Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents an unusual comparison. The Intel Arc B390 has a single recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q, by contrast, has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, with an average benchmark score of 0 and a 50th percentile ranking. This asymmetry means the head-to-head comparison relies on a single data point for the Intel part and no direct measurements for the NVIDIA part.

The Intel Arc B390's nearest rivals in the database are all older NVIDIA discrete mobile parts. It sits 1.3% ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463, and 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M at 1460. The gap widens to 2.5% over the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 and 2.7% over the GeForce GT 710 at 1443. These deltas are small, suggesting the Arc B390 clusters with a performance tier that is far below the modern mobile GPU landscape. The 9th percentile ranking confirms this: 91% of all GPUs in the database score higher.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q's 50th percentile ranking places it at the median of all GPUs, but without a recorded score, the database cannot express the actual margin between these two parts in any benchmark. The data indicates a structural difference in how each product is positioned. The Arc B390 targets a niche, low-performance segment, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q sits in the middle of the distribution, though the specific score gap remains unquantified.

The absence of head-to-head benchmark entries for either product reinforces the lack of direct comparability. The Intel part's only score comes from a single DX12 workload, while the NVIDIA part has no entries at all. Any reading of performance differences must therefore rely on architectural and specification data, not on matched test results.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc B390 wins in the only measured benchmark category, delivering a 1482 score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals trail by margins between 1.3% and 2.7%, which indicates a narrow but consistent advantage over those specific older parts. The Arc B390 also leads in raw FP32 compute per watt when the specification data is examined. It delivers 7.680 TFLOPS at an 80 W TDP, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q delivers 9.032 TFLOPS at 35 W. The efficiency comparison favors the NVIDIA part, however, since the RTX 4060 Max-Q produces 0.258 TFLOPS per watt versus the Arc B390's 0.096 TFLOPS per watt.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q wins on nearly every absolute specification. It has 3072 shading units versus 1536, 96 texture mapping units versus 48, 48 render output units versus 24, 24 ray tracing cores versus 12, and 96 tensor cores versus none listed for the Intel part. The NVIDIA GPU also carries 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Arc B390 relies on system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth. The RTX 4060 Max-Q reaches 70.56 GPixel/s and 141.1 GTexel/s, exceeding the Arc B390's 60.00 GPixel/s and 120.0 GTexel/s.

Clock behavior also differs. The Arc B390 has a 300 MHz base clock but boosts to 2500 MHz, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q uses a 1140 MHz base clock and a 1470 MHz boost. The Intel part's higher boost clock reflects its lower shading unit count and its effort to extract performance from fewer execution resources. The NVIDIA part's lower clock but doubled resource counts produce higher throughput in fill-rate and texture-rate terms.

The FP16 comparison shows a different design philosophy. The Arc B390 delivers 15.36 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, indicating packed FP16 execution, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q delivers 9.032 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The Intel part wins in raw FP16 throughput, but the NVIDIA part treats FP16 and FP32 equally, which can simplify workload scheduling.

The Verdict

The recorded data supports one clear conclusion: the RTX 4060 Max-Q is the substantially more capable GPU on paper, while the Arc B390 holds a measurable but narrow lead only over a set of much older NVIDIA parts. The Intel GPU's 1482 Steel Nomad score places it in the 9th percentile, a position that indicates it competes with the GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710, all of which score between 1443 and 1463. The RTX 4060 Max-Q's 50th percentile ranking, despite lacking a score, signals a median position across the entire GPU database, far above the Intel part's standing.

A buyer or system designer choosing between these two products would face a stark resource difference. The NVIDIA part offers 2x the shading units, 2x the texture units, 2x the render output units, and 2x the ray tracing cores, all within a 35 W TDP. The Intel part consumes 80 W and still delivers lower absolute throughput in every rasterization metric. The RTX 4060 Max-Q also provides dedicated VRAM with deterministic bandwidth, while the Arc B390 depends entirely on system memory, making its performance system dependent.

The Arc B390 does have advantages in form factor and integration. It uses an IGP slot width, requires no power connectors, and works with a system shared memory architecture, which can simplify platform design. Its 3 nm process node from Intel and 2500 MHz boost clock show an aggressive clock strategy. But the specification data indicates these traits do not translate into competitive throughput against the RTX 4060 Max-Q.

For workloads that rely on DX12 Ultimate features, both parts support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4060 Max-Q adds tensor cores, which the Arc B390 lacks entirely, making the NVIDIA part the only choice for tensor-accelerated workloads. The data does not support any scenario where the Arc B390 outranks the RTX 4060 Max-Q except in FP16 throughput and in the single recorded benchmark score, which has no NVIDIA counterpart for comparison.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. It sits 1.3% above the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M at 1460, 2.5% above the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446, and 2.7% above the GeForce GT 710 at 1443.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 Max-Q have any recorded benchmark scores?

A: No. The database lists no benchmark entries for the RTX 4060 Max-Q, and its average benchmark score is recorded as 0. Its percentile ranking of 50 is based on its position among all GPUs, but no direct score is available.

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 compute?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q delivers 9.032 TFLOPS FP32, while the Intel Arc B390 delivers 7.680 TFLOPS FP32. The NVIDIA part leads by roughly 17.6% in this metric.

Q: What memory configuration does each GPU use?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Arc B390 uses system shared memory with a system shared bus width and system dependent bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 24 ray tracing cores. The Intel Arc B390 has 12, exactly half as many.

Q: What are the TDP values for these two GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an 80 W TDP. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q has a 35 W TDP, which is less than half the Intel part's power budget.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural lineages. The Intel Arc B390 uses the Xe3-LPG architecture built on Intel's 3 nm process node, with the chip code-named Panther Lake. It belongs to the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with the AD107 chip. It belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation.

Transistor data exists only for the NVIDIA part: 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 118.9M per mm². The Intel part's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown. The process node difference, 3 nm versus 5 nm, suggests Intel's part uses a more advanced lithography, but the lack of transistor data prevents a density comparison.

The execution resource layout differs sharply. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 12 ray tracing cores. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and 24 ray tracing cores. Each major resource class is exactly double on the NVIDIA side. The RTX 4060 Max-Q also includes 96 tensor cores, while the Arc B390 lists no tensor core count at all.

Memory architecture represents a fundamental split. The Arc B390 uses system shared memory for both capacity and type, with a system shared bus width and system dependent bandwidth. The RTX 4060 Max-Q uses 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with a fixed 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel part's performance in memory-bound workloads will vary with the host system's memory configuration, while the NVIDIA part has deterministic memory performance.

The bus interface also differs. The Arc B390 uses an IGP bus interface, meaning it is integrated into the processor package. The RTX 4060 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x8, a discrete connection. Both parts use an IGP slot width and require no power connectors. The NVIDIA part's predecessor is listed as GeForce 30 Mobile and its successor as GeForce 50 Mobile, while the Intel part has no predecessor or successor listed.

Specification Differences

The clock specifications show distinct strategies. The Arc B390 runs at 300 MHz base and 2500 MHz boost. The RTX 4060 Max-Q runs at 1140 MHz base and 1470 MHz boost. The Intel part's boost clock is 70% higher, but its base clock is far lower. Memory clock data only exists for the NVIDIA part at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective. The Intel part's memory clock is system shared.

Pixel and texture throughput favor the NVIDIA part. The RTX 4060 Max-Q reaches 70.56 GPixel/s and 141.1 GTexel/s. The Arc B390 reaches 60.00 GPixel/s and 120.0 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA part leads by 17.6% in pixel rate and by 17.6% in texture rate, matching the FP32 gap.

FP16 throughput inverts the comparison. The Arc B390 delivers 15.36 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q delivers 9.032 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The Intel part's FP16 figure is 70% higher, but this advantage only applies to workloads that can use packed FP16 execution.

Power consumption differs by more than a factor of two. The Arc B390 has an 80 W TDP, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q has a 35 W TDP. The NVIDIA part delivers higher absolute performance across most metrics while consuming less than half the power, indicating a substantial efficiency advantage.

API support is identical: both parts support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs are portable device dependent for both. The release dates differ, with the RTX 4060 Max-Q releasing on 2023-01-02 and the Arc B390 on 2026-01-26, a gap of roughly three years. Both parts are listed as Active in production status. Neither part has a launch MSRP recorded in the database.