Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation in raw graphics performance?

A: The Intel Arc B390 records a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 points, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation has no recorded benchmark score in the database, which limits direct numerical comparison to a single data point.

Q: What is the closest competitor to the Intel Arc B390 according to the database?

A: The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which averages 1463 points. The Arc B390 leads by 1.3%, a margin of 19 points. The next closest rivals are the GeForce 800M at 1460 points (1.5% behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 points (2.5% behind), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 points (2.7% behind).

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Intel Arc B390 boosts to 2500 MHz, while the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation boosts to 1665 MHz. The Arc B390 also has a much lower base clock at 300 MHz compared to 1290 MHz for the RTX 4000.

Q: What are the memory configurations of the two GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses system shared memory with a system-dependent bandwidth, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation has 7424 shading units and 232 TMUs. The Intel Arc B390 has 1536 shading units and 48 TMUs. The RTX 4000 also has 80 ROPs versus 24 on the Arc B390.

Q: What is the thermal design power difference between the two?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a TDP of 80 W, while the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation has a TDP of 110 W. Both are integrated-class parts with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc B390 is built on Intel's 3 nm process and uses the Xe3-LPG architecture, part of the Arc Graphics-M generation under the Panther Lake chip. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on TSMC's 5 nm process, with the AD104 chip. Both implement DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API feature parity is consistent. The process node difference is notable: Intel's 3 nm node versus TSMC's 5 nm node, though the database does not list transistor counts or die size for the Intel part. The NVIDIA part lists 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The Intel part's transistor count and die size are unknown.

The Arc B390 uses system shared memory, which means its memory architecture is fundamentally different from the dedicated 12 GB GDDR6 pool on the RTX 4000. The RTX 4000 memory clock is listed as 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, and bandwidth is 432.0 GB/s. The Arc B390 memory bandwidth is system dependent, so no fixed figure exists. The RTX 4000 also carries 232 tensor cores, while the Arc B390 lists no tensor core count. Both have ray tracing cores, with the RTX 4000 featuring 58 RT cores versus 12 on the Arc B390.

Shading resources diverge sharply: 7424 shading units on the RTX 4000 versus 1536 on the Arc B390. The RTX 4000 has 232 TMUs and 80 ROPs, while the Arc B390 has 48 TMUs and 24 ROPs. Pixel rate for the RTX 4000 is 133.2 GPixel/s against 60.00 GPixel/s for the Arc B390. Texture rate is 386.3 GTexel/s versus 120.0 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance follows the same pattern: the RTX 4000 delivers 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.72 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, while the Arc B390 delivers 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio.

The bus interface differs as well. The Intel part uses an IGP interface, and the NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both are IGP slot width with no power connectors. The Arc B390 has a base clock of 300 MHz and boost of 2500 MHz; the RTX 4000 has a base clock of 1290 MHz and boost of 1665 MHz. The Intel part was released on 2026-01-26, while the NVIDIA part was released on 2023-03-20. The RTX 4000 lists its predecessor as Ampere-MW and successor as Blackwell-MW; the Arc B390 lists no predecessor or successor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries between the Intel Arc B390 and the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation. The Arc B390 has one recorded benchmark, the 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 test, with a score of 1482. The RTX 4000 has an empty benchmark array and an average benchmark score of 0. This means the only numerical comparison available is the Arc B390's position among its nearest rivals, all of which are NVIDIA parts from older generations.

The Arc B390's 1482 score places it 1.3% above the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M, 2.5% above the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% above the GeForce GT 710. Percentile data reinforces the picture: the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4000 sits in the 50th percentile. The RTX 4000's percentile is derived from its hardware characteristics in the database, not from a recorded benchmark score.

The specification gap between the two parts is large. The RTX 4000 has 4.8 times the shading units, 4.8 times the TMUs, 3.3 times the ROPs, and 4.8 times the RT cores. Its FP32 throughput is 3.2 times higher, and its pixel rate is 2.2 times higher. Texture rate is 3.2 times higher. Memory bandwidth is fixed at 432.0 GB/s on the RTX 4000 versus a system-dependent value on the Arc B390. The RTX 4000 also has a dedicated 12 GB frame buffer, while the Arc B390 shares system memory with no fixed size.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Arc B390 has a 2500 MHz boost, which is 50% higher than the RTX 4000's 1665 MHz boost. The Arc B390's base clock of 300 MHz is far lower than the RTX 4000's 1290 MHz base. The higher boost on the Intel part does not compensate for the lower resource counts, as the recorded benchmark and percentile data indicate. The RTX 4000's 50th percentile placement versus the Arc B390's 9th percentile suggests the NVIDIA part is positioned far higher in the overall GPU distribution, even without a direct benchmark score.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Arc B390 | NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | Xe3-LPG | Ada Lovelace |

| Process node | 3 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | Intel | TSMC |

| Transistors | unknown | 35,800 million |

| Die size | unknown | 294 mm² |

| Transistor density | not listed | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base clock | 300 MHz | 1290 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2500 MHz | 1665 MHz |

| Memory size | System Shared | 12 GB |

| Memory type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory bus width | System Shared | 192 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | System Dependent | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 1536 | 7424 |

| TMUs | 48 | 232 |

| ROPs | 24 | 80 |

| RT cores | 12 | 58 |

| Tensor cores | not listed | 232 |

| Pixel rate | 60.00 GPixel/s | 133.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 120.0 GTexel/s | 386.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.680 TFLOPS | 24.72 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) | 24.72 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 80 W | 110 W |

| Bus interface | IGP | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Release date | 2026-01-26 | 2023-03-20 |

| Predecessor | not listed | Ampere-MW |

| Successor | not listed | Blackwell-MW |

The two GPUs share several traits: both are IGP slot width, both have no power connectors, both use portable-device-dependent display outputs, and both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Neither has a launch MSRP listed in the database.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows two GPUs at very different performance tiers. The Intel Arc B390's single benchmark score of 1482 puts it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, near legacy NVIDIA parts like the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce GT 710, with leads of 1.3% to 2.7% over those rivals. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation sits in the 50th percentile, which is a substantially higher position in the distribution, though no direct benchmark score exists for it.

The specification comparison reinforces the percentile gap. The RTX 4000 has 4.8 times the shading units, 3.2 times the FP32 throughput, 3.2 times the texture rate, 2.2 times the pixel rate, and a dedicated 12 GB GDDR6 memory system with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Arc B390 relies on system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The RTX 4000 also has 232 tensor cores and 58 RT cores, compared to 12 RT cores and no listed tensor cores on the Arc B390.

The Arc B390 does have advantages in the data: a higher boost clock (2500 MHz versus 1665 MHz), a newer release date (2026-01-26 versus 2023-03-20), a more advanced process node (3 nm versus 5 nm), and a lower TDP (80 W versus 110 W). These factors suggest the Intel part is designed for efficiency and integrated use, while the NVIDIA part targets higher compute and rendering workloads within a mobile workstation context.

For users prioritizing raw graphics throughput, the RTX 4000's resource counts and memory subsystem point to it as the stronger part. For users prioritizing low power consumption and a compact integrated design, the Arc B390's 80 W TDP and newer process node are relevant. The data does not support a claim that the Arc B390 competes with the RTX 4000 on performance; the percentiles and specifications place them in different segments.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc B390 wins on power efficiency indicators. Its 80 W TDP is 27% lower than the RTX 4000's 110 W. It also uses a 3 nm process versus 5 nm, which suggests a newer manufacturing approach. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is higher, and the Arc B390 supports FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, which could matter for workloads using reduced precision. The Arc B390 also has a later release date, meaning it is a newer product in the database.

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Mobile Ada Generation wins on every measured compute and memory metric in the specification table. It has more shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, and tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 24.72 TFLOPS versus 7.680 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s versus 60.00 GPixel/s. Its texture rate is 386.3 GTexel/s versus 120.0 GTexel/s. Memory bandwidth is fixed at 432.0 GB/s, and it has 12 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory, which avoids the system-dependent behavior of the Arc B390's shared memory.

The percentile data adds context. The Arc B390's 9th percentile places it among the lower-performing GPUs in the database, near parts such as the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M. The RTX 4000's 50th percentile places it in the middle of all GPUs. The single recorded benchmark for the Arc B390 shows a 1482 score, which is only marginally ahead of its nearest rivals. The RTX 4000 has no recorded score, so its percentile stands as the primary comparative signal.

Use cases follow from these splits. The Arc B390 suits scenarios where integrated graphics with modest 3D capability and lower power draw are acceptable, given its 80 W TDP and lack of dedicated memory. The RTX 4000 suits scenarios where higher compute density, ray tracing capability, and a dedicated 12 GB frame buffer are required, such as mobile workstations. The database does not include direct head-to-head benchmark results, so these conclusions rely on the recorded specification differences and percentile placements.