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Intel launched the Arc A770 8GB and 16GB cards as the highest-end discrete GPUs in the first-gen Arc Alchemist lineup. Both cards deliver premium 1080p gaming performance and can handle most titles at 1440p.
Alongside the Arc A770, there are several other capable 70-class GPUs. The list includes the RTX 3070 and the RX 6700 XT lineup of graphics cards from the green and red camps. Both of these GPUs are capable of handling 1080p resolution, with the Nvidia card being an apt choice for 1440p gaming.
In this article, we will review the performance, power draw, and other aspects of these GPUs and determine which card is the best option for gamers looking to upgrade or build a new gaming rig.
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Intel Arc A770 below par compared to RTX 3070 and RX 6700 XT video cards
It is worth noting that the Intel Arc A770 is a first-generation product. Thus, it is not as well-tuned as the AMD and Nvidia cards. Team Green and Team Red have decades of experience manufacturing discrete graphics cards for the DIY market.
On the other hand, Intel was targeting RTX 3070 Ti-level performance with its 70-class A770. But even with a massive 225 W power draw, the company couldn't scale it further. Due to a lack of proper hardware to software optimizations, the card is stuck at a much slower performance level than the mid-cycle refresh to the 70-class GPU from last-gen.
For starters, let's go over the spec sheet to check out what hardware the Arc A770 brings to the plate.
Specs
The Intel Arc A770 is based on the DG2-512 GPU. This processor is a refined version of the Alchemist-powered Iris MAX, which was the company's first attempt at building discrete notebook GPUs.
The flagship A770 has 4,096 shading units, 512 executing units, and 512 tensor cores. Readers should not confuse the latter with Nvidia's Tensor technology that powers AI-based workloads in RTX cards.
Intel has nailed the pricing of its GPUs this generation. The A770 can be purchased for $319 on Newegg today, making it cheaper than the RTX 3060. However, it is worth noting that AMD GPUs are even cheaper, with the RX 6650 XT costing gamers $299.
Performance differences
The Arc A770, the RX 6700 XT, and the RTX 3070 are far apart in terms of performance. All the cards are based on separate architectures, thus, their optimizations in video games vary.
Thanks to YouTuber GAMER NO 1, we know what to expect from these graphics cards. The GPUs were paired with an Intel Core i9 12900K CPU, and the games were run at the highest settings in 1080p resolution.
The benchmarks show that the A770 is much slower than the RX 6700 XT and the RTX 3070. Meanwhile, the AMD GPU and Nvidia's 1440p gaming trump card go head-to-head in terms of performance across multiple games. However, the Intel flagship is far behind both of these cards.
Pricing
The pricing of the cards makes this comparison interesting. The high-end Intel card is only $10 cheaper than the 6700 XT. Thus, opting for the AMD 1440p gaming card is sensible.
The 6700 XT also has 12GB of VRAM, which allows further future-proofing. 8 GB of VRAM doesn't quite cut it today — a problem that plagues the lower-end Intel GPU and the RTX 3070.
Overall, AMD appears to be winning in terms of GPU value. Hence, gamers should consider Team Red over its competitors to save money.
