Intel Arc B770 vs Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural differences between the Intel Arc B770 and the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550?

A: The Arc B770 uses the BMG-G31 chip built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 uses the Ponte Vecchio chip on Generation 12.5 architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process by Intel. The B770 has 4,096 shading units, while the Max 1550 has 16,384.

Q: How do the memory systems compare between the two GPUs?

A: The Arc B770 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 features 128 GB of HBM2e memory on an 8192-bit bus with 3.28 TB/s bandwidth. The Max 1550 provides over six times the memory capacity and over six times the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The Arc B770 runs at a base clock of 2100 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 runs at a base clock of 900 MHz and a boost clock of 1600 MHz. The Arc B770 has significantly higher clock frequencies.

Q: What is the difference in compute performance between the two?

A: The Data Center GPU Max 1550 delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 52.43 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (1:1 ratio). The Arc B770 delivers 19.66 TFLOPS of FP32 and 39.32 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). The Max 1550 is roughly 2.7 times ahead in FP32 compute.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The Arc B770 has a TDP of 225 W and requires a 550 W power supply, using 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 has a TDP of 600 W and requires a 1000 W power supply, using the OAM Module form factor.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: No. The Arc B770 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc B770 and the Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 represent fundamentally different design philosophies within Intel's GPU lineup. The Arc B770 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically using the BMG-G31 chip, and belongs to the Battlemage (Arc 7) generation. Its predecessor is Alchemist. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 uses the Ponte Vecchio chip on Generation 12.5 architecture, belonging to the Data Center GPU (Ponte Vecchio) generation, with its successor listed as H3C Graphics.

Manufacturing processes differ substantially. The Arc B770 is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the Data Center GPU Max 1550 uses a 10 nm process at Intel. The die sizes reflect this gap: the B770 measures 368 mm², while the Max 1550 measures 1280 mm². The transistor count for the B770 is unknown, but the Max 1550 contains 100,000 million transistors with a density of 78.1M per mm².

The compute architectures diverge in scale. The Arc B770 has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 32 ray tracing cores. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 has 16,384 shading units, 1,024 TMUs, 0 ROPs, and 128 ray tracing cores. The Max 1550 has exactly four times the shading units, four times the TMUs, and four times the ray tracing cores. The absence of ROPs in the Max 1550 is notable, as its pixel rate is listed as 0 MPixel/s, confirming it is not designed for traditional rasterization output.

Clock behavior also separates the two. The Arc B770 operates at 2100 MHz base and 2400 MHz boost, while the Max 1550 operates at 900 MHz base and 1600 MHz boost. The B770's higher clocks partially compensate for its smaller compute array, but the Max 1550's raw scale still dominates in throughput metrics. The texture rate for the Max 1550 is 1,638.4 GTexel/s versus 614.4 GTexel/s for the B770.

Memory architecture represents another major split. The B770 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. The Max 1550 uses 128 GB of HBM2e on an 8192-bit bus, delivering 3.28 TB/s. The memory clock for the B770 is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the Max 1550 runs at 1600 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective). The much wider bus on the Max 1550 enables its massive bandwidth advantage.

The physical and interface specifications differ as well. The B770 is a dual-slot card with 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, using PCIe 4.0 x16. The Max 1550 is an OAM Module with no display outputs, using PCIe 5.0 x16. The B770 has a TDP of 225 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W, while the Max 1550 has a TDP of 600 W with a suggested PSU of 1000 W. The release dates are also distinct: the B770 is dated 2025-12-31, while the Max 1550 was released 2023-01-09 and remains in Active production status.

The Verdict

The recorded data supports a clear separation of roles. The Intel Arc B770 is a rasterization-capable graphics solution with display outputs, designed around high clock speeds, GDDR6 memory, and consumer-friendly power levels. The Intel Data Center GPU Max 1550 is a compute-oriented accelerator with no display outputs, built for massive parallel throughput, extremely wide memory bandwidth, and data center deployment.

Users requiring display output, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility should select the Arc B770. It delivers 19.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 39.32 TFLOPS of FP16 compute, and 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth while staying within a 225 W TDP. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are sufficient for graphics workloads, and its 32 ray tracing cores provide hardware-accelerated ray tracing capability.

Users prioritizing raw compute throughput and memory capacity should select the Data Center GPU Max 1550. It delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 52.43 TFLOPS of FP16 compute, and 3.28 TB/s of bandwidth. Its 128 GB of HBM2e memory and 8192-bit bus are designed for large-scale data center workloads. However, it lacks display outputs, has no Vulkan support, and only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1), not 12 Ultimate.

The production status confirms the Max 1550 remains Active, while the B770 has no production status listed. The Max 1550's release date of 2023-01-09 also precedes the B770's 2025-12-31 date. Neither GPU has benchmark scores recorded in the database, and both sit at the 50th percentile versus all GPUs. The choice between them depends entirely on whether the workload requires graphics output and modern API support, or maximum compute scale and memory bandwidth.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every recorded specification field.

• Chip: BMG-G31 (Arc B770) versus Ponte Vecchio (Max 1550)
• Architecture: Xe2-HPG versus Generation 12.5
• Generation: Battlemage (Arc 7) versus Data Center GPU (Ponte Vecchio)
• Process Node: 5 nm (TSMC) versus 10 nm (Intel)
• Transistors: unknown versus 100,000 million
• Die Size: 368 mm² versus 1280 mm²
• Transistor Density: not listed versus 78.1M / mm²
• Base Clock: 2100 MHz versus 900 MHz
• Boost Clock: 2400 MHz versus 1600 MHz
• Memory Clock: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1600 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 16 GB versus 128 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 versus HBM2e
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit versus 8192 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 512.0 GB/s versus 3.28 TB/s
• Shading Units: 4096 versus 16384
• TMUs: 256 versus 1024
• ROPs: 128 versus 0
• RT Cores: 32 versus 128
• Pixel Rate: 307.2 GPixel/s versus 0 MPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 614.4 GTexel/s versus 1,638.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 19.66 TFLOPS versus 52.43 TFLOPS
• FP16: 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 52.43 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 225 W versus 600 W
• Slot Width: Dual-slot versus OAM Module
• Power Connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin versus none listed
• Suggested PSU: 550 W versus 1000 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 versus No outputs
• DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1)
• OpenGL: 4.6 for both
• Vulkan: 1.4 versus not listed
• Production Status: not listed versus Active
• Release Date: 2025-12-31 versus 2023-01-09
• Predecessor: Alchemist versus none listed
• Successor: none listed versus H3C Graphics

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

No head-to-head benchmark results are recorded in the database for this pairing. Both GPUs have empty benchmark arrays, zero recorded wins each, and an average benchmark score of zero. Each GPU sits at the 50th percentile versus all GPUs. The absence of recorded measurements means direct performance comparisons must rely on the specification data.

The compute throughput comparison is decisive. The Data Center GPU Max 1550 delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP32, which is approximately 2.7 times the Arc B770's 19.66 TFLOPS. In FP16, the Max 1550 delivers 52.43 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the B770 delivers 39.32 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The Max 1550 leads by roughly 1.3 times in FP16 throughput, and its 1:1 ratio means FP16 performance does not degrade relative to FP32.

The texture rate comparison favors the Max 1550. It processes 1,638.4 GTexel/s versus the B770's 614.4 GTexel/s, a lead of about 2.7 times. The pixel rate tells the opposite story: the B770 outputs 307.2 GPixel/s, while the Max 1550 outputs 0 MPixel/s because it has no ROPs. This confirms the Max 1550 cannot perform traditional rasterization output.

Memory bandwidth heavily favors the Max 1550. Its 3.28 TB/s is approximately 6.4 times the B770's 512.0 GB/s. The memory capacity advantage is equally stark: 128 GB versus 16 GB, an eight-fold difference. The bus width difference of 8192 bits versus 256 bits explains this gap.

Clock speeds favor the B770. Its 2100 MHz base clock is 2.3 times the Max 1550's 900 MHz, and its 2400 MHz boost is 1.5 times the Max 1550's 1600 MHz. These higher clocks help the B770 achieve competitive performance in graphics-oriented tasks despite its smaller compute array.

Power efficiency, when expressed as performance per watt, is not directly recorded in the database. However, the B770's 225 W TDP against 19.66 TFLOPS of FP32, and the Max 1550's 600 W TDP against 52.43 TFLOPS, can be derived from the recorded fields. The B770 also requires a 550 W suggested PSU versus 1000 W for the Max 1550.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc B770 wins in categories tied to graphics output and consumer-oriented features. It has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1), while the Max 1550 has none. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Max 1550 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). It supports Vulkan 1.4, while no Vulkan version is listed for the Max 1550. It has 128 ROPs and a pixel rate of 307.2 GPixel/s, while the Max 1550 has 0 ROPs and a pixel rate of 0 MPixel/s. It also operates at higher clock speeds, with a 2100 MHz base and 2400 MHz boost. Its dual-slot form factor and standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface align with conventional graphics card installation.

The Data Center GPU Max 1550 wins in categories tied to raw compute scale and memory capacity. It has 16,384 shading units, four times the B770's 4,096. It has 1,024 TMUs, four times the B770's 256. It has 128 ray tracing cores, four times the B770's 32. It delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP32, roughly 2.7 times the B770's 19.66 TFLOPS. It delivers 52.43 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, exceeding the B770's 39.32 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. It offers 128 GB of HBM2e memory, eight times the B770's 16 GB. Its 3.28 TB/s bandwidth is approximately 6.4 times the B770's 512.0 GB/s. Its 8192-bit memory bus is 32 times wider than the B770's 256-bit bus. Its 1,638.4 GTexel/s texture rate is roughly 2.7 times the B770's 614.4 GTexel/s. It uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the B770 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Its production status is Active, while the B770 has no production status listed.

Use-case separation follows these strengths. Graphics rendering, gaming, and any workload requiring a display connection belong to the Arc B770. Compute-heavy data center tasks, large memory footprint workloads, and applications needing maximum FP32 or FP16 throughput belong to the Data Center GPU Max 1550. The B770's FP16 2:1 ratio indicates its FP16 throughput is derived from FP32 hardware, while the Max 1550's 1:1 ratio indicates dedicated FP16 capability. The Max 1550's 128 GB memory capacity suits large datasets, while the B770's 16 GB suits standard graphics workloads. The absence of Vulkan support and display outputs on the Max 1550 further restricts it to headless compute environments.