Trimming Battlemage down a bit, Intel Arc B570 lands on the scene as Team Blue’s 2025 budget offering, aiming to take a slice of the affordable GPU pie. Undercutting Nvidia’s soon-to-be previous generation GeForce RTX 4060 in price with mostly beefier specs, it looks like a landslide on paper, but specs aren’t everything when it comes to performance.
In reality, Arc B570 sits in a precarious spot, simultaneously sporting an enticing sub-£250 price point and relative performance while not doing enough to draw your eyes away from its more reliable rival. Here’s how the two stack up.
Specs
Arc B570 | GeForce RTX 4060 | |
---|---|---|
Released | Jan 2025 | Jun 2023 |
Codename | Battlemage | Ada Lovelace |
GPU | BMG-G21 | AD107 |
Transistors | 19.6 billion | 18.9 billion |
Die size | 272mm² | 159mm² |
Cores | 18 Xe | 32 CUs |
RT units | 18 | 24 |
AI engines | 144 XMX | 96 4th Gen Tensor |
Base clock | 2,500MHz | 1,830MHz |
Boost clock | 2,750MHz | 2,460MHz |
Memory | 10GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
Mem. interface | 160-bit | 128-bit |
Mem. bandwidth | 380GB/s | 272GB/s |
Peak TOPs | 203 | 242 |
TBP | 150W | 115W |
Launch MSRP | $219 / £219 | $299 / £289 |
Intel Arc B570 is Battlemage’s sophomore outing, retaining the same Xe2 architecture as the beefier Arc B580 while trimming specs back to achieve a more affordable price point. This still results in its 2,500MHz base clock beating GeForce RTX 4060’s 2,460MHz top-end boost, and the ASRock Challenger Series model we’re testing distances itself even further with an extra 100MHz on both ends.
In fact, this story rings true across most of Intel’s specs. 10GB of video memory at a higher 380GB/s bandwidth primes Arc B570 for gaming whereas RTX 4060 is stuck in the past with just 8GB at 272GB/s under its belt. Similarly, 144 XMX AI engines blitz past 96 Tensor Cores, but it’s important not to get distracted by the 50% uplift. Nvidia is on its fourth generation Tensor Cores with plenty of optimisation, as you can tell by it’s lead in TOPS, whereas Intel’s discrete graphics are still in their infancy.
As usual, it’ll all come down to how these translate from paper to performance and their relative cost. Intel has the smarts to set Arc B570’s MSRP up to 26% cheaper than the competition, but it’s entirely down to aftermarket partners whether they adhere to it since there’s no first-party reference model. ASRock Challenger OC, for example, runs for £250 / $230, putting it within reach of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060.
Performance
It’s time to whip out the trusty Club386 test bench again, rocking a Ryzen 9 7950X3D at its core. This keeps everything fair and consistent, as it’s the very same system we recently used to benchmark every contemporary graphics card in our cupboard in time for the Intel Arc B580 review. Do note, however, that Intel Battlemage cards, including B570, deliver unexpectedly low performance with older CPUs, limiting compatibility.
Our 7950X3D Test PCs
Club386 carefully chooses each component in a test bench to best suit the review at hand. When you view our benchmarks, you’re not just getting an opinion, but the results of rigorous testing carried out using hardware we trust.
Shop Club386 test platform components:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Motherboard: MSI MEG X670E ACE
Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB
Memory: 64GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
Storage: 2TB WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD
PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1,300W
Chassis: Fractal Design Torrent Grey
Since both Arc B570 and RTX 4060 eye up the entry-level, we stick to FHD (1080p) or QHD (1440p) resolutions using the highest settings possible. It certainly doesn’t take long for a pattern to emerge, giving you a clear picture of which deserves the crown.
Benchmarks
For all its extra XMX AI engines, Intel Arc B570 flounders in Geekbench AI. It turns out, 16% less TOPS results in 24% less performance in artificial intelligence workloads, handing Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 the win on a silver platter.
RTX 4060 maintains its dominance in 3DMark Speed Way, proving it has far better ray tracing chops than Team Blue with a staggering 39% lead. That’s perhaps not the most surprising given Nvidia has long pushed for real-time ray tracing and geared its hardware towards the feature.
Take away the frills and Intel has more of a fighting chance. Arc B570 slips ahead by 14% in 3DMark Steel Nomad, showing its muscle in purely rasterised benchmarks. It’s a welcome reprieve, but one that’s short-lived since synthetic benchmarks don’t always translate into real-world performance.
Gaming
Intel’s hand in making Assassin’s Creed Mirage doesn’t afford B570 an advantage in Ubisoft’s action-adventure, as it falls behind RTX 4060 in both FHD and QHD. There’s a much greater performance gap at lower resolutions, however, with up to 17 fewer frames on average.
Despite a month elapsing between Arc B580 and B570, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) woes continue to plague Battlemage. Both of Intel’s latest cards support the tech but remain incompatible in Activision’s FPS. Worse yet, radio silence leaves us in the dark as to when this will resolve.
This leaves a chasm of lost performance in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 runs an average of 55% better at FHD and 59% stronger at QHD. Even when a fix rears its head, keep in mind that these sorts of discrepencies still caveat any value packed into Arc.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the only game B570 comes close to winning in our benchmarks, with just a couple of frames in it between both cards at all resolutions. This is surprising for several reasons. For a start, it’s a uniquely tough game to run at full whack, but it also includes ray tracing. If nothing else, this underscores the dissonance between synthetic tests and real-world benchmarks.
Granted, upscalers could change the game entirely. While B570 has access to FSR frame generation and XeSS upscaling, RTX 4060 will soon benefit from some elements of DLSS 4 – namely the transformer model that’s backwards compatible, resulting in sharper, more detailed images alongside a more mature performance uplift. Consider this a hypothetical until we trial it ourselves, of course, as none are included in our comparison today.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail proves a friendly title for both graphics cards, as each kicks back triple-digit frame rates at FHD and over the acceptable 60fps threshold at QHD. But in these head-to-heads, there are no participation medals.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 once again takes the crown with between 4-11fps to spare. Perhaps more notable are the minimums, which see a whopping 18fps difference at FHD. This is prevalent across all Battlemage GPUs, making stutters that much more noticeable.
Forza Motorsport sees the biggest divide between the two graphics cards, as RTX 4060 storms ahead with a 35% lead in FHD and whopping 63% performance leap in QHD. Minimums again fare better with Team Green, providing a more stable experience.
Both GPUs are at risk of a memory leak packing just 8-10GB of VRAM, so this isn’t a result of technical difficulties like Call of Duty. Instead, it’s indicative of the growing need for larger memory buffers in modern games.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord proves Arc B570 is firmly a QHD card. While RTX 4060 treats both resolutions like a cakewalk, it only takes the 1440p crown by six frames, which would be tough to notice when slipping into triple figures. The distance becomes much more pronounced at FHD, burgeoning to 17fps.
Although Ubisoft’s shooter works well with most graphics cards, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction is kinder to some than others. In what feels like déjà vu at this point, it’s near enough a stalemate at QHD, but a small rift grows at lower resolutions, putting RTX 4060 ahead by 9fps at FHD.
Efficiency
Forgoing the natural trade-off, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 isn’t just more performant, it’s far more efficient. This isn’t a shock given it asks for 35W less from the outset, but this translates near perfectly into the real world. The most disappointing sight is the 26W gap in idle wattage, meaning B570 will eventually eat away at any savings you retain by going for the cheaper option.
Part of the reason lies with Intel’s BMG-G21 GPU, which is a humongous 272mm² compared to Nvidia’s slimmer AD107 at 159mm². It’s one area where bigger isn’t better, demanding more power to run.
Credit where it’s due, Arc B570 keeps its cool under pressure despite siphoning far more energy. ASRock plays a big part in the 5°C difference with its Challenger cooler design, but it’s also an area Intel excels in.
The biggest victory Intel and ASRock claim are that its triumphant temperatures don’t come at the expense of sound. Sure, there’s less than 1dB between both graphics cards but Arc B570 comes out on top in the context of running cooler. Win-win.
Upscaling
The future most certainly is clad in AI, leveraging upscalers and neural networks to give frame rates an artificial face lift.
Battlemage comes with XeSS 2 in supported titles, which itself is a collection of features. XeSS-SR (Super Resolution), otherwise known simply as XeSS within in-game menus, renders at a lower native resolution before reconstructing it to the desired higher pixel count, while XeSS-FG (Frame Generation) uses motion vectors and depth to create interpolated frames for every second frame. Since they’re not tied at the hip, you can use them entirely independently of one another, but the latter is exclusive to Intel B Series models.
At the time of writing, F1 24 is the only game that supports the full XeSS 2 suite, with more games like Marvel Rivals on the horizon.
Average fps | +/- vs. Native | |
---|---|---|
Native (QHD) | 41fps | N/A |
XeSS (Performance) | 66fps | +61% |
XeSS-FG solo | 73fps | +78% |
XeSS (Perf) + FG | 116fps | +282% |
Fortunately, signs are fairly positive for Intel, with Arc B570 toeing the same percentage uplifts as the flagship, moving from a paltry 41fps at native QHD all the way to 116fps with both Super Resolution and Frame Generation active. Clarity takes a small hit with thinner lines shimmering on occasion, but otherwise looks champion.
Its main competition comes from Nvidia DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which has a long history and over 600 supported applications and games. Performance uplifts differ depending on the generation of DLSS packed within each software, but RTX 4060 has access to DLSS 3.5, which includes Team Green’s proprietary Frame Generation. Generally, this is the clearest upscaler of the lot thanks to its maturity, but your mileage will vary depending on implementation.
DLSS 4 also looms on the horizon with support for 75 games from the outset. While this is exclusive to RTX 50 Series graphics cards, it packs some benefits for older releases like our mid-range model here. The new and improved transformer model nets greater clarity in movement, combatting the shimmering XeSS 2 still experiences, as well as reduces the overhead on the memory buffer, which could net extra frames. This is purely theoretical at this point, however.
Although I try not to recommend purchasing a graphics card based on its upscaling properties as there’s no guarantee your favourite games will include your preferred option, there’s no denying Nvidia comes out the winner here. RTX 4060 can utilise XeSS-SR, alongside AMD FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) and DLSS, giving it the broadest array. Something to keep in mind.
Conclusion
Considering Intel prices Arc B570 $80 / £70 cheaper than RTX 4060, the two graphics cards were never meant to play in the same ballpark. Instead, it’s a question of relative performance and whether or not the sacrifices are worth the savings.
At its $219 / £219 MSRP, Arc B570 does well to find its place as a budget offering with performance to match its price tag. Sadly, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one so cheap, as aftermarket cards chase an average of £249, narrowing the value gap to just 17%. This is in keeping with performance, as ASRock Challenger is an average of 16% slower than RTX 4060 at FHD and far closer at QHD, but these wins come with more caveats than you can shake a stick at.
Our B570 results are only indicative of contemporary processors, as older chips see noticeable declines in frame rates across some titles. Some games don’t work as intended with a lack of VRS support and others falter in purely rasterised performance with lower minimums than we’re comfortable with. Finally, GeForce options have the added benefit of Nvidia DLSS, which is far stronger with wider compatibility.
For those counting every penny, Arc B570 is a fair compromise, granting access to modern games at a low price point. However, if you can muster up the extra, RTX 4060 packs more value in the long run and will likely stand the test of time better – especially given it’s come down in price over the years.
Intel Arc B570
“Arc B570 packs an attractive 10GB VRAM buffer at a low price, but it struggles to provide tangible value relative to its Battlemage sibling and rival graphics cards.” Read our review.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060
Representing the most affordable way to get Nvidia DLSS 3, RTX 4060 still stands up as one of the better graphics cards for gaming at FHD and QHD resolutions. Read our review.