Intel Arc A380E x2 vs NVIDIA N1X 48SM Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The database records no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the Intel Arc A380E x2 and the NVIDIA N1X 48SM. Both entries carry an empty benchmark array, and the wins counters for each side are set to zero. Consequently, a conventional win/loss split based on measured performance cannot be derived from the recorded data. Instead, the comparison must rely on the specification sheets and the architectural characteristics listed for each part.

The Intel Arc A380E x2 is a discrete, single-slot add-in board built on the DG2-128 chip. It uses the Xe-HPG architecture from the Alchemist generation, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. Its role is clearly defined as a standalone graphics card with eight mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, which positions it for multi-display or embedded visual applications. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM, conversely, is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) on the GB20B chip, using the Blackwell 2.0 architecture from the Blackwell IGP generation, built on a 5 nm process. It has a single HDMI output and no power connectors, indicating a design intended for integration into a host platform rather than standalone installation.

In terms of raw compute resources, the NVIDIA part holds a decisive advantage on paper. It carries 6,144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, 48 render output units, 48 ray tracing cores, and 192 tensor cores. The Intel part offers 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores, with no tensor core count listed. The FP32 throughput figures reflect this gap: the NVIDIA N1X 48SM delivers 28.83 TFLOPS, while the Intel Arc A380E x2 delivers 4.096 TFLOPS. This is a roughly sevenfold difference in raw shader performance, suggesting that the NVIDIA part would dominate in any compute-bound workload, provided the software stack supports it.

However, the Intel part has its own advantages. Its memory configuration is a dedicated 6 GB GDDR6 array on a 96-bit bus, providing 186.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA part uses 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, yielding 273.2 GB/s. While the NVIDIA bandwidth figure is higher, the Intel part's memory is dedicated GDDR6, which may offer lower latency characteristics in certain discrete GPU workloads. Additionally, the Intel Arc A380E x2 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the NVIDIA N1X 48SM lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan. This makes the Intel part the only one of the two with a documented graphics API stack, which is a critical factor for any rendering or gaming application.

The recorded data does not provide benchmark scores, percentile ranks beyond a shared 50th percentile, or nearest rival comparisons for either product. Therefore, the analysis below focuses on what the specification sheets and architecture listings reveal, with the caveat that actual measured performance remains unrecorded.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has an FP32 throughput of 28.83 TFLOPS, while the Intel Arc A380E x2 has 4.096 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA part is approximately seven times higher in this metric.

Q: What graphics API support does each product list?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan in the database.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 186.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the physical form factors?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 is a single-slot card measuring 265 mm by 127 mm by 20 mm, with one 6-pin power connector and a suggested 300 W PSU. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM is an IGP with no dimensions listed, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU.

Q: Which product has more ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA N1X 48SM has 48 ray tracing cores, while the Intel Arc A380E x2 has 8 ray tracing cores.

Q: What are the production statuses?

A: The Intel Arc A380E x2 is end-of-life, released on 2024-03-31. The NVIDIA N1X 48SM is active, with a release date of 2026-05-31.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark table in the database is empty. There are no recorded benchmark scores, no wins for either side, and no delta percentage values to compare. This absence of measured data means that any direct performance comparison must be inferred from the specification sheets rather than from empirical results.

The largest documented advantage for the NVIDIA N1X 48SM is in shading unit count. It has 6,144 shading units versus 1,024 for the Intel Arc A380E x2, a sixfold difference. This translates directly to the FP32 figure of 28.83 TFLOPS versus 4.096 TFLOPS. Texture rate follows the same pattern: 900.9 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA part versus 128.0 GTexel/s for the Intel part. Pixel rate is 112.6 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s. These are the most substantial gaps in the recorded data.

The Intel Arc A380E x2 does hold advantages in specific areas, though they are less compute-centric. Its base and boost clocks are both 2000 MHz, while the NVIDIA part has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz. The Intel part's memory clock is 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA part's memory clock is 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective). These clock figures indicate that the Intel part runs its memory at a higher effective data rate per pin, even though the NVIDIA part has a wider bus and higher total bandwidth.

The NVIDIA N1X 48SM also lists 192 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the Intel Arc A380E x2's specification sheet. This suggests a significant capability gap in AI-accelerated workloads, assuming software support exists. The Intel part, however, has a documented display output configuration of eight mini-DisplayPort 2.0 connections, while the NVIDIA part has a single HDMI output. For multi-display or video-wall applications, the Intel part's output count is a clear advantage.

Given the absence of benchmark data, the only numerical comparisons available are those from the specification tables. The NVIDIA part leads in shading units, TMUs, ROPs, ray tracing cores, tensor cores, FP32, FP16, texture rate, pixel rate, memory size, memory bus width, and memory bandwidth. The Intel part leads in base clock, boost clock (when comparing base-to-base), memory clock, and display output count. The FP16 comparison is notable: the NVIDIA part lists 28.83 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the Intel part lists 8.192 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning the NVIDIA part has both a higher peak and a more efficient ratio.

Specification Differences

The two products differ across nearly every recorded specification field. The Intel Arc A380E x2 uses the DG2-128 chip with a 6 nm process and a die size of 157 mm², containing 7,200 million transistors and a transistor density of 45.9M per mm². The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses the GB20B chip on a 5 nm process with a die size of 382 mm²; transistor count and density are listed as unknown or null.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The Intel part has a base and boost clock of 2000 MHz. The NVIDIA part has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz. Memory clocks are 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) for the Intel part and 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA part. Memory type, size, and bus width all differ: 6 GB GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus versus 128 GB LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus.

Shading units, TMUs, and ROPs are all higher on the NVIDIA part: 6,144 versus 1,024 shading units, 384 versus 64 TMUs, and 48 versus 32 ROPs. Ray tracing cores are 48 versus 8, and tensor cores are 192 versus none listed. Pixel rate is 112.6 GPixel/s versus 64.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 900.9 GTexel/s versus 128.0 GTexel/s. FP32 is 28.83 TFLOPS versus 4.096 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 28.83 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 8.192 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The Intel part has a TDP of 130 W, a single-slot form factor, a 6-pin power connector, and a suggested 300 W PSU. The NVIDIA part has an unknown TDP, an IGP form factor, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the Intel part and PCIe 5.0 x16 for the NVIDIA part. Display outputs are eight mini-DisplayPort 2.0 versus one HDMI. The API lists are complete for the Intel part and N/A for the NVIDIA part.

Production status and release dates differ as well. The Intel part is end-of-life with a release date of 2024-03-31, while the NVIDIA part is active with a release date of 2026-05-31. The Intel part has a predecessor listed as Xe Graphics and a successor as Battlemage, while the NVIDIA part has neither predecessor nor successor listed.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A380E x2 is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically from the Alchemist generation, designated as Arc 3. It uses the DG2-128 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The architecture is a discrete GPU design, with a dedicated 6 GB GDDR6 memory subsystem and a full set of graphics APIs. The Xe-HPG architecture includes hardware ray tracing cores, with eight present in this configuration, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The lack of tensor cores in the specification suggests that the AI acceleration features common in other Intel discrete GPUs are either absent or not recorded for this variant.

The NVIDIA N1X 48SM uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, from the Blackwell IGP generation, on the GB20B chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This is an integrated graphics processor, meaning it shares a die or package with a host processor rather than being a separate add-in card. The architecture includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, indicating a design that heavily emphasizes both ray-traced workloads and AI-accelerated compute. The FP16 to FP32 ratio is 1:1, meaning the part does not use a split-rate FP16 path; it delivers full FP16 throughput at the same rate as FP32. This is a notable architectural difference from the Intel part, which lists an FP16 rate of 8.192 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, implying that its FP16 throughput is half of what a full-rate implementation would achieve.

The memory architecture also reflects different design philosophies. The Intel part uses a narrow 96-bit bus with GDDR6, typical of a low-power discrete GPU. The NVIDIA part uses a 256-bit bus with LPDDR5X, which is consistent with an integrated design that shares memory with the host system. The 128 GB capacity on the NVIDIA part suggests a unified memory pool, whereas the Intel part's 6 GB is dedicated video memory. The NVIDIA part's API support is listed as N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, which is unusual for a GPU and may indicate that the database has not recorded the software stack for this IGP, or that it relies on a proprietary or host-mediated API layer.

The process node difference (6 nm for Intel, 5 nm for NVIDIA) and the die size difference (157 mm² versus 382 mm²) point to different integration scales. The NVIDIA die is more than twice the size, which is consistent with its higher core counts and wider memory interface. The transistor count for the NVIDIA part is unknown, so a direct density comparison cannot be made, but the Intel part has a recorded density of 45.9M per mm².

The Verdict

The recorded data does not include any benchmark scores, so the verdict must rest on the specification sheets. For compute-heavy workloads that can utilize the full shader array and tensor cores, the NVIDIA N1X 48SM is the clear choice on paper. Its 28.83 TFLOPS FP32 and 28.83 TFLOPS FP16, along with 192 tensor cores and 48 ray tracing cores, place it in a different performance class than the Intel Arc A380E x2. The NVIDIA part also has a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 96-bit) and higher total bandwidth (273.2 GB/s versus 186.0 GB/s), which would benefit large data transfers or high-resolution texture streaming.

The Intel Arc A380E x2, however, is the only one of the two with a documented graphics API stack. DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 are listed for the Intel part, while the NVIDIA part lists N/A for all three. For any application that requires a standard graphics API, such as gaming, 3D rendering, or video compositing, the Intel part is the only one with confirmed software support. The Intel part also has eight mini-DisplayPort 2.0 outputs versus a single HDMI on the NVIDIA part, making it the practical choice for multi-display configurations.

The Intel part is end-of-life, while the NVIDIA part is active, which may influence availability and long-term support. The Intel part is a discrete single-slot card with a 130 W TDP and a 6-pin power connector, suitable for installation in a standard PCIe slot. The NVIDIA part is an IGP with no power connectors, designed for soldered integration into a host board.

For users who need a discrete, API-supported GPU with multiple display outputs and a compact single-slot form factor, the Intel Arc A380E x2 is the only option that matches those requirements from the recorded data. For users who prioritize raw compute throughput, tensor core acceleration, and large unified memory capacity, the NVIDIA N1X 48SM delivers those capabilities at a significantly higher specification level. The absence of benchmark data means that real-world performance could differ from these paper estimates, but based strictly on the recorded specifications, the NVIDIA part dominates in compute resources while the Intel part dominates in graphics API compatibility and display connectivity.