Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q Comparison

The Intel Arc B390 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q occupy opposite ends of the mobile graphics spectrum. The Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor built into Intel’s Panther Lake silicon, while the RTX 4070 Max-Q is a discrete Ada Lovelace part designed for thin-and-light gaming laptops. The recorded data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the two chips serve fundamentally different roles within their respective platforms.

The Verdict

The data positions the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q as the substantially faster GPU. In the single recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 points, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 4070 Max-Q, by contrast, sits in the 50th percentile, a massive gap that reflects its far higher raw compute resources. The Arc B390’s nearest rivals in the database are legacy low-end parts: the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 points, the GeForce 800M at 1460 points, the GT 625 OEM at 1446 points, and the GT 710 at 1443 points. The Arc B390 leads those parts by margins of 1.3%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 2.7%, respectively. That places the integrated Intel part squarely in entry-level territory, barely ahead of decade-old discrete graphics solutions.

The RTX 4070 Max-Q offers 4608 shading units against the Arc B390’s 1536, 144 texture mapping units against 48, and 48 render output units against 24. It also delivers 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 7.680 TFLOPS for the Intel part. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores, while the Arc B390 has 12 ray tracing cores and no tensor core count listed in the database. The RTX 4070 Max-Q 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 bandwidth described as system dependent.

Who should pick which depends entirely on the platform. The Arc B390 is an integrated GPU, meaning it ships inside a Panther Lake processor and requires no separate power connector, making it suitable for compact systems where a discrete GPU is not an option. The RTX 4070 Max-Q also uses no power connector per the database, but it is a discrete chip with a 35 W TDP that exists to deliver high frame rates in mobile gaming systems. Users who need the highest recorded performance should choose the RTX 4070 Max-Q. Users who need a functional graphics solution built into a processor, with no additional hardware, are limited to the Arc B390.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural lineages. The Intel Arc B390 uses the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process at Intel foundries. Its chip is Panther Lake, and it belongs to the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q uses the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its chip is AD106, and it belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation.

The transistor counts and die sizes differ dramatically. The RTX 4070 Max-Q contains 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter. The Arc B390’s transistor count and die size are listed as unknown in the database, so no direct comparison is possible.

Clock behavior also differs. The Arc B390 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has a base clock of 735 MHz and a boost clock of 1230 MHz. The Intel part boosts much higher, but this does not compensate for its smaller execution resource pool. Memory clocks are not directly comparable either: the Arc B390 uses system shared memory with no dedicated clock, while the RTX 4070 Max-Q runs its GDDR6 memory at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective data rate.

The RTX 4070 Max-Q’s memory subsystem is a decisive architectural advantage. It has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc B390 has no dedicated memory, no dedicated bus width, and its bandwidth is listed as system dependent. In practice, the RTX 4070 Max-Q’s memory bandwidth is a fixed hardware resource, whereas the Arc B390 must compete with the CPU for system memory access.

Feature sets are similar in some respects. Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4070 Max-Q adds 144 tensor cores, which the database does not list for the Arc B390. Both have ray tracing cores, but the RTX 4070 Max-Q has 36 versus 12 for the Intel part. The bus interfaces differ: the Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor with an IGP bus interface, while the RTX 4070 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q delivers 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Intel Arc B390 delivers 7.680 TFLOPS. The RTX 4070 Max-Q is roughly 47% higher in this metric.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The RTX 4070 Max-Q has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc B390 uses system shared memory, with its bandwidth listed as system dependent.

Q: What is the TDP of each GPU?

A: The RTX 4070 Max-Q has a TDP of 35 W. The Arc B390 has a TDP of 80 W. Both are listed as integrated-class parts with no power connectors.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to the Intel Arc B390 in the database?

A: The nearest rivals are the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 points, the GeForce 800M at 1460 points, the GT 625 OEM at 1446 points, and the GT 710 at 1443 points. The Arc B390 leads each by 1.3%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 2.7%, respectively.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4070 Max-Q has 4608 shading units. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, exactly one third of the NVIDIA part’s count.

Q: What process nodes are used?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is built on a 3 nm process at Intel. The RTX 4070 Max-Q is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measured specification. The process node is 3 nm for Intel versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. The foundry is Intel versus TSMC. The chip is Panther Lake versus AD106. The architecture is Xe3-LPG versus Ada Lovelace. The generation is Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) versus GeForce 40 Mobile.

Clock speeds differ: the Arc B390 runs at 300 MHz base and 2500 MHz boost, while the RTX 4070 Max-Q runs at 735 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost. Memory configuration is entirely different: the Arc B390 has system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth, while the RTX 4070 Max-Q has 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Execution resources diverge sharply. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 12 ray tracing cores. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 36 ray tracing cores, and 144 tensor cores. The pixel rate is nearly identical: 60.00 GPixel/s for the Arc B390 versus 59.04 GPixel/s for the RTX 4070 Max-Q, a negligible difference. Texture rate favors NVIDIA: 177.1 GTexel/s versus 120.0 GTexel/s.

FP32 throughput favors NVIDIA at 11.34 TFLOPS versus 7.680 TFLOPS. FP16 throughput also favors NVIDIA at 11.34 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the Arc B390 lists 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning its FP16 figure comes from shader packing rather than dedicated hardware. TDP is 80 W for the Arc B390 and 35 W for the RTX 4070 Max-Q.

The bus interface is IGP for Intel and PCIe 4.0 x8 for NVIDIA. The release dates are 2026-01-26 for the Arc B390 and 2023-01-02 for the RTX 4070 Max-Q. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has a predecessor, GeForce 30 Mobile, and a successor, GeForce 50 Mobile, while the Arc B390 lists neither. The RTX 4070 Max-Q also lists 22,900 million transistors, a 188 mm² die size, and a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter, none of which are available for the Arc B390.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains only one recorded benchmark for the Arc B390 and no recorded benchmark scores for the RTX 4070 Max-Q. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test gives the Arc B390 a score of 1482 points. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has no entries in the benchmark results array, so no direct head-to-head score comparison is possible from the recorded data.

The nearest rival data for the Arc B390 provides context for its performance tier. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 points, putting the Arc B390 1.3% ahead. The GeForce 800M scores 1460 points, 1.5% behind the Arc B390. The GT 625 OEM scores 1446 points, 2.5% behind. The GT 710 scores 1443 points, 2.7% behind. These are all very old, low-end parts, and the Arc B390 beats them by only a few percentage points.

The RTX 4070 Max-Q’s percentile ranking offers the clearest signal of its performance class. It sits in the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database, meaning half of all recorded GPUs score lower and half score higher. The Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile, meaning 91% of all recorded GPUs score higher. This percentile gap is the single most informative comparison available.

Compute metrics reinforce the performance gap. The RTX 4070 Max-Q has 3 times the shading units of the Arc B390, 3 times the TMUs, and 2 times the ROPs. Its FP32 throughput is 11.34 TFLOPS versus 7.680 TFLOPS. Its texture rate is 177.1 GTexel/s versus 120.0 GTexel/s. Its memory bandwidth is a fixed 256.0 GB/s against a system dependent figure for the Intel part.

The only metric where the Arc B390 leads is pixel rate, at 60.00 GPixel/s versus 59.04 GPixel/s for the RTX 4070 Max-Q, a 1.6% margin that has no practical impact. The Arc B390 also lists a higher boost clock at 2500 MHz versus 1230 MHz, but this reflects its lower base clock of 300 MHz and does not translate into a performance advantage given the smaller execution resource pool.

The RTX 4070 Max-Q’s tensor cores, 144 of them, are a significant feature absent from the Arc B390’s recorded specifications. Tensor cores accelerate AI workloads, and their presence in the NVIDIA part gives it a capability the Intel part cannot match based on the data. Similarly, the RTX 4070 Max-Q’s 36 ray tracing cores versus 12 for the Arc B390 suggests substantially higher ray tracing throughput, although no ray tracing benchmark scores are recorded for either GPU.

The overall picture from the data is unambiguous. The RTX 4070 Max-Q is designed for higher performance tiers, evidenced by its 50th percentile ranking, its larger shading unit count, its dedicated high-bandwidth memory, and its tensor core array. The Arc B390 is an integrated solution that competes with legacy entry-level discrete GPUs, as shown by its nearest rival list and its 9th percentile ranking. The 3 nm process and higher boost clock of the Arc B390 do not offset the architectural resource advantage held by the Ada Lovelace part.

The release timeline also matters. The RTX 4070 Max-Q launched on 2023-01-02 and sits between the GeForce 30 Mobile and GeForce 50 Mobile generations. The Arc B390 launched on 2026-01-26 as part of the Panther Lake generation. Despite launching three years later, the Intel part does not approach the NVIDIA part in recorded performance metrics or percentile standing. The data confirms that the Arc B390 targets a different market segment entirely, one where integrated graphics can replace aging discrete GPUs rather than challenge modern high-end mobile parts.