- The $250 GPU card is competitive with both the GeForce 4060 and RX 7600 in numerous benchmarks
- However, both will be replaced by new models launching at CES 2025.
- Intel driver updates expected to further boost B580 performance
More than two years after its first discrete GPU release, Intel has launched the Arc B580 “Battlemage,” marking its second generation of dedicated graphics cards.
The B580, which will be sold primarily through add-on board (AIB) partners such as Maxon, Sparkle, and ASRock, features Intel’s updated Xe2 architecture.
It offers efficiency improvements and second-generation ray tracing units (RTUs) along with improved XMX engines, Intel’s counterpart to Nvidia’s Tensor cores.
Unfortunate moment
Puget Systems It recently put the $250 GPU card to the test and found that it competes effectively with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 and AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 in a variety of benchmarks. With 12GB of VRAM, the B580 certainly stands out in the budget category, beating out the RTX 4060’s 8GB at a lower price.
This extra memory gives it an advantage in workflows that demand more VRAM capacity, such as GPU effects in Premiere Pro and Unreal Engine, but performance in creative applications yielded mixed and surprising results.
In graphics-intensive tasks, such as GPU effects for DaVinci Resolve, Adobe After Effects, and Unreal Engine, the B580 impressed, often matching or outperforming more expensive GPUs. Puget Systems noted that the B580 matched the RTX 4060 at all resolutions in Unreal Engine while benefiting from its higher VRAM capacity.
Unfortunately, inconsistencies in media acceleration held him back in other areas. In Premiere Pro, for example, Intel’s hardware acceleration for HEVC codecs fell behind expectations, with Puget Systems observing slower results compared to software-based processing. These issues appear to be driver-related, something Intel will likely fix in future updates.
Shortly after its launch in 2022, Puget Systems I tried the Arc A750 (8GB and 16GB models) and came away disappointed. The B580 shows clear improvements over its predecessor, and Intel’s continued driver development will no doubt extend the B580’s performance even further. However, Intel’s launch timing is unfortunate.
While the B580 is a strong contender in the entry-level segment right now, Nvidia and AMD are expected to reveal replacements for the GeForce 4060 and RX 7600 at CES 2025, and those new models are likely to diminish the appeal and competitiveness. of Intel’s new GPU significantly.
