Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Comparison

Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor built on Intel's 3 nm Panther Lake chip, while NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is a discrete workstation card based on the AD104 chip using a 5 nm TSMC process. The Arc B390 targets lightweight, portable devices with system-shared memory and a 80 W TDP, whereas the RTX 4000 Ada is a single-slot PCIe 4.0 x16 card with 20 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory, a 130 W TDP, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The data shows a stark performance gap: the Arc B390 records a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4000 Ada achieves an average benchmark score of 135218 across Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, sitting in the 95th percentile.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the Intel Arc B390 and NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation?

A: The recorded data shows the Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the RTX 4000 Ada averages 135218 across Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests. The RTX 4000 Ada sits in the 95th percentile of all GPUs, whereas the Arc B390 is in the 9th percentile.

Q: Which card has more shading units and RT cores?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada has 6144 shading units and 48 RT cores. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units and 12 RT cores.

Q: How do their memory configurations differ?

A: The Arc B390 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, while the RTX 4000 Ada has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 360.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the clock speeds for each GPU?

A: The Arc B390 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The RTX 4000 Ada has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 2175 MHz.

Q: Which GPU supports higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada delivers 26.73 TFLOPS FP32, which is substantially higher than the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS FP32.

Q: What are the physical form factors?

A: The Arc B390 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, while the RTX 4000 Ada is a single-slot card measuring 245 mm (9.6 inches) in length, 112 mm (4.4 inches) in height, with a 1x 16-pin power connector.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc B390 wins in situations where power draw and physical footprint are the primary constraints. Its 80 W TDP, IGP form factor, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for compact portable devices where a discrete card cannot fit. The Arc B390 also has a higher boost clock at 2500 MHz compared to the RTX 4000 Ada's 2175 MHz, which could favor short bursts of clock-sensitive workloads, though its overall compute capacity is far lower.

The RTX 4000 Ada wins decisively in raw performance across every measurable compute metric. Its FP32 throughput of 26.73 TFLOPS is roughly 3.5 times the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS. The RTX 4000 Ada also leads in pixel rate (139.2 GPixel/s vs 60.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (417.6 GTexel/s vs 120.0 GTexel/s). In workstation scenarios, the 20 GB GDDR6 memory with 360.0 GB/s bandwidth provides dedicated capacity that the Arc B390's system-shared memory cannot match. The RTX 4000 Ada's 95th percentile ranking versus the Arc B390's 9th percentile confirms its dominance in benchmark-heavy workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The Intel Arc B390 uses the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process node fabricated by Intel, part of the Arc Graphics-M (Panther Lake) generation. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm node fabricated by TSMC, belonging to the GeForce 40-series lineage with a workstation designation.

The RTX 4000 Ada is built on the AD104 chip with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The Arc B390's transistor count and die size are unknown in the database. The RTX 4000 Ada includes 192 tensor cores, which the Arc B390 does not list, suggesting a significant divergence in AI-accelerated workloads. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 4000 Ada has dedicated RT cores (48) versus the Arc B390's 12, indicating a substantial difference in ray tracing hardware capability.

The Arc B390's memory architecture is entirely system-dependent, with no dedicated VRAM, while the RTX 4000 Ada uses a discrete memory subsystem with 20 GB GDDR6. This architectural split means the Arc B390 relies on system RAM bandwidth, which is variable, whereas the RTX 4000 Ada has fixed 360.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Specification Differences

• Process Node: Arc B390 uses 3 nm (Intel foundry); RTX 4000 Ada uses 5 nm (TSMC foundry).
• Transistors: Arc B390 unknown; RTX 4000 Ada has 35,800 million.
• Die Size: Arc B390 unknown; RTX 4000 Ada is 294 mm².
• Base Clock: Arc B390 at 300 MHz; RTX 4000 Ada at 1500 MHz.
• Boost Clock: Arc B390 at 2500 MHz; RTX 4000 Ada at 2175 MHz.
• Memory Size: Arc B390 system shared; RTX 4000 Ada 20 GB GDDR6.
• Memory Bus Width: Arc B390 system shared; RTX 4000 Ada 160 bit.
• Memory Bandwidth: Arc B390 system dependent; RTX 4000 Ada 360.0 GB/s.
• Shading Units: Arc B390 1536; RTX 4000 Ada 6144.
• TMUs: Arc B390 48; RTX 4000 Ada 192.
• ROPs: Arc B390 24; RTX 4000 Ada 64.
• RT Cores: Arc B390 12; RTX 4000 Ada 48.
• Tensor Cores: Arc B390 not listed; RTX 4000 Ada 192.
• Pixel Rate: Arc B390 60.00 GPixel/s; RTX 4000 Ada 139.2 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: Arc B390 120.0 GTexel/s; RTX 4000 Ada 417.6 GTexel/s.
• FP32 Performance: Arc B390 7.680 TFLOPS; RTX 4000 Ada 26.73 TFLOPS.
• FP16 Performance: Arc B390 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1); RTX 4000 Ada 26.73 TFLOPS (1:1).
• TDP: Arc B390 80 W; RTX 4000 Ada 130 W.
• Slot Width: Arc B390 IGP; RTX 4000 Ada single-slot.
• Power Connectors: Arc B390 none; RTX 4000 Ada 1x 16-pin.
• Suggested PSU: Arc B390 not listed; RTX 4000 Ada 300 W.
• Bus Interface: Arc B390 IGP; RTX 4000 Ada PCIe 4.0 x16.
• Display Outputs: Arc B390 portable device dependent; RTX 4000 Ada 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.
• Dimensions: Arc B390 not listed; RTX 4000 Ada 245 mm length, 112 mm height.
• Release Date: Arc B390 2026-01-26; RTX 4000 Ada 2023-08-08.
• Predecessor/Successor: Arc B390 has none listed; RTX 4000 Ada predecessor is Workstation Ampere, successor is Blackwell PRO W.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons are not available in the database, as the recorded tests differ between the two GPUs. The Arc B390 has one recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, while the RTX 4000 Ada has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 146593 and 123842, respectively.

For relative positioning, the Arc B390's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (average score 1463, delta 1.3%), GeForce 800M (1460, delta 1.5%), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, delta 2.5%), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, delta 2.7%). This places the Arc B390 marginally ahead of these older integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs, with deltas under 3%.

The RTX 4000 Ada's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA A10M (average score 135230, delta 0%), AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135396, delta -0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135774, delta -0.4%), and AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136472, delta -0.9%). These deltas show the RTX 4000 Ada performing essentially on par with the A10M, and slightly behind the AMD workstation cards by less than 1%.

The performance gap between the two GPUs is enormous. The RTX 4000 Ada's average benchmark score of 135218 is roughly 91 times higher than the Arc B390's 1482. The percentile rankings confirm this: 95th versus 9th. The RTX 4000 Ada's FP32 throughput of 26.73 TFLOPS is 3.5 times the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 3.5 times higher as well.

In terms of compute density, the RTX 4000 Ada packs 6144 shading units versus 1536, and doubles the ROP count from 24 to 64. The RTX 4000 Ada also has four times the RT cores (48 vs 12) and includes 192 tensor cores where the Arc B390 has none listed. The memory bandwidth difference is stark: 360.0 GB/s dedicated versus system dependent, which in practice means the Arc B390 is bottlenecked by the host system's memory subsystem.

The Verdict

The data clearly separates these two GPUs into different use classes. The Intel Arc B390, with its 80 W TDP, IGP form factor, and system-shared memory, is designed for portable devices where integration is mandatory and performance targets are modest. Its 9th percentile ranking and 1482 Steel Nomad score indicate it handles only light graphics tasks, and its nearest rivals are decade-old NVIDIA entry-level parts.

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is a workstation-class card for professional workloads. Its 95th percentile ranking, 20 GB GDDR6 memory, 192 tensor cores, and 26.73 TFLOPS FP32 performance place it alongside other high-end workstation accelerators like the NVIDIA A10M and AMD Radeon PRO W6800, where it trades blows within 1% of their average scores. The 130 W TDP and single-slot design with a 16-pin connector require a discrete power delivery path, and the 300 W suggested PSU indicates a full system power budget.

For a builder selecting between these, the decision is dictated by form factor and workload. The Arc B390 cannot be installed as a discrete card; it exists only as an integrated GPU within a Panther Lake processor. The RTX 4000 Ada requires a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and a 16-pin power connector, making it exclusive to desktop or larger workstation chassis. Benchmark results indicate the RTX 4000 Ada outperforms the Arc B390 in every recorded metric, but the Arc B390's low power draw and integrated nature serve a completely different market segment. The RTX 4000 Ada is the only choice for compute-intensive, memory-hungry workstation tasks, while the Arc B390 suits basic display and light acceleration in portable systems where no discrete option exists.