Intel's A770 GPU outperforms the RTX 4090 in one key way

Intel’s discrete GPUs are the new kids on the block and have to prove themselves worthy. Intel’s A770 GPU took a huge step in that direction, as shown in a recent benchmark test that demonstrates surprisingly strong performance in high-resolution video playback, outperforming Nvidia’s best GPU, the GeForce RTX 4090.

In an extreme stress test, the CapFrameX team played back a super high-quality YouTube video showing aerial footage of several cities in Japan and recorded the frame rates from three different GPUs. The video was created with the AV1 codec in 8K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps). It’s a huge amount of data that arrives quickly but Intel’s A770 graphics card delivered an average of 59.9 fps. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 averaged 57.6 fps. AMD’s Radeon RX 6800 XT was also tested and really struggled, reaching 22 fps.

Intel Arc A750 and A770 GPUs are great for Twitch.

The AMD GPU lacks a hardware AV1 decoder so the poor showing in this test makes sense. Nvidia placed two AV1 decoders in the RTX 4090, so dropping frames on the 8K, 60fps test is unexpected and suggests there could be some driver problems to iron out. Intel’s Arc cards have AV1 decoding with a very solid implementation.

CapFrameX also ran the same test at 4K resolution and all three graphics cards performed well. Intel’s mid-range Arc 770 GPU hit exactly 60 fps, leading the pack. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090 placed second with 59.9 fps. AMD’s Radeon RX 6800 XT scored a respectable 55.8 fps. In truth, very few people have the need or the screen to display 8K videos, making the 4K test most relevant.

It is very interesting, however, to see such strong performance from a low-cost GPU from Intel, upstaging both AMD and Nvidia in AV1 decoding.