Intel has returned to the dedicated graphics card market with Arc B580, a pixel pusher that could upend the budget space as we know it. In a clear ploy to disrupt the existing hierarchy, the company has undercut the cheapest current generation option, Radeon RX 7600, by $20 (£10).
Price is one thing, but Intel also promises Arc B580 will outperform Radeon RX 7600, too. This confidence is a far cry from the A Series launch of old, and there is some evidence to back up Team Blue’s gusto. In fact, our results show this could be the budget option we’ve all been asking for.
Specs
For the moment, Arc B580 is the best Intel has to offer in its B Series lineup. Meanwhile, Radeon RX 7600 occupies the bottom rung of AMD’s RDNA 3 family.
| Intel Arc B580 | AMD Radeon RX 7600 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | Dec 2024 | May 2023 |
| Codename | Battlemage | RDNA 3 |
| Cores | 20 Xe | 32 CUs |
| RT units | 20 | 32 |
| AI engines | 160 XMX | 64 |
| Base clock | 2,670MHz | 1,720MHz |
| Boost clock | 2,850MHz | 2,250MHz |
| Memory | 12GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Mem. interface | 192-bit | 128-bit |
| Mem. bandwidth | 456GB/s | 288GB/s |
| TBP | 190W | 165W |
| Launch MSRP | $249 / £249 | $269 / £259 |
The headline differences between these two graphics cards are memory bandwidth and buffer size. Arc B580 arrives with both in spades, running at 456GB/s with 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM at its disposal. Meanwhile, Radeon RX 7600 is shockingly thin by comparison, at 288GB/s and a mere 8GB of GDDR6. This gives Intel’s offering an air of better longevity as these specifications provide more solid ground for its GPU to work, free from the bottlenecks that are readily apparent on 8GB GPUs at higher resolutions and in ray tracing.
Radeon RX 7600 is the more efficient card on paper, with a TBP of 165W to Arc B580’s 190W. However, this doesn’t necessarily translate into higher overall system power consumption in practice. Regardless, efficiency will always play second fiddle to raw performance for most.
Intel is able to push the clock speeds of Arc B580 far higher than AMD. Like TBP, though, this only gives us a broad indication of the card’s real-world operation. Without spoiling too much, while Battlemage’s MHz advantage is large the frame rate difference doesn’t always mega hurt(z) its competition.
Performance
I’ve paired both Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600 with the Club386 AM5 test system. Its specs are definitely overkill for cards of this calibre but it does provide space for both competitors to shine as best they can.
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
I’m skipping 4K (2160p) benchmarks for this comparison, as neither Intel nor AMD believe their respective cards to be suitable for such a demanding resolution. I agree, so we’re keeping things modest with FHD (1080p) and QHD (1440p) testing.
Benchmarks
Despite generational improvements to its XMX AI Engines, Arc B580 can’t quite keep up with Radeon RX 7600 in Geekbench AI. A sizeable score difference of 2,043 separates the two cards, making AMD’s option the clear frontrunner amongst its peers in this application.
The shoe appears firmly on the other foot when it comes to gaming, as Arc B580 stomps ahead of Radeon Rx 7600 in both ray tracing and rasterised rendering benchmarks in 3DMark. These results are generally prophetic of individual game performance, with a few exceptions.
Gaming
Assassin’s Creed Mirage sees Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600 trade blows with one another depending on the resolution. At FHD, AMD takes the win via a 5fps lead but Intel enjoys the same advantage moving up to QHD. This is a slightly puzzling result in Intel sponsored Ubisoft’s action-adventure game, as you’d expect optimisations for Arc GPUs to be part and parcel.
This stalemate of sorts paints Radeon RX 7600 slightly more favourably than Arc B580, given the age of the former. However, not all frame rates are so close.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a painful point for Arc B580, trailing behind Radeon RX 7600 at both FHD and QHD by 22fps and 13fps, respectively. This performance differential is in part due to an incompatibility with the game’s VRS and the card, despite the GPU carrying support for the feature.
Intel has come a long way in improving its driver suite, with no issues bar this one presenting themselves during the review period. I’m sure that a fix for this issue is on the way, but it’s an unfortunate problem for its current champion in the meantime.
Cyberpunk 2077 provides the first ray tracing race between Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600, with the former card almost lapping its competitor at FHD. Intel averages a respectable 40fps to AMD’s unplayable 24fps, making this a clear win for Battlemage.
Neither card sadly has what it takes to deliver frame rates north of 30fps at native QHD. That said, Arc B580 has a much stronger 24fps base to build from with enhancements like XeSS. Meanwhile, there’s only so much FSR Super Resolution can do to increase Radeon RX 7600’s 13fps.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail provides a rasterised win for Arc B580, beating Radeon RX 7600 at both FHD and QHD. It’s a close race at the former resolution, as 6fps separates the two cards, but the latter sees Intel’s lead increase threefold to 18fps.
This victory isn’t without its blemishes. Frame rates consistency on Arc B580 is strangely poor, as minimums across FHD and QHD fall to 49fps. This thankfully should be something that is addressable via driver updates or game patches.
Forza Motorsport revs up the ray tracing engines of each card once again, and Arc B580 once again leaves Radeon RX 7600 in the dust. It’s not a close race by any stretch, as Intel pulls head by a decisive 21-23fps at each resolution.
Make no mistake, Arc B580 is the better choice for those hoping to enjoy a spot of ray traced gaming on a budget. Intel’s approach to this type of rendering is surprisingly more advanced than AMD’s, not forgetting the larger 12GB memory buffer that affords more breathing room than Radeon RX 7600’s 8GB of VRAM.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord makes for a close-fought battle between Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600. AMD takes the win at FHD while Intel snatches the crown at QHD, but both victories are by a slim majority.
Once again, Arc B580 struggles to firmly usurp Radeon RX 7600 as the superior card for rasterised rendering. Both are great options for this game, but I’d prefer to see a stronger performance from Intel as the newcomer.
Rainbow Six Extraction shows both Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600 are more than capable of driving esports titles at competitive frame rates. The overall win goes to Intel, with leads of 15fps at FHD and 13fps at QHD.
I don’t expect more likely processor pairings for either graphics card to produce as many frames as my test bench’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D. However, the likes of Ryzen 5 9600X or Core i5-13600K have more than enough horsepower to keep up with either GPU.
Efficiency
Despite a smaller TBP, Radeon RX 7600 actually draws more power under load than Arc B580. The difference admittedly amounts to just 30W, but a win is a win.
Intel falls short of a slam dunk here on account of abnormally higher idle power draw. There’s no justifiable reason Arc B580 should be pulling so many more watts while doing nothing of note.
Kudos to Intel for producing such a proverbially cool cucumber. The company’s ‘Limited Edition’ reference design keeps Arc B580 markedly cooler than our example Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7600.
Of course, temperatures will vary across designs, so treat this as an estimation rather than a definitive set of results for all Radeon RX 7600 and Arc B580.
Neither Arc B580 or Radeon RX 7600 are loud graphics cards, far from it. In fact, you’re more likely to hear your system fans than you are these pixel pushers.
Naturally, the same caveats for temperatures also apply here. These cards will only run as chilled as the surrounding cooling setup allows them to be.
Upscaling
Through XeSS 2, Intel finally has a full suite of performance enhancements that match the offerings of competitors, including AMD’s FSR. Super Resolution, Frame Generation, and Low Latency features are ready to go on both Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600.
It’s difficult to discern which feast of features is the superior option as there aren’t many comparison points for me to evaluate. XeSS 2 is currently only available in F1 24, whereas FSR 3 has 76 games under its belt. However, early impressions of Intel’s take on upscaling and frame generation indicate Arc could be the better of the two.
| Average fps | +/- vs. Native | |
|---|---|---|
| Native (QHD) | 51fps | N/A |
| XeSS (Performance) | 85fps | +66% |
| XeSS-FG | 90fps | +76% |
| XeSS+FG | 145fps | +284% |
Taking XeSS 2 for a spin at QHD, its performance gains on Arc B580 are very impressive. It offers a 66-284% performance gain depending on whether you use XeSS-SR and XeSS-FG in isolation or in conjunction with one another.
Image quality is also closer to Nvidia DLSS than FSR, putting another feather in XeSS 2’s cap. This is likely due to its use of deep learning algorithms in crafting interpolated and upscaled frames, something AMD lacks.
Features like XeSS 2 and FSR 3 serve to better the value of Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600, rather than acting as the basis for a purchase decision. With this in mind, the short-term win goes to AMD but I’m quietly confident that Intel can quickly close the gap given time.
Conclusion
There’s just $20 (£10) separating Arc B580 and Radeon RX 7600, with Intel’s offering appearing the more enticing buy overall. It wipes the floor with AMD when it comes to ray tracing, remains competitive in traditional rendering, and has a larger 12GB VRAM pool to boot.
The only advantage that Radeon RX 7600 has over Arc B580 is the maturity of its software suite. XeSS 2 seems like a strong toolset but there’s no avoiding its infancy in the short term. Similarly, despite massive efforts to improve driver quality and game compatibility some bugs remain. Only time can tell if these are temporary hurdles.
Intel Arc B580
“A long overdue disruption, Arc B580 represents a welcome step in the right direction for entry-level graphics cards.” Read our review.
AMD Radeon RX 7600
“AMD does succeed in providing solid FHD credentials at an amenable price point, though continued sub-par ray tracing remains a worry for games.” Read our review.
With all this in mind, I’m more confident recommending Arc B580 than I am Radeon RX 7600. It’s difficult to ignore the importance of ray tracing in the modern gaming landscape, which will only grow more prominent in future releases. Intel has the architectural advantage in this regard, bolstered by a larger memory buffer.
It’s impossible to discern how Arc B580 will hold up relative to Radeon RX 7600’s reportedly imminent successor. Presently, though, budget builders are best buying Intel.
Check out our Arc B580 vs. GeForce RTX 4060 guide to see how Intel stacks up against Nvidia.
