Intel Arc Pro A30M vs NVIDIA T550 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile and Intel Arc Pro A30M are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions targeting professional workloads, but the data shows they cater to different priorities. The T550 Mobile, built on the older Turing architecture, wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, while the Arc Pro A30M counters with superior architectural features like ray tracing and a newer process node. The T550 Mobile is the pick for raw compute performance in legacy applications, while the Arc Pro A30M is the choice for modern feature support and efficiency per transistor.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA T550 Mobile is the faster GPU in compute workloads. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 35521 against the Intel Arc Pro A30M’s 31894, a decisive 11.4% advantage. This margin is significant enough to recommend the T550 Mobile for users whose primary tasks rely on OpenCL acceleration. Its average benchmark score of 33161 also places it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs, slightly ahead of the Arc Pro A30M’s 76th percentile and 31894 average score.

However, the Intel Arc Pro A30M is not without merit. While it loses the compute benchmark, its architectural advantages are substantial. It features dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent on the T550 Mobile, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, whereas the T550 Mobile only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). For professionals working with modern rendering pipelines or applications that leverage DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the Arc Pro A30M is the more future-proof choice despite its compute deficit. The T550 Mobile is for users who need maximum raw OpenCL throughput today; the Arc Pro A30M is for those who prioritize contemporary graphics features and are willing to sacrifice 11.4% compute performance.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a clear victory for the NVIDIA T550 Mobile. The T550 Mobile scores 35521 points, while the Intel Arc Pro A30M scores 31894 points. This represents an 11.4% delta in favor of the NVIDIA part. This is not a marginal difference; it indicates a substantial performance gap in this specific compute workload.

To contextualize this result, the T550 Mobile’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (avg score 33170, delta 0%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 570 (avg score 33207, delta -0.1%). The T550 Mobile sits right in that performance band, slightly outpacing both. The Arc Pro A30M, conversely, is bracketed by the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (avg score 31676, delta 0.7%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 570X (avg score 32176, delta -0.9%). This places the Arc Pro A30M in a lower performance tier for this benchmark, roughly 3000-4000 points behind the T550 Mobile’s closest competitors.

No other head-to-head benchmarks are available, so the analysis rests entirely on this single OpenCL result. The win count is 1 for the T550 Mobile and 0 for the Arc Pro A30M. This single data point, however, is consistent with the overall average benchmark scores, reinforcing the T550 Mobile’s compute leadership.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies and generations. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is based on the TU117 chip using the Turing architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It belongs to the Quadro Turing-M (Tx000) generation. The Intel Arc Pro A30M, in contrast, uses the DG2-128 chip with the Xe-HPG architecture, built on a more advanced 6 nm process, also at TSMC, and is part of the Alchemist (Pro-Series Mobile) generation.

The process node difference is stark: 12 nm versus 6 nm. This translates into a significant transistor density advantage for Intel. The Arc Pro A30M packs 7,200 million transistors into a 157 mm² die, yielding a density of 45.9M transistors per mm². The T550 Mobile has 4,700 million transistors on a larger 200 mm² die, resulting in a density of only 23.5M / mm². Intel’s chip is nearly twice as dense, indicating a much more modern and efficient design.

Feature support is another major differentiator. The Arc Pro A30M includes 8 dedicated ray tracing cores, while the T550 Mobile has none. This directly impacts the DirectX feature level: the Arc Pro A30M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes ray tracing and other advanced features, whereas the T550 Mobile is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both GPUs support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so those APIs are equivalent.

The bus interface also differs. The T550 Mobile uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Arc Pro A30M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. While the T550 Mobile has more lanes, the Arc Pro A30M’s newer PCIe 4.0 standard offers higher per-lane bandwidth. The T550 Mobile is designated as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) in terms of slot width, while the Arc Pro A30M has no specified slot width.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several key differences beyond the architectural core. Clock speeds favor the Intel part significantly. The Arc Pro A30M has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 2000 MHz, compared to the T550 Mobile’s 1065 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. This higher clock speed contributes to the Arc Pro A30M’s higher raw throughput in some metrics.

Memory configuration is mixed. Both GPUs have 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus. However, the Arc Pro A30M runs its memory at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 128.0 GB/s. The T550 Mobile’s memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), providing 96.00 GB/s. This gives the Arc Pro A30M a 33% bandwidth advantage, which could benefit memory-heavy workloads.

Compute and fill rates tell a different story. The T550 Mobile achieves a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 106.6 GTexel/s. The Arc Pro A30M is faster here, with 64.00 GPixel/s and 128.0 GTexel/s. However, in FP32 compute, the T550 Mobile delivers 3.410 TFLOPS, while the Arc Pro A30M delivers 4.096 TFLOPS. This is a 20% advantage for Intel. FP16 follows the same pattern, with the T550 Mobile at 6.820 TFLOPS (2:1) and the Arc Pro A30M at 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1).

The shading units, TMUs, and ROPs are identical: 1024, 64, and 32, respectively. The key divergence is the TDP. The T550 Mobile is rated at 23 W, while the Arc Pro A30M is rated at 50 W. This is a significant power draw difference, with the Intel part consuming over double the power of the NVIDIA part. Neither GPU requires external power connectors, and both have display outputs that are "Portable Device Dependent."

The production status for both is end-of-life. The Arc Pro A30M has a release date of 2022-08-07, while the T550 Mobile has no listed release date. The T550 Mobile has a listed predecessor (Quadro Pascal-M) and successor (Ampere-MW), while the Arc Pro A30M has neither.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is faster, scoring 35521 points compared to the Intel Arc Pro A30M’s 31894 points, a 11.4% difference.

Q: Does the Intel Arc Pro A30M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 8 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature that the NVIDIA T550 Mobile does not have.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A30M has a bandwidth of 128.0 GB/s, while the NVIDIA T550 Mobile has a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A30M delivers 4.096 TFLOPS, which is higher than the NVIDIA T550 Mobile’s 3.410 TFLOPS.

Q: What are the TDP ratings for each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is rated at 23 W, while the Intel Arc Pro A30M is rated at 50 W.

Q: Which GPU uses a more advanced manufacturing process?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A30M uses a 6 nm process, while the NVIDIA T550 Mobile uses a 12 nm process, both from TSMC.