AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct benchmark comparisons between the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE and the Intel Arc A580, and the Intel part wins both. The largest gap appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the Arc A580 scores 91,657 against the RX 6600 LE’s 69,229. That is a 24.5% deficit for the AMD card, a substantial margin that places the two products in different performance tiers for compute-style workloads.

The second comparison, Geekbench Vulkan, is closer but still favors Intel. The Arc A580 records 79,381 while the RX 6600 LE posts 72,428, a difference of 8.8%. This narrower gap suggests that the AMD card is relatively stronger in Vulkan than in OpenCL, though it still trails in absolute terms. The data shows a consistent pattern: Intel wins both recorded head-to-head tests, with the larger victory coming in the older API.

Looking at the broader benchmark averages, the picture becomes more nuanced. The RX 6600 LE has an average benchmark score of 70,829 across its recorded tests, while the Arc A580 averages only 57,756. That seems contradictory at first glance: the Intel card wins both individual comparisons but has a lower overall average. The explanation lies in the test sets. The AMD card’s average is drawn from two Geekbench results, both of which are relatively strong. The Intel card’s average includes a third result, a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,229, which is on a completely different scale and drags the arithmetic mean down. This is a reminder that average scores across mixed test suites can be misleading when the underlying tests are not directly comparable.

The percentile rankings reinforce the mixed picture. The RX 6600 LE sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Arc A580 sits at the 87th percentile. Despite losing both head-to-head tests, the AMD card ranks higher overall because its two recorded scores are both strong relative to the broader GPU population. The Intel card’s 3DMark result, while valid, is not directly comparable to the Geekbench numbers and pulls its percentile ranking down.

Rival comparisons provide additional context. The RX 6600 LE’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile at 70,140 (1% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 at 69,986 (1.2% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6650M at 71,768 (1.3% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 at 69,870 (1.4% higher). These are all extremely tight margins, meaning the RX 6600 LE sits in a densely packed performance cluster where 1-2% separates several competing products.

The Arc A580’s nearest rivals tell a similar story of tight competition. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM scores 58,085, which is 0.6% lower than the Intel card. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57,367, 0.7% higher. The Intel Arc A570M scores 58,239, 0.8% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 58,392, 1.1% higher. All four rivals fall within a 1.1% band around the A580’s average, indicating that the Intel card’s average score is representative of a well-populated tier of GPUs.

What emerges from the data is a split identity. In the two direct Geekbench comparisons, the Arc A580 is clearly ahead, especially in OpenCL where its lead exceeds 24%. In the broader database context, however, the RX 6600 LE holds a higher percentile rank and a higher average score, because its two results are both strong while the A580’s average is diluted by an incomparable 3DMark score. A buyer looking at raw benchmark averages would see the AMD card as the better product; a buyer looking only at the two shared tests would see the opposite.

The Verdict

The data supports different conclusions depending on which metric matters most. If the priority is the two directly comparable Geekbench workloads, the Intel Arc A580 is the clear choice. It wins OpenCL by 24.5% and Vulkan by 8.8%. Those are not trivial margins, and they indicate a genuine performance advantage in compute-oriented tasks measured through those APIs.

If the priority is overall database standing, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE ranks higher at the 91st percentile versus the 87th percentile for Intel. Its average score of 70,829 is also higher than the Arc A580’s 57,756, though that comparison is distorted by the different test sets. The AMD card’s nearest rivals are all within 1.4% of its score, while the Intel card’s nearest rivals are within 1.1%. Both products sit in competitive neighborhoods, but the AMD card’s neighborhood is at a higher absolute performance level.

The RX 6600 LE also offers a lower power requirement on paper: a 132 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU, versus 175 W and 450 W for the Arc A580. The AMD card uses a single 8-pin power connector while the Intel card requires two. For systems with limited power delivery, the AMD card is the safer choice based on the recorded specifications.

The Arc A580 counters with a wider memory bus and higher bandwidth: 256-bit and 512.0 GB/s versus 128-bit and 224.0 GB/s. It also has more shading units (3,072 versus 1,792), more texture mapping units (192 versus 112), more ROPs (96 versus 64), and higher raw FP32 throughput (12.29 TFLOPS versus 8.942 TFLOPS). These specifications align with its benchmark wins in the shared tests.

The verdict, strictly from the data, is that the Intel Arc A580 wins the head-to-head compute benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE holds a higher percentile rank and lower power requirements. There is no single winner across all recorded metrics. The choice depends on whether the user weights the shared benchmarks more heavily or the overall database ranking and power envelope.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE wins in the broader database context. Its 91st percentile ranking places it above the Arc A580’s 87th percentile. Its average score of 70,829 exceeds the Intel card’s 57,756, even though that gap is inflated by the Intel card’s non-comparable 3DMark result. The AMD card also wins on power efficiency as recorded: 132 W TDP versus 175 W, and a suggested PSU of 300 W versus 450 W. For systems with modest power supplies or compact builds, the RX 6600 LE is the more accommodating option. Its dimensions are recorded at 190 mm length, 110 mm height, and 40 mm width, while the Arc A580 has no recorded dimensions, so no size comparison is possible.

The Intel Arc A580 wins in the two directly shared benchmarks. Geekbench OpenCL goes to Intel by a wide 24.5% margin, and Geekbench Vulkan goes to Intel by 8.8%. The A580 also wins on raw specifications that typically correlate with throughput: 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 512.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Its 256-bit memory bus is double the width of the AMD card’s 128-bit bus. The A580 also has a higher base clock at 1,700 MHz versus 1,626 MHz, though the AMD card has a higher boost clock at 2,495 MHz versus 2,000 MHz.

The AMD card wins on ray tracing core count with 28 RT cores versus 24 for Intel, though the architectural differences make raw core counts an imperfect comparison. The RX 6600 LE also has a higher game clock specification of 2,045 MHz, a figure the Intel card does not list. For users who prioritize the two Geekbench workloads, the Arc A580 is the stronger pick. For users who prioritize overall database ranking, power draw, or the AMD ecosystem, the RX 6600 LE has the edge.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE has an average benchmark score of 70,829, while the Intel Arc A580 averages 57,756. However, the Intel card’s average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,229, which is on a different scale and pulls its average down.

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Intel Arc A580 wins with a score of 91,657 against the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE’s 69,229, a margin of 24.5%.

Q: Which GPU has the higher memory bandwidth?

A: The Intel Arc A580 has 512.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth over a 256-bit bus, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE has 224.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU ranks higher among all GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE ranks at the 91st percentile, while the Intel Arc A580 ranks at the 87th percentile.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE has a TDP of 132 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the Intel Arc A580 has a TDP of 175 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX and Vulkan versions?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 according to the recorded API data.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE uses RDNA 2.0, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7 million per square millimeter. The chip is Navi 23, part of the Navi II generation within the RX 6000 series. Its predecessor is listed as Navi, and its successor as Navi III.

The Intel Arc A580 uses Xe-HPG architecture, built on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC. The DG2-512 chip contains 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, for a density of 53.4 million per square millimeter. It belongs to the Alchemist generation within the Arc 5 series. Its predecessor is Xe Graphics, and its successor is Battlemage.

The process node difference (7 nm versus 6 nm) gives Intel a smaller transistor geometry, and the A580’s higher transistor density reflects that. The Intel die is also substantially larger at 406 mm² versus 237 mm², and carries nearly twice the transistor count. These architectural differences help explain the Intel card’s raw compute advantages: 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs versus 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs for AMD.

Ray tracing hardware differs in count: the AMD card has 28 RT cores, while the Intel card has 24. Neither card lists tensor cores. Both support the same API versions: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Intel card uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which could matter for bandwidth-sensitive workloads, although the practical impact is not quantified in the recorded data.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. Clock speeds: the AMD card has a base clock of 1,626 MHz, a boost clock of 2,495 MHz, and a game clock of 2,045 MHz. The Intel card has a base clock of 1,700 MHz and a boost clock of 2,000 MHz, with no game clock listed. The AMD card boosts higher, but the Intel card has a higher base.

Memory: both have 8 GB of GDDR6, but the AMD card uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and an effective memory speed of 14 Gbps. The Intel card uses a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth and an effective memory speed of 16 Gbps. The Intel card has more than double the memory bandwidth.

Compute resources: the AMD card has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 28 RT cores. The Intel card has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 24 RT cores. Raw throughput figures follow: the AMD card delivers 159.7 GPixel/s pixel rate, 279.4 GTexel/s texture rate, 8.942 TFLOPS FP32, and 17.88 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The Intel card delivers 192.0 GPixel/s, 384.0 GTexel/s, 12.29 TFLOPS FP32, and 24.58 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). Intel leads in every throughput metric.

Power and cooling: the AMD card has a 132 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector and a 300 W suggested PSU. The Intel card has a 175 W TDP with two 8-pin connectors and a 450 W suggested PSU. Both are dual-slot cards. The AMD card measures 190 mm by 110 mm by 40 mm; the Intel card has no recorded dimensions.

Display outputs: both cards have one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort outputs, but the AMD card uses DisplayPort 1.4a while the Intel card uses DisplayPort 2.0. The Intel card offers a newer DisplayPort standard. Both are listed as active in production, with the AMD card released on 2023-12-07 and the Intel card on 2023-10-09. Neither card has a recorded launch MSRP.