Intel A730M graphics card based on flagship Alchemist GPU has been tested
The new graphics card from Intel is now available in China in a single laptop design. Both tests are based on Machenike Discovery Edition 2022 system, which went on sale in mid-May.
Machenike Arc A730M gaming laptop, Source: IT-Home
Following the release of 30.0.101.1735 driver for discrete Intel Arc Alchemist graphics cards, Chinese content creators are now able to provide more accurate performance results of the newly available Arc A730M GPU.
There is a short video from Golden Pig Upgrade with a side-by-side comparison of Arc A730M and GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop graphics, as well as a full review over at IT-Home. Unfortunately, the latter is based on an unofficial driver (30.0.101.1726) so the results may vary. However, both reviews appear to show similar synthetic performance, so the values shouldn’t be far off from each other.
Intel Arc A730M vs RTX 3060 (Metro Exodus – left, Hitman 2 – right), Source: Golden Pig Upgrade
Despite newer driver, there seems to be no change in synthetic performance, the A730M is still capable and outperforms RTX 3060 graphics easily. Unfortunately this lead is not reflected in gaming performance.
In terms of gaming, Golden Pig’s video compares A730M and RTX3060M GPUs based on the same Intel Core i7-12700H platform. The chart below is a mix of various tests from different sources. Some Arc A730M results are not explained (settings and resolution), which may lead to wrong conclusions, however, just for a sake of basic understanding, this chart should provide all the necessary data.
| Intel Arc A730M Performance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Golden Pig Upgrade | IT-Home | Golden Pig Upgrade | Golden Pig Upgrade & NotebookCheck |
| GPU | ARC A730M | ARC A730M | ARC A730M | GeForce RTX 3060M |
| Driver | 30.0.101.1369 | 30.0.101.1726 | 30.0.101.1735 | varies |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 10107 (invalid) | 10532 (valid) | 10202 (invalid) | 7981 (NB) |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme | – | 5049 (valid) | – | — |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | – | 23923 (?) | – | 20142 (NB) |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme | – | 11061 (valid) | – | – |
| Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (1440p/High) | 32 FPS | – | 33 FPS | – |
| CS:GO (1440p/High) | – | 183 FPS | – | – |
| CS:GO (1080p/Highest) | – | – | 135.15 FPS | 404.58 FPS (GP) |
| APEX Legends (1440p/?) | – | 103 FPS | – | 124 FPS (NB) |
| Elden Ring (1200p/High) | – | 76 FPS | – | 59.1 FPS (NB) |
| Control (1080p/?) | – | 72 FPS | – | 78.1 FPS (NB) |
| Cyberpunk (1200p/Medium) | – | 54 FPS | – | 91 FPS (NB) |
| F1 2020 (1080p/High) | 123 FPS | – | – | 159 FPS (NB) |
| Metro Exodus (1080p/High) | 70 FPS | – | 77.69 FPS | 72.89 FPS (GP) |
| Metro Exodus (1440p/High) | 55 FPS | – | – | – |
| Total War: Troy (High) | – | – | 114.5 FPS | 136.6 FPS (GP) |
| Boundary (1080p) | – | – | 20.7 PFS | 76.2 FPS (with DLSS) |
| Gears of War 5 (DX12) | – | – | 90.3 FPS | 133.4 FPS (GP) |
| Hitman 2 (DX12) | – | – | 76.11 FPS | 100.27 FPS (GP) |
| Civilization 6 (DX12) | – | 74.82 | 101.63 FPS (GP) | |
| Strange Brigade (Vulkan) | – | – | 188 FPS | 200 FPS (GP) |
Twitter user Redfire came up with a visual comparison for both GPUs:
Intel Arc A730M vs RTX 3060 Laptop GPU,Source: Redfire
The Arc A730M is not the flagship GPU from the Alchemist series. It features 24 out of 32 Xe-Cores and 12GB memory instead of 16GB. The maximum TGP range (120W) and memory bus (192-bit) clearly suggests it is targeting similarly spec’ed SKUs from competitors, such as RTX 3060 or RX 6700M.
With an exception to Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, Arc A730M is not as fast as RTX 3060. NVIDIA’s GPU outperforms Intel GPU in almost every test. But worse performance is not the only problem, Intel clearly needs to work on the drivers as reviewers report that some games do not even start or output errors. Intel mobile Arc series seems to do just fine in 3DMark though.
Intel Arc A730M in 3DMark tests, Source: IT-Home
Intel Arc A730M in gaming tests vs RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Source: Golden Pig Upgrade
Source: Golden Pig Upgrade (Bilibili), IT-Home, Notebookcheck (RTX3060)
