Intel Arc B770 vs NVIDIA H100 CNX Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core specifications of the Intel Arc B770 and the NVIDIA H100 CNX?

A: The Intel Arc B770 uses the BMG-G31 chip with the Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 4096 shading units, 32 RT cores, 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, and a 225 W TDP. The NVIDIA H100 CNX uses the GH100 chip with the Hopper architecture, also on a 5 nm TSMC process. It has 14,592 shading units, 456 tensor cores, 80 GB of HBM2e memory on a 5120-bit bus, and a 350 W TDP.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare between the two cards?

A: The Arc B770 delivers 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 16 GB GDDR6 memory, while the H100 CNX provides 2.04 TB/s from its 80 GB HBM2e memory. The H100 CNX has a substantially wider memory bus (5120-bit versus 256-bit) and significantly more memory capacity.

Q: What are the clock speeds of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B770 has a base clock of 2100 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA H100 CNX has a base clock of 690 MHz and a boost clock of 1845 MHz, with memory at 1593 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective). The Arc B770 runs at higher core clocks, while the H100 CNX relies on its wider memory interface and higher bandwidth.

Q: Which card offers higher FP32 and FP16 compute performance?

A: The H100 CNX is significantly ahead in raw compute. It delivers 53.84 TFLOPS FP32 versus 19.66 TFLOPS for the Arc B770. In FP16, the H100 CNX reaches 215.4 TFLOPS (4:1 ratio), while the Arc B770 achieves 39.32 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio).

Q: What are the physical and connectivity differences?

A: Both cards are dual-slot designs. The Arc B770 is a PCIe 4.0 x16 card with display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1) and uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors with a suggested 550 W PSU. The H100 CNX is a PCIe 5.0 x16 card with no display outputs, uses an 8-pin EPS power connector, and requires a 750 W suggested PSU. The H100 CNX measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height.

Q: What is the release timeline and production status for each?

A: The Intel Arc B770 is scheduled for release on 2025-12-31, with its predecessor being Alchemist. The NVIDIA H100 CNX was released on 2023-03-20, is currently marked as Active in production, and its predecessor is Server Ada with a successor of Server Blackwell.

The Verdict

The data clearly separates these two cards into different market segments. The NVIDIA H100 CNX is a server-grade compute accelerator with massive memory capacity (80 GB HBM2e), enormous bandwidth (2.04 TB/s), and substantially higher FP32 and FP16 throughput. It is designed for data center workloads where raw compute and memory capacity dominate. The Intel Arc B770, by contrast, is a client-oriented graphics card with display outputs, a higher boost clock, and a smaller footprint in both power draw (225 W versus 350 W) and physical size.

For users needing display connectivity, a lower power envelope, and a consumer-friendly slot design, the Arc B770 is the appropriate choice. For compute-heavy tasks such as large-scale AI training or scientific simulation requiring the 456 tensor cores and 215.4 TFLOPS FP16 performance, the H100 CNX is the clear selection. The H100 CNX also offers more than five times the memory capacity and four times the memory bandwidth, making it suitable for datasets that would not fit in the Arc B770's 16 GB frame buffer.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows no direct benchmark entries for either card, as both have empty benchmark arrays and zero wins in the head-to-head comparison. However, the specification-level analysis provides clear performance indicators.

The NVIDIA H100 CNX dominates in compute throughput. Its FP32 figure of 53.84 TFLOPS is approximately 2.7 times higher than the Arc B770's 19.66 TFLOPS. The gap widens dramatically in FP16: the H100 CNX's 215.4 TFLOPS is roughly 5.5 times the Arc B770's 39.32 TFLOPS. These differences reflect the H100 CNX's dedicated tensor cores and server-oriented design.

Memory bandwidth is another decisive advantage for the H100 CNX. The 2.04 TB/s figure is exactly four times the 512.0 GB/s of the Arc B770. The H100 CNX also has a 5120-bit bus versus 256-bit, and 80 GB of HBM2e versus 16 GB of GDDR6. For workloads that are memory-bound, such as large matrix operations or data processing, this difference is critical.

The Arc B770 counters in several areas. Its pixel rate of 307.2 GPixel/s is substantially higher than the H100 CNX's 44.28 GPixel/s, indicating the Arc B770 is optimized for rasterization and display output. The texture rate also favors Intel: 614.4 GTexel/s versus 841.3 GTexel/s is actually a win for NVIDIA, but the Arc B770's 128 ROPs versus 24 ROPs explains its pixel rate advantage. The Arc B770's base clock of 2100 MHz and boost of 2400 MHz far exceed the H100 CNX's 690 MHz base and 1845 MHz boost, which contributes to its higher pixel throughput despite fewer shading units.

In terms of API support, the Arc B770 is explicitly listed with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The H100 CNX has no listed APIs for DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan, reinforcing its role as a compute-only accelerator without graphics output.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The memory configuration is the most striking divergence: the Arc B770 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the H100 CNX has 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus with 2.04 TB/s bandwidth. The memory clock also differs, with the Arc B770 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus the H100 CNX at 1593 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective).

Compute resources show a clear hierarchy. The Arc B770 has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 32 RT cores. The H100 CNX has 14,592 shading units, 456 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 456 tensor cores, with no RT cores listed. The pixel rate favors Intel at 307.2 GPixel/s versus 44.28 GPixel/s, while the texture rate favors NVIDIA at 841.3 GTexel/s versus 614.4 GTexel/s.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The Arc B770 has a TDP of 225 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W, while the H100 CNX has a TDP of 350 W with a suggested PSU of 750 W. The power connectors are 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin for Intel versus 8-pin EPS for NVIDIA. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the Arc B770 and PCIe 5.0 x16 for the H100 CNX. The H100 CNX has specified dimensions of 267 mm length and 111 mm height, while the Arc B770 has no listed dimensions.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc B770 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically the Battlemage generation (Arc 7), using the BMG-G31 chip. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with a die size of 368 mm². The transistor count is listed as unknown. The architecture includes dedicated RT cores (32 of them) and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, indicating a full-featured graphics pipeline. The predecessor is listed as Alchemist.

The NVIDIA H100 CNX uses the Hopper architecture with the GH100 chip, part of the Server Hopper (Hxx) generation. It is also fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC but has a significantly larger die size of 814 mm². The transistor count is 80,000 million, resulting in a transistor density of 98.3M per mm². The H100 CNX features 456 tensor cores but no RT cores, and it has no display outputs or listed graphics APIs, confirming it is not designed for rendering tasks. Its predecessor is Server Ada and its successor is Server Blackwell.

The die size difference is substantial: 368 mm² for the Arc B770 versus 814 mm² for the H100 CNX, a factor of more than two. The H100 CNX also has a much higher transistor count, though the Arc B770's count is not disclosed. Both use the same 5 nm TSMC process node, but the H100 CNX packs far more silicon area and transistors into its package. The Arc B770's support for graphics APIs and display outputs reflects its client-oriented design, while the H100 CNX's lack of these features and its tensor core focus indicate a pure compute accelerator.