AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs Intel Arc A350M Comparison

The benchmark data presents a clear generational clash: Intel’s Arc A350M is a modern, power-sipping mobile GPU built on a 6nm process, while AMD’s RX 580 2048SP is a larger, hungrier desktop card from an older architecture. Across the two shared head-to-head tests, AMD wins decisively, but the Intel part counters with efficiency, modern feature support, and a near-identical overall benchmark standing. The choice hinges entirely on the use case: raw compute throughput versus architectural modernity and power constraints.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins outright on raw performance. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 29,668 against Intel’s 24,546, a 17.3% advantage. The gap widens dramatically in Geekbench Vulkan, where AMD scores 38,666 versus Intel’s 24,747, a 36% lead. This is a GPU built for throughput, with 2,048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units, delivering 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. For any workload that saturates compute shaders or traditional rasterization, the AMD card is the clear winner.

The Intel Arc A350M wins where the AMD card cannot compete: efficiency and feature completeness. Its 25W TDP is a fraction of AMD’s 150W, making it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where the AMD card’s dual-slot, 8-pin powered design would be impossible. Intel also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes hardware ray tracing via its 6 RT cores, a feature the AMD card lacks entirely. Vulkan API support is also newer on Intel (1.4 versus AMD’s 1.3). While Intel loses both head-to-head compute tests, its average benchmark score of 24,647 lands at the 70th percentile of all GPUs, versus AMD’s 68th percentile, meaning Intel’s overall standing in the broader database is slightly higher despite losing these specific tests.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A350M is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, using the DG2-128 chip fabricated on TSMC’s 6nm process. It packs 7,200 million transistors into a 157 mm² die, yielding a density of 45.9 million transistors per mm². The architecture is designed for modern workloads, featuring 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 6 dedicated ray tracing cores. Its memory subsystem is a 4 GB GDDR6 pool on a 64-bit bus, delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses the older GCN 4.0 architecture, built on the Polaris 20 chip at GlobalFoundries’ 14nm process. It is physically larger at 232 mm² but houses fewer transistors (5,700 million), resulting in a lower density of 24.6M / mm². The design philosophy is brute force: 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no dedicated ray tracing hardware. Memory is 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth—double the Intel part’s bandwidth. AMD’s API support tops out at DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Intel GPU’s FP16 rate is 6.758 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while AMD’s FP16 is identical to its FP32 at 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1), reflecting GCN’s older compute model.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks show a one-sided contest. In Geekbench OpenCL, AMD’s 29,668 score beats Intel’s 24,546 by 17.3%. This is expected given AMD’s 2.7x higher shading unit count and 2.7x more TMUs. AMD’s FP32 throughput of 5.259 TFLOPS versus Intel’s 3.379 TFLOPS gives it a 55.6% raw compute advantage, which translates directly into OpenCL results.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is even more lopsided. AMD scores 38,666, a 36% lead over Intel’s 24,747. The delta is larger than in OpenCL, suggesting that AMD’s GCN architecture handles Vulkan’s low-level API overhead more efficiently, or that Intel’s drivers in this test environment are less mature. AMD’s larger memory bus (256-bit vs 64-bit) and double the bandwidth (224.0 GB/s vs 112.0 GB/s) likely contribute to this widening gap in API-specific workloads. Intel’s pixel rate is higher (52.80 GPixel/s vs AMD’s 41.09 GPixel/s), but AMD’s texture rate is 55.7% higher (164.4 GTexel/s vs 105.6 GTexel/s). The data shows AMD wins both tests outright, with Intel’s closest rival being the RX 590 at a -0.4% delta, while AMD’s nearest rival is the Arc B580 at a +0.2% delta.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Arc A350M | AMD RX 580 2048SP |

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

| Architecture | Xe-HPG | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 7,200 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 157 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 45.9M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1150 MHz | 1168 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2200 MHz | 1284 MHz |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 64 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 112.0 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 48 | 128 |

| ROPs | 24 | 32 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 6 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 3.379 TFLOPS | 5.259 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 6.758 TFLOPS (2:1) | 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 52.80 GPixel/s | 41.09 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 105.6 GTexel/s | 164.4 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 25 W | 150 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2022-03-29 | 2018-10-14 |

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in compute benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins both shared tests. It leads by 17.3% in Geekbench OpenCL (29,668 vs 24,546) and by 36% in Geekbench Vulkan (38,666 vs 24,747).

Q: Does the Intel Arc A350M support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The Intel GPU has 6 dedicated ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD RX 580 2048SP has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD RX 580 2048SP has exactly double the bandwidth: 224.0 GB/s versus Intel’s 112.0 GB/s. This is due to AMD’s 256-bit bus versus Intel’s 64-bit bus, despite both having 4 GB of memory.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Intel Arc A350M is rated at 25W TDP, while the AMD RX 580 2048SP is rated at 150W TDP. AMD also requires a 450W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin power connector, while Intel uses no external power connectors and is an IGP form factor.

Q: How do their overall benchmark standings compare?

A: Intel’s average benchmark score is 24,647, placing it at the 70th percentile of all GPUs. AMD’s average is 23,061, at the 68th percentile. Despite losing the head-to-head, Intel ranks slightly higher in the overall database.

Q: Which GPU has newer API support?

A: Intel supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. AMD supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Intel’s API stack is newer and more feature-rich.

The Verdict

The data dictates a straightforward verdict: choose the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP if raw compute performance is the sole priority. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by substantial margins (17.3% and 36%), has double the memory bandwidth, and offers 2.7x the shading units. Its 5.259 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a 55.6% improvement over Intel’s 3.379 TFLOPS. For users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads on a desktop with a 450W PSU available, AMD is the superior performer.

Choose the Intel Arc A350M if the system constraints are tight and modern features matter. Its 25W TDP makes it viable in a mobile IGP form factor where the AMD card’s 150W dual-slot design is physically impossible. Intel’s 6nm process delivers 7,200 million transistors in a smaller die, enabling ray tracing, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Vulkan 1.4 support—none of which AMD offers. While losing on raw scores, Intel’s 70th percentile average benchmark rank edges out AMD’s 68th, indicating that in the broader GPU landscape, the Arc A350M holds its own despite the AMD card’s head-to-head victories. The verdict is not about which is “better” overall, but which fits the defined use case: AMD for throughput, Intel for efficiency and feature set.