Intel Arc B390 vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows two very different performance strata for these GPUs. The Intel Arc B390, an integrated graphics processor in the Panther Lake generation, delivers a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, a workstation-class discrete card, produces an average benchmark score of 166094 across Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests. The difference is stark: the RTX 4500 Ada scores over 112 times higher in the database's aggregate measurements.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each product clarifies the positioning. The Intel Arc B390's score of 1482 sits just 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1443). These are all legacy entry-level parts, and the Arc B390's percentile rank of 9 confirms that it sits near the very bottom of the database's GPU hierarchy, outperforming only roughly the weakest 9% of all recorded GPUs.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, by contrast, holds a 97th percentile rank. Its average score of 166094 places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (165217), 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164894), and 2.2% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (162504). The only rival in its immediate list that beats it is the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X, which scores 168574, a 1.5% advantage over the RTX 4500 Ada. This places the RTX 4500 Ada in the upper echelon of workstation GPUs, directly competing with flagship professional cards from both major vendors.

There are no direct head-to-head benchmarks shared between these two products in the database. The Intel part only appears in one 3DMark test, while the NVIDIA part only appears in Geekbench workloads. Consequently, the comparison relies entirely on the aggregate scores and nearest-rival deltas. The data indicates that the RTX 4500 Ada outclasses the Arc B390 by an enormous margin, but the benchmark types differ, so the numerical comparison should be read as indicative rather than a same-workload measurement.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc B390 wins in scenarios where integrated graphics are the only option. Its 80 W thermal design power, lack of power connectors, and IGP bus interface mean it requires no separate power delivery and occupies no expansion slot. The database lists its display outputs as "Portable Device Dependent," which means it is designed for mobile or compact systems where a discrete GPU cannot be installed. Its performance, while minimal, is sufficient to edge out the GT 520MX and the GeForce 800M, making it usable for basic display output and very light 3D workloads.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in virtually every performance-focused scenario. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth provides substantial data throughput for large datasets. The shading unit count of 7680, paired with 240 texture mapping units and 80 raster output units, delivers pixel rate of 206.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 619.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute rate of 39.63 TFLOPS is roughly five times the Intel part's 7.680 TFLOPS, and the NVIDIA card's FP16 rate of 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) far exceeds the Arc B390's 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). For ray tracing, the RTX 4500 Ada has 60 RT cores versus 12 on the Arc B390, and it adds 240 tensor cores where the Intel part has none listed.

The use-case split is clear. The Arc B390 serves low-power integrated systems, while the RTX 4500 Ada serves professional workstations handling rendering, compute, and AI workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 160786 and Vulkan score of 171401 for the RTX 4500 Ada indicate strong cross-API compute performance, while the Arc B390's single 1482 score in 3DMark Steel Nomad suggests only minimal DirectX 12 graphics capability.

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 itself. The chip is named Panther Lake, and it belongs to the Arc Graphics-M generation. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process node from TSMC, with the AD103 chip. The process node difference favors Intel in pure transistor density terms, but the database records the NVIDIA part's transistor count at 45,900 million on a 379 mm² die, giving a density of 121.1M per mm². The Intel part's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown.

The Intel Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 12 RT cores. It has no tensor cores listed. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost of 2500 MHz. Memory is system-shared, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM; the bus width and bandwidth are system-dependent. This is typical for an integrated GPU, which borrows from the host system's RAM.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2070 MHz with a boost of 2580 MHz. Memory is dedicated 24 GB GDDR6 running at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, over a 192-bit bus. The memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is fixed and independent of the host system.

The bus interface differs significantly: the Arc B390 uses IGP, while the RTX 4500 Ada uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The NVIDIA card is a dual-slot design measuring 245 mm (9.6 inches) in length and 112 mm (4.4 inches) in height, with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Intel part has no fixed dimensions and its display outputs are device-dependent.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. The power requirements diverge: the Arc B390 draws 80 W with no power connectors, while the RTX 4500 Ada draws 210 W, also with no power connectors listed, but with a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Release dates differ by roughly two and a half years. The RTX 4500 Ada launched on 2023-08-08, with a predecessor listed as Workstation Ampere and a successor of Blackwell PRO W. The Arc B390 launched on 2026-01-26, with no predecessor or successor listed. Both are currently marked as Active in production status.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 166094, while the Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses system-shared memory with type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as system-dependent. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 60 RT cores, while the Intel Arc B390 has 12 RT cores.

Q: Are there any shared benchmark tests between the two GPUs?

A: No, the database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries. The Intel Arc B390 has one 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score, while the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores.

Q: What process nodes do the two GPUs use?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses a 3 nm process from Intel, while the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses a 5 nm process from TSMC.

Specification Differences

| Field | Intel Arc B390 | NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | Xe3-LPG | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 3 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | Intel | TSMC |

| Transistors | unknown | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | unknown | 379 mm² |

| Base Clock | 300 MHz | 2070 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2500 MHz | 2580 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 192 bit |

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

| Shading Units | 1536 | 7680 |

| TMUs | 48 | 240 |

| ROPs | 24 | 80 |

| RT Cores | 12 | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | null | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 60.00 GPixel/s | 206.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 120.0 GTexel/s | 619.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 7.680 TFLOPS | 39.63 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) | 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 80 W | 210 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Suggested PSU | null | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | IGP | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2026-01-26 | 2023-08-08 |

The Verdict

The data separates these two products into entirely different market segments. The Intel Arc B390, with its 9th percentile rank, is an integrated solution designed for low-power portable devices. Its 80 W TDP, lack of power connectors, and system-shared memory make it suitable only for basic graphics tasks. Its benchmark score of 1482 places it alongside decade-old discrete GPUs like the GT 710 and GT 520MX, and the 2.7% margin over the GT 710 is the largest advantage it holds over any listed rival.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, ranked in the 97th percentile, is a professional workstation GPU. Its 166094 average score places it within 1.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X and ahead of the RTX A5500, Radeon PRO W7800, and A100 PCIe 40 GB. The 24 GB GDDR6 memory, 7680 shading units, and 240 tensor cores address demanding compute and rendering workloads. The 210 W TDP and dual-slot cooler require a proper workstation chassis with a 550 W PSU.

For a user building a compact, power-efficient system with no discrete GPU expansion, the Intel Arc B390 provides functional integrated graphics. For any workload involving 3D rendering, AI inference, or high-resolution compute, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the only viable option between these two. The FP32 throughput difference alone (39.63 TFLOPS versus 7.680 TFLOPS) is decisive, and the NVIDIA card's dedicated memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s eliminates the system-dependency bottleneck inherent to the Intel part. The release dates reinforce the generational split: the RTX 4500 Ada launched in August 2023 as a mature workstation product, while the Arc B390 arrived in January 2026 as an integrated graphics component for Panther Lake-based systems.