AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP vs Intel Arc B580 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and Intel Arc B580 occupy the same performance tier according to aggregate data, yet they are products of entirely different eras. The RX 580 2048SP, an end-of-life Polaris part from October 2018, posts an average benchmark score of 23,061, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The Arc B580, an active Battlemage product from December 2024, scores 23,021 on the same metric, also landing in the 68th percentile. The delta between them is a razor-thin 0.2% in favor of the AMD card, making them statistical equals in overall average performance. However, the data reveals a stark divergence in individual workloads, with the Intel card dominating modern API tests while the AMD card's aggregate score is buoyed by its legacy performance profile.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear generational split. For users running legacy DirectX 9, DirectX 10, or DirectX 11 applications, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is the safer choice, as its GCN 4.0 architecture was designed for that era and its driver stack has matured over years. Its average score of 23,061, which edges out the Arc B580 by 0.2%, reflects this strength in older workloads. However, for anyone targeting modern DirectX 12 or Vulkan titles, the Intel Arc B580 is decisively superior. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B580 scores 3,068 against the RX 580 2048SP's 849, a 72.3% advantage. The gap in compute-heavy scenarios is even wider, with the Arc B580 leading by 68% in Geekbench OpenCL and 64.7% in Geekbench Vulkan.

The pick depends entirely on the software environment. If the workload is exclusively legacy DirectX 9/10/11, the RX 580 2048SP's edge in aggregate scoring—driven by its PassMark DirectX 9 score of 183 versus the Arc B580's 183 (tied) and its stronger PassMark DirectX 10 result of 76 versus 76 (tied)—makes it a viable option. But the Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 position it as the forward-looking choice. The 3DMark Steel Nomad result alone shows a 261% performance lead for Intel, making the Arc B580 the only rational selection for modern gaming or compute tasks. There are no benchmark wins for the AMD card in the head-to-head data, and the Intel card wins all three tested scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different foundations. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The Intel Arc B580 uses the BMG-G21 chip with Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 19,600 million transistors into a 272 mm² die, achieving 72.1 million transistors per mm²—nearly three times the density of the AMD part.

The clock speeds tell a story of architectural efficiency. The RX 580 2048SP runs at a base and boost of 1168 MHz and 1284 MHz, respectively, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The Arc B580 operates at a flat 2670 MHz for both base and boost, with memory at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The Intel card's memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s is more than double the AMD card's 224.0 GB/s, thanks to its 192-bit bus and GDDR6 memory versus the AMD card's 256-bit bus with GDDR5.

Feature support diverges sharply. The RX 580 2048SP has no ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The Arc B580 includes 20 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The Intel card also has a higher shader count (2560 vs 2048), more texture mapping units (160 vs 128), and more than double the render output units (80 vs 32). The Arc B580's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s dwarfs the RX 580 2048SP's 41.09 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s is 2.6 times higher. FP32 performance is 13.67 TFLOPS for Intel versus 5.259 TFLOPS for AMD, and FP16 performance is 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1). The AMD card uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the Intel card uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average score of 23,061, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Arc B580's 23,021. Both cards sit in the 68th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: How do the two cards compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Intel Arc B580 scores 3,068, which is 72.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's 849. The Intel card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The Intel Arc B580 scores 109,672 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 64.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP's 38,666. The Intel card also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.3.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has no ray tracing cores. The Intel Arc B580 includes 20 ray tracing cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Arc B580?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has a launch MSRP of 249 USD. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has no launch MSRP listed in the data.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the Intel Arc B580 uses a 5 nm process from TSMC. Transistor counts are 5,700 million versus 19,600 million, and die sizes are 232 mm² versus 272 mm². Transistor density is 24.6M per mm² for AMD and 72.1M per mm² for Intel.

Clock speeds differ substantially: the RX 580 2048SP runs at 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost, while the Arc B580 runs at 2670 MHz for both. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for AMD and 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) for Intel. Memory configurations are 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus versus 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding bandwidths of 224.0 GB/s and 456.0 GB/s, respectively.

Compute resources differ: shading units are 2048 versus 2560, TMUs are 128 versus 160, and ROPs are 32 versus 80. The Intel card has 20 ray tracing cores; the AMD card has none. Pixel rates are 41.09 GPixel/s versus 213.6 GPixel/s, texture rates are 164.4 GTexel/s versus 427.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 5.259 TFLOPS versus 13.67 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 5.259 TFLOPS (1:1) for AMD and 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1) for Intel. TDP is 150 W for AMD and 190 W for Intel, though both use a single 8-pin power connector and recommend a 450 W PSU. The AMD card uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Intel card uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for AMD, versus 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1 for Intel. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3; the Intel card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. Production status is end-of-life for AMD and active for Intel.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains three benchmark comparisons, and the Intel Arc B580 wins all three. The most extreme gap appears in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the Arc B580 scores 3,068 against the RX 580 2048SP's 849. This 72.3% delta represents the largest performance disparity in the dataset, reflecting the Intel card's modern architecture and superior rasterization throughput.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Arc B580 scores 92,821 versus the RX 580 2048SP's 29,668, a 68% advantage. This compute-heavy test highlights the Intel card's 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 performance against the AMD card's 5.259 TFLOPS, a 2.6x raw compute advantage that translates into a 3.1x score improvement. The memory bandwidth difference—456.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s—likely contributes to this gap.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows the Arc B580 scoring 109,672 against the RX 580 2048SP's 38,666, a 64.7% delta. This is the closest of the three head-to-head matchups in percentage terms, but still represents a dominant win for Intel. The Vulkan 1.4 support on the Intel card versus Vulkan 1.3 on the AMD card may explain part of the difference, along with the substantial hardware resource advantage. Across all three tests, the Arc B580's lowest win margin is 64.7%, demonstrating consistent superiority in modern API workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP wins in overall average benchmark score, posting 23,061 against the Intel Arc B580's 23,021. This 0.2% edge is its only statistical victory, and it comes from the aggregate of all benchmarks, including legacy test suites where the older card's mature drivers and GCN 4.0 architecture hold up well. The RX 580 2048SP also ties the Arc B580 in PassMark DirectX 9 (183 vs 183) and PassMark DirectX 10 (76 vs 76), though these tests are not part of the head-to-head comparison. Its lower TDP of 150 W versus 190 W makes it a less power-hungry option, and its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface is more compatible with older platforms. The 4 GB memory configuration is a limitation, but for older games that fit within that budget, the card remains functional.

The Intel Arc B580 wins decisively in every modern workload category. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result (3,068 vs 849) makes it the clear choice for contemporary DirectX 12 games, and the Geekbench Vulkan result (109,672 vs 38,666) extends that dominance to Vulkan titles. The Geekbench OpenCL result (92,821 vs 29,668) positions it as the superior compute card for tasks like rendering or machine learning inference. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for high-resolution textures, and the 20 ray tracing cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing that the AMD card cannot perform at all. The 2670 MHz boost clock, 13.67 TFLOPS FP32, and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate represent a generational leap in raw throughput. For any user running software released after roughly 2020, the Arc B580 is the only viable option based on this data. The RX 580 2048SP's strengths in aggregate scoring and legacy API performance do not offset the 64.7-72.3% deficits in modern benchmarks.