Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark available in the database is the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, and the result is decisive. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile scores 2365, while the Intel Arc B390 scores 1482. That is a delta of -37.3% for the Intel part, meaning the RTX 5050 Mobile finishes roughly 60% ahead in this particular workload. The margin is substantial enough that no amount of driver optimization or platform tuning is likely to close it within this test.

Looking at the broader database context, the two GPUs occupy completely different performance tiers. The Intel Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are all older, low-end discrete parts: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, +1.3%), the GeForce 800M (1460, +1.5%), the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, +2.5%), and the GeForce GT 710 (1443, +2.7%). These deltas are all within roughly 3%, which indicates the Arc B390 is competing with entry-level hardware from a decade ago, not with modern gaming silicon.

The RTX 5050 Mobile, by contrast, sits at the 83rd percentile. Its average benchmark score of 43268 is inflated by the Geekbench OpenCL result (84171), while the Steel Nomad score is 2365. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, 0% delta), the Quadro M6000 (43301, -0.1%), the GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (43223, +0.1%), and the GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43667, -0.9%). The proximity of these deltas, all within a single percentage point, indicates the RTX 5050 Mobile lands in the same performance envelope as high-end desktop GPUs from the previous generation, at least when averaged across the recorded tests.

The head-to-head data shows one win for the RTX 5050 Mobile and zero for the Arc B390. The Intel part does not win any of the shared benchmarks. The gap in Steel Nomad is the only direct comparison, and it is not close.

Architecture Differences

The two chips are built on fundamentally different premises. The Intel Arc B390 uses the Xe3-LPG architecture, part of the Panther Lake generation, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile uses Blackwell 2.0, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. The node difference is real, but the architectural philosophies diverge more sharply.

The Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP). It has no dedicated memory, no memory bus width, and no memory bandwidth of its own. All memory operations go through the system's shared memory pool, which makes its bandwidth "System Dependent" per the database. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost of 2500 MHz. The RTX 5050 Mobile, while also listed as an IGP in terms of slot width and power connectors (both are "IGP" and "None" respectively), has a dedicated 8 GB GDDR7 memory configuration on a 128-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1020 MHz, boosting to 1500 MHz, with memory running at 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective).

Core configurations tell a mixed story. The RTX 5050 Mobile has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 12 RT cores, with no tensor core count recorded. The NVIDIA part has more of everything, but the compute throughput numbers are surprisingly identical: both deliver 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 and both have a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The pixel rates differ, with the Arc B390 at 60.00 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s for the RTX 5050 Mobile. The Intel part wins the pixel throughput race despite having fewer ROPs, likely due to its higher boost clock (2500 MHz versus 1500 MHz).

FP16 performance reveals a key architectural difference. The Arc B390 delivers 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning it halves its throughput for FP16. The RTX 5050 Mobile delivers 7.680 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The Intel part has a theoretical advantage in FP16 workloads, but the NVIDIA part's tensor cores (80 of them) exist specifically for AI workloads, which the Intel part lacks entirely. The RTX 5050 Mobile also has a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface, while the Arc B390 is purely IGP with no external bus.

Power envelopes differ substantially. The Arc B390 is rated at 80 W TDP, while the RTX 5050 Mobile is rated at 50 W. This is counterintuitive given the performance gap: the slower part consumes more power. The explanation lies in the fact that the Arc B390 is an integrated solution sharing power with the host processor, while the RTX 5050 Mobile is a discrete GPU that can throttle more aggressively. Both are "Active" in production status, with the RTX 5050 Mobile released on 2025-06-23 and the Arc B390 on 2026-01-26.

Where Each One Wins

The data splits cleanly. The RTX 5050 Mobile wins the only shared benchmark, and it wins by a wide margin. For gaming, ray tracing, or any DX12 workload similar to Steel Nomad, the NVIDIA part is the clear choice. Its 20 RT cores versus 12 on the Intel part, combined with dedicated GDDR7 memory and tensor cores, gives it capabilities the Arc B390 simply does not have.

The Arc B390's advantages are narrower. Its 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds the RTX 5050 Mobile's 48.00 GPixel/s, which could matter in fill-rate-bound scenarios at low resolutions. Its FP16 throughput of 15.36 TFLOPS is double the NVIDIA part's 7.680 TFLOPS, suggesting a potential edge in compute tasks that use FP16 precision without tensor core acceleration. But the database records no benchmark where the Arc B390 actually wins, so these theoretical advantages remain unverified in practice.

The RTX 5050 Mobile's Geekbench OpenCL score of 84171 indicates strong general-purpose compute performance. The Arc B390 has no OpenCL score recorded, so no direct comparison exists for that workload. The average benchmark score of 43268 for the RTX 5050 Mobile versus 1482 for the Arc B390 reflects the massive gap in recorded performance, though the average is skewed by the OpenCL result.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile outperforms the Intel Arc B390 by 37.3% in the only shared test, and it occupies the 83rd percentile of all GPUs versus the 9th percentile for the Intel part. The RTX 5050 Mobile's nearest rivals include the RTX 4070 SUPER and RTX 4090 Mobile, while the Arc B390's nearest rivals are the GT 710 and GT 625 OEM. These are different performance classes entirely.

For any workload captured by 3DMark Steel Nomad, the RTX 5050 Mobile is the only rational choice from this data. Its dedicated 8 GB GDDR7 memory, 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 20 RT cores provide hardware capabilities the Arc B390 lacks. The Intel part's higher pixel rate and FP16 throughput do not translate into any recorded win.

The RTX 5050 Mobile also carries a lower TDP (50 W versus 80 W), which matters for mobile implementations. The Arc B390's 80 W draw for significantly less performance suggests it is not an efficient solution, at least not in the tests recorded here. The RTX 5050 Mobile's predecessor is listed as GeForce 40 Mobile, indicating a clear generational lineage, while the Arc B390 has no predecessor recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile scores 2365 versus 1482 for the Intel Arc B390, a delta of -37.3% for the Intel part.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall percentile ranking?

A: The RTX 5050 Mobile sits at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have any performance advantage?

A: The Arc B390 has a higher pixel rate (60.00 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s) and higher FP16 throughput (15.36 TFLOPS versus 7.680 TFLOPS), but no benchmark in the database records a win for it.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs use?

A: The RTX 5050 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Arc B390 uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU?

A: The Arc B390's nearest rivals are the GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710. The RTX 5050 Mobile's nearest rivals are the Quadro M6000 24 GB, Quadro M6000, RTX 4070 SUPER, and RTX 4090 Mobile.

Q: Which GPU has more RT cores?

A: The RTX 5050 Mobile has 20 RT cores, while the Arc B390 has 12 RT cores.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Arc B390 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile |

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

| Architecture | Xe3-LPG | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 3 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | Intel | TSMC |

| Transistors | Unknown | 16,900 million |

| Die Size | Unknown | 149 mm² |

| Transistor Density | Not recorded | 113.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 300 MHz | 1020 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2500 MHz | 1500 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 384.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 48 | 80 |

| ROPs | 24 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 12 | 20 |

| Tensor Cores | Not recorded | 80 |

| Pixel Rate | 60.00 GPixel/s | 48.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 120.0 GTexel/s | 120.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 7.680 TFLOPS | 7.680 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) | 7.680 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 80 W | 50 W |

| Bus Interface | IGP | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Release Date | 2026-01-26 | 2025-06-23 |

| Predecessor | Not recorded | GeForce 40 Mobile |