the set. In Vulkan, it leads by 7.4%, making it the better pick for Vulkan-based games and compute. The 16.4% PassMark GPU Compute win adds another compute scenario to its column. Its 120 tensor cores gives it a feature the Arc lacks entirely, which matters for AI-accelerated features.

For power-constrained laptops, the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 80 W TDP versus the Arc’s 120 W TDP is a practical consideration — the NVIDIA part will be easier to cool and will drain batteries slower. But if you need 16 GB of VRAM and 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth for large textures or datasets, the Arc A770M is the only option here. The 6 GB on the RTX 3060 Mobile will hit capacity limits in some modern games and workloads. The choice comes down to your API mix and capacity needs: the Arc wins the future-facing tests, while the RTX 3060 Mobile wins the current-gen legacy tests.

Specification Differences

| Field | Intel Arc A770M | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile |

|-------|-----------------|-------------------------------|

| Chip | DG2-512 | GA106 |

| Architecture | Xe-HPG | Ampere |

| Generation | Alchemist (Arc 7 Mobile) | GeForce 30 Mobile |

| Process Node | 6 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 21,700 million | 12,000 million |

| Die Size | 406 mm² | 276 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 53.4M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1650 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2050 MHz | 1425 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB GDDR6 | 6 GB GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 336.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 256 | 120 |

| ROPs | 128 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 32 | 30 |

| Tensor Cores | None listed | 120 |

| Pixel Rate | 262.4 GPixel/s | 68.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 524.8 GTexel/s | 171.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 16.79 TFLOPS | 10.94 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 33.59 TFLOPS (2:1) | 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 120 W | 80 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Not listed |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | None |

| Release Date | Not listed | 2021-01-11 |