The detailed picture quality at 1440p resolution is obviously superior to what you can have on the popular resolution of 1080p. This is where the mid-range graphics cards compete with each other to reign as the 1440p gaming king.
Fortunately, at the moment we have a plethora of GPUs to choose from Intel, Nvidia, and AMD. While Intel is still pretty new in the discrete GPU market with its Arc Alchemist family, it has proved its potential to be a possible threat to Intel’s GPU market share.
If you are in a dilemma of choosing between a cheaper card i.e., the ARC A770 and the RTX 3070 from Nvidia’s Ampere lineup, we are here to clear your confusion by explaining in detail the pros and cons of having each card.
A Quick Glance
Specifications and Architecture
| Specs/GPU | ARC A770 | RTX 3070 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Chip | DG2-512 | GA104 |
| Process Node | 6nm | 8nm |
| Shading Units | 4096/32 Xe Cores | 5888 Cuda Cores |
| Memory | 8/16GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| TDP | 225W | 220W |
Theoretically, the RTX 3070 is superior to A770 in specs and this explains why the RTX 3070 still remains a more expensive option even after several years of its launch. It’s impossible to compare the specs of both due to being manufactured on drastically different architectures and process nodes, but we can still get an idea of where the ARC A770 sits against the RTX 3070.
It’s made on the smaller process node of 6nm but despite this, the theoretical power consumption remains equivalent to the RTX 3070. It’s mostly due to the architectural differences as Ampere is much more mature than the Alchemist.
However, the memory bandwidth of both cards remains the same with the A770 bringing the second option of 16GB VRAM size for those who don’t want to limit themselves to higher resolutions. It has been quite some time since we have witnessed how 8GB VRAM struggles in modern titles like Hogwarts Legacy and The Last of Us where the RTX 3070 starts to break down in more graphically intensive areas.
This is where the ARC A770 can excel with the 16GB edition but it doesn’t mean that the A770 will bring higher performance overall.
Gaming Performance
Most gaming benchmarks of the A770 are typically several months older and are subject to change as Intel keeps delivering newer driver updates. We will talk about that later in detail but for now, we are going to consider benchmarks from some reputable third-party sources that will shed light on the performance of both cards.
Testing Games is one of the most reliable YT channels that published the comparison between the two cards in 2022 where the RTX 3070 beats the ARC A770 by around 32% in a total of 10 games. It’s crucial to notice that the game that impacted the performance difference between the two drastically is CSGO which favored RTX 3070 heavily and resulted in a 93% higher performance.
Since that time, the ARC A770 has got several driver updates and is finally optimized for the game. Still, the RTX 3070 is around 25% faster than the A770 if we exclude CSGO, and that is nearly equivalent to the difference we see from Techspot’s re-review of the A770. At 1080p resolution, the RTX 3070 is roughly 29% faster than the A770 and 26% faster at 1440p resolution.
This again shows that the A770 cannot be a direct competitor to the RTX 3070 and was never meant to be. Instead, the A770 goes well against the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti putting the buyers in a much difficult situation if we talk about the value.
Drivers and Tech
The RTX 3070 easily becomes the favorite when we talk about the GPU drivers and gaming tech. Not only the RTX 3070 is significantly faster in Ray Tracing but also supports drastically better gaming tech like Nvidia DLSS 2.0 and 3.5.
The Intel drivers were a nightmare at the time of release but since then, things have changed significantly to the point where the A770 actually looks like a decent 1080p/1440p card for $300-$350. Of course, the card still needs better-optimized drivers for older games but most modern titles run fairly well.
At this point in time, XeSS which is Intel’s exclusive Super-Sampling technique cannot overthrow DLSS which makes the RTX 3070 simply a much better choice if you are looking to play games with Ray Tracing On without losing much performance.
Efficiency
The A770 and its other siblings had a serious problem with power consumption at their release. They were not only consuming a higher power under typical loads but also in an idle state. Fortunately, that problem is fixed for the most part but the A770 is still a power-hungrier card if we compare it against its direct competitors like the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti.
Against the RTX 3070, the power consumption is basically the same under the gaming load. Both the cards remain somewhere between 200-240 watts which means that the RTX 3070 is superior in performance per watt.
Pricing and Value
Here comes the tricky part. The price-to-performance ratio will also vary as the prices of PC hardware change all the time. So, to have a fair comparison between the two we have to analyze the value of each card considering their launch price and current price.
The RTX 3070 was launched for $499 while the ARC A770 was priced at $329 at the time of launch. The A770 with 16GB can still be found around its MSRP, and so can the RTX 3070. Keeping in mind that the RTX 3070 is 25-30% faster than the A770, it provides an inferior value for $499 as for a performance increase of 25-30%, you are paying 56% more.
Of course, this is purely price-based but if you consider all the factors such as power efficiency, driver support, gaming tech, and game optimizations, the RTX 3070 gets better.
The Verdict
Choosing the right mid-range GPU can be tough when you have a dozen GPUs in the same price category. Even though the RTX 3070 and ARC A770 are far apart in their pricing and performance, it boils down to which card provides the highest value.
On one hand, the ARC A770 is cheaper and comes with a 16GB edition, it also brings buggy performance in some games, inferior super sampling, and poor ray tracing performance. On the other hand, the RTX 3070 is faster in both rasterization and ray tracing but is limited in VRAM and comes at a hefty cost.
So, if you are looking for a budget-oriented option, the ARC A770 will be a fantastic choice for both 1080 and 1440p gaming. Meanwhile, for those who are looking at a no-compromise performance, the RTX 3070 will also be decent if they have the additional cash.
