AMD Radeon Pro W5700 vs Intel Arc B580 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two cards into distinct use cases. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 wins 3 of the 9 head-to-head benchmarks, while the Intel Arc B580 wins 6. That alone suggests the Intel card is the broader performer, but the pattern of wins tells a more specific story.

The AMD card dominates legacy and 2D workloads. It beats the Intel Arc B580 by 15.8% in Passmark DirectX 10, by 23% in Passmark DirectX 9, and by 26.8% in Passmark G2D. If your workflow involves older DirectX titles, legacy CAD viewports, or any application that still relies on pre-DirectX 11 rendering paths, the Radeon Pro W5700 is clearly the stronger choice. The G2D result is particularly telling: a 26.8% lead in 2D performance indicates the AMD card handles desktop compositing, image blitting, and older GUI-accelerated workloads with noticeably more headroom.

The Intel Arc B580, by contrast, wins every modern compute and graphics test in the comparison. It leads by 19.6% in Geekbench OpenCL, 35.5% in Geekbench Vulkan, 18.7% in Passmark DirectX 11, 28.9% in Passmark DirectX 12, 7.8% in Passmark G3D, and 16% in Passmark GPU Compute. The Vulkan gap is enormous: the Intel card scores 109,672 against 70,706, a 35.5% advantage. That makes the Arc B580 the obvious pick for Vulkan-based games, modern game engines, and any compute API that leans on Vulkan's low-overhead model. The DirectX 12 lead of 28.9% reinforces this: newer titles that use DX12 features will run substantially better on the Intel card.

So the split is clear: AMD for legacy and 2D, Intel for everything modern. If you are building a workstation for old software or need strong 2D performance, the W5700 wins. If you are gaming, doing GPU compute, or running current DX12/Vulkan applications, the Arc B580 is the card to choose.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. The Intel Arc B580 uses the BMG-G21 chip with Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, achieving a density of 72.1 million per square millimeter. The Intel chip is denser by a wide margin, reflecting the newer process node.

The core configurations differ as well. The AMD card has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The Intel card has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. That gives the Intel card roughly 11% more shading units, 11% more TMUs, and 25% more ROPs. The Intel card also includes 20 ray tracing cores, while the AMD card has none listed. The RDNA 1.0 architecture predates hardware ray tracing, so the Arc B580 has a clear feature advantage for any ray-traced workload.

Memory configurations also differ. The AMD card has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, producing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel card has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, producing 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the Intel card's higher memory clock (2375 MHz, 19 Gbps effective versus 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective) gives it slightly more bandwidth. The 12 GB capacity also gives the Arc B580 more headroom for large textures and datasets.

Clock speeds favor Intel heavily. The AMD card runs at 1400 MHz base and 1880 MHz boost, while the Intel card runs at 2670 MHz base and 2670 MHz boost. That boost clock is essentially 42% higher than the AMD card's boost, which explains much of the Intel card's raw performance advantage. The process node and architecture improvements allow Intel to run at much higher frequencies while keeping the TDP lower: 190 W for Intel versus 205 W for AMD.

The bus interface also differs: the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Intel card uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The AMD card has more PCIe lanes, which can matter for bandwidth-sensitive workloads, though the Intel card's higher internal throughput may compensate in most scenarios. Display outputs differ too: the AMD card has 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a plus 1x USB Type-C, while the Intel card has 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1. The Intel card supports the newer DisplayPort 2.1 standard.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Vulkan workloads?

A: The Intel Arc B580 wins decisively. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 109,672 versus the AMD Radeon Pro W5700's 70,706, a 35.5% advantage. This is the largest performance gap in the entire head-to-head comparison.

Q: Does the AMD card have any advantages at all?

A: Yes, specifically in legacy and 2D workloads. The AMD card wins Passmark DirectX 9 by 23%, Passmark DirectX 10 by 15.8%, and Passmark G2D by 26.8%. These results indicate it is better suited for older software and 2D-accelerated applications.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 has 8 GB of GDDR6. The Intel card also has slightly higher bandwidth at 456.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the Intel card support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The Intel Arc B580 includes 20 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700, based on RDNA 1.0, has no ray tracing cores listed in the database.

Q: Which card is better for DirectX 12 gaming?

A: The Intel Arc B580. It scores 76 in Passmark DirectX 12 versus the AMD card's 54, a 28.9% lead. The Intel card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD card has a higher average benchmark score of 25,726 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. The Intel card has an average score of 23,021, placing it in the 68th percentile. However, the Intel card wins more head-to-head tests, reflecting a different balance of strengths.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards:

• Chip: Navi 10 (AMD) versus BMG-G21 (Intel)
• Architecture: RDNA 1.0 versus Xe2-HPG
• Generation: Radeon Pro Navi (Navi Series) versus Battlemage (Arc 5)
• Process Node: 7 nm versus 5 nm
• Transistors: 10,300 million versus 19,600 million
• Die Size: 251 mm² versus 272 mm²
• Transistor Density: 41.0M / mm² versus 72.1M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1400 MHz versus 2670 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1880 MHz versus 2670 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 8 GB versus 12 GB
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit versus 192 bit
• Shading Units: 2304 versus 2560
• TMUs: 144 versus 160
• ROPs: 64 versus 80
• Ray Tracing Cores: None versus 20
• Pixel Rate: 120.3 GPixel/s versus 213.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 270.7 GTexel/s versus 427.2 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 8.663 TFLOPS versus 13.67 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 17.33 TFLOPS versus 27.34 TFLOPS
• TDP: 205 W versus 190 W
• Power Connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin versus 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 550 W versus 450 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8
• Display Outputs: 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C versus 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Production Status: End-of-life versus Active
• Release Date: 2019-11-18 versus 2024-12-12
• Predecessor: Radeon Pro Vega versus Alchemist
• Launch MSRP: 799 USD versus 249 USD
• Dimensions: 267 mm length, 111 mm height versus 272 mm length, 115 mm height, 45 mm width

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The biggest win for the Intel Arc B580 comes in Geekbench Vulkan. The Intel card scores 109,672 against the AMD card's 70,706, a 35.5% lead. This is the single largest delta in the comparison and signals a fundamental advantage in modern low-level API performance. For any Vulkan-based game or compute workload, the Intel card is in a different class.

The second-largest Intel win is in Passmark DirectX 12, where it scores 76 versus 54, a 28.9% advantage. This confirms the Intel card's strength in modern graphics APIs. The Geekbench OpenCL result also favors Intel: 92,821 versus 74,613, a 19.6% lead. GPU compute workloads, whether for rendering, simulation, or machine learning inference, will run noticeably faster on the Intel card.

The Passmark DirectX 11 result gives Intel another win: 128 versus 104, an 18.7% margin. The Passmark GPU Compute score of 7,729 versus 6,495 is a 16% Intel lead. Finally, the Passmark G3D score of 15,748 versus 14,520 gives Intel a 7.8% win in overall 3D performance.

For the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, the largest win is in Passmark G2D. The AMD card scores 899 versus 709, a 26.8% advantage. This is a substantial lead in 2D rendering and desktop acceleration. The Passmark DirectX 9 result gives AMD a 23% win (225 versus 183), and the Passmark DirectX 10 result gives AMD a 15.8% win (88 versus 76). These wins are concentrated in older APIs and 2D workloads, which aligns with the architecture's design era.

The AMD card's average benchmark score of 25,726 is higher than the Intel card's 23,021, and its percentile rank of 71 is above Intel's 68. This is notable because the AMD card loses most head-to-head tests but still has a higher average. The explanation lies in the test mix: the AMD card's strong legacy and 2D scores boost its average, while the Intel card's modern API wins are concentrated in fewer tests. In the database's nearest rival comparisons, the AMD card sits close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (0.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (0.4% ahead). The Intel card sits near the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% ahead). These rival positions reflect the different performance profiles: the AMD card competes with higher-tier mobile parts, while the Intel card aligns with older desktop cards.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split decision. If you work with legacy software, older DirectX versions, or 2D-accelerated applications, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 is the better choice. Its wins in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and G2D are substantial, and its higher average benchmark score and percentile rank reflect strength across a broad test suite. It is an end-of-life product, but for specific legacy workflows it remains competitive.

If you need modern graphics performance, the Intel Arc B580 is the pick. It wins every current API test: Vulkan, DirectX 12, DirectX 11, OpenCL, and GPU compute. Its 35.5% Vulkan lead and 28.9% DirectX 12 lead are decisive. It also has 12 GB of memory, ray tracing cores, and a lower TDP of 190 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Intel card is active in production, released in late 2024, and represents the newer architecture generation.

The AMD card's launch MSRP was 799 USD, while the Intel card's launch MSRP was 249 USD. The Intel card is the modern choice for gaming, compute, and current-generation APIs. The AMD card is the specialized choice for legacy compatibility and 2D-heavy workloads. Buy according to the software you actually run, not the brand name.