AMD Radeon 860M vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two shared benchmark tests between the AMD Radeon 860M and the Intel Arc A580: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both tests, the Intel Arc A580 wins decisively. The OpenCL result shows the Arc A580 scoring 91,657 points against the 860M's 22,759 points, a delta of -75.2% from the perspective of the AMD part. That means the Intel card delivers roughly four times the OpenCL compute throughput. The Vulkan result is closer but still lopsided: 79,381 points for the Arc A580 versus 30,043 points for the 860M, a -62.2% delta. In raw terms, the Intel part more than doubles the AMD IGP's Vulkan score.

The average benchmark score across all recorded tests tells the same story. The Arc A580 sits at 57,756 points, while the 860M averages 26,401 points. That places the Arc A580 at the 87th percentile of all GPUs in the database, whereas the 860M sits at the 72nd percentile. The gap in percentile ranking is substantial, but the percentile data also shows that both parts are not at the bottom of the distribution. The 860M, despite being an integrated graphics processor, ranks above roughly 72% of all recorded GPUs. The Arc A580 ranks above 87%.

The head-to-head win count is 2-0 in favor of the Intel Arc A580. The AMD Radeon 860M records zero wins across the shared tests. This is not a close contest in either API. The OpenCL deficit is especially large, which suggests the Intel part has a major advantage in general compute workloads. The Vulkan deficit, while smaller, still leaves no ambiguity about which part is faster in graphics-heavy API workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two parts come from different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It is part of the Navi III IGP generation, specifically the Strix Point Mobile lineup, and uses the Krackan Point chip. The Intel Arc A580 uses the Xe-HPG architecture, manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC, and is part of the Alchemist generation under the Arc 5 tier, using the DG2-512 chip. The process node difference is meaningful: 4 nm versus 6 nm gives AMD a density and efficiency advantage on paper, though the Intel part compensates with a much larger chip.

The Intel Arc A580 is a discrete graphics card with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 53.4 million transistors per mm². The AMD 860M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown in the database, so a direct density comparison cannot be made. The Intel card uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD 860M uses system shared memory with a system dependent bandwidth figure, which means its memory performance is tied to the host system's configuration. That is a fundamental architectural difference: one part has dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM, the other relies on shared system memory.

The compute unit counts diverge sharply. The Intel Arc A580 has 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, 96 raster output units, and 24 ray tracing cores. The AMD 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores. The Intel part has six times the shading units, six times the TMUs, and six times the ROPs. Its FP32 throughput is 12.29 TFLOPS versus 3.072 TFLOPS for the AMD part. The FP16 figures also differ in ratio: Intel delivers 24.58 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while AMD delivers 3.072 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The Intel card's higher FP16 output indicates a different approach to mixed-precision workloads.

Clock behavior differs as well. The AMD 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3000 MHz. The Intel Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 2000 MHz. The AMD part's boost clock is 1000 MHz higher, but the Intel part starts from a much higher base. The Intel memory runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed, while the AMD memory speed is system shared. The power envelope is another major divider: the 860M is rated at 15 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors, while the Arc A580 is rated at 175 W TDP, uses a dual-slot cooler, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Intel card is a PCIe 4.0 x16 device; the AMD IGP uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Intel card's display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0, while the AMD IGP's outputs are portable device dependent.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A580 wins in every benchmark category where a direct comparison exists. Its OpenCL score of 91,657 is roughly 303% higher than the 860M's 22,759. Its Vulkan score of 79,381 is roughly 164% higher than the 860M's 30,043. The Intel part also holds a much higher average benchmark score of 57,756 versus 26,401. In terms of relative positioning, the Arc A580's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM at -0.6% delta, the Intel Arc A570M at -0.8% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE at +0.7% delta, and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT at -1.1% delta. That places the Arc A580 in the company of mid-range and upper-mid-range discrete cards. The 860M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at -0.1% delta, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at +0.3% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at -0.6% delta, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 at -1.1% delta. The 860M sits in a much lower performance tier, roughly matching a low-end mobile GPU like the MX550.

The AMD 860M's advantages are not visible in the benchmark data. The only wins it can claim are architectural and practical: a 4 nm process node versus 6 nm, a 15 W TDP versus 175 W, an IGP form factor with no power connectors, and system shared memory that removes the need for dedicated VRAM. For a portable device, the 860M's power draw and physical footprint are clear benefits. The Arc A580, by contrast, is a dual-slot card requiring external power and a 450 W PSU. The database does not record any benchmark in which the 860M outperforms the Arc A580.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous. The Intel Arc A580 outperforms the AMD Radeon 860M in both recorded shared tests, with a 75.2% OpenCL deficit and a 62.2% Vulkan deficit for the AMD part. The Arc A580's average benchmark score of 57,756 is more than double the 860M's 26,401. Its percentile placement at 87% versus 72% reflects this gap. Anyone selecting between these two parts for raw graphics or compute performance should choose the Intel Arc A580 based on the recorded measurements.

The AMD Radeon 860M does have a role, but it is defined by its integration and power characteristics, not by performance. It is an IGP with a 15 W TDP, no power connectors, and system shared memory. It is intended for portable devices where dedicated graphics cards are not an option. The Arc A580, at 175 W TDP with a dual-slot cooler and two 8-pin connectors, requires a desktop-class power delivery system. The database shows no scenario in which the 860M wins a benchmark against the Arc A580, so the choice comes down to form factor constraints versus performance demands.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A580 has an average benchmark score of 57,756, while the AMD Radeon 860M averages 26,401.

Q: How large is the OpenCL performance gap between the two?

A: The Intel Arc A580 scores 91,657 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 22,759 for the AMD 860M, a -75.2% delta for the AMD part.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 860M win any shared benchmark?

A: No. The data records two shared tests, Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the Intel Arc A580 wins both, giving it a 2-0 head-to-head record.

Q: What memory configuration does each GPU use?

A: The Intel Arc A580 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon 860M uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The AMD 860M is rated at 15 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors. The Intel Arc A580 is rated at 175 W TDP, uses a dual-slot cooler, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: What are the process nodes for each chip?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M uses a 4 nm TSMC process. The Intel Arc A580 uses a 6 nm TSMC process.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon 860M | Intel Arc A580 |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | RDNA 3.5 | Xe-HPG |

| Generation | Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) | Alchemist (Arc 5) |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | Unknown | 21,700 million |

| Die Size | Unknown | 406 mm² |

| Base Clock | 600 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 3000 MHz | 2000 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 3072 |

| TMUs | 32 | 192 |

| ROPs | 16 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 8 | 24 |

| FP32 | 3.072 TFLOPS | 12.29 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 3.072 TFLOPS (1:1) | 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 48.00 GPixel/s | 192.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 96.00 GTexel/s | 384.0 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 15 W | 175 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 |

| Release Date | 2025-02-28 | 2023-10-09 |

| Predecessor | Navi II IGP | Xe Graphics |

| Successor | Not listed | Battlemage |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 72 | 87 |

| Average Benchmark Score | 26,401 | 57,756 |