AMD Radeon RX 6650M vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct comparison points between the AMD Radeon RX 6650M and the Intel Arc A580, both from the Geekbench suite. The results are not close in the OpenCL test, but the Vulkan test tells a very different story.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc A580 scores 91657 against the AMD Radeon RX 6650M's 65800. That is a 28.2% deficit for the AMD part, meaning Intel's card is roughly 39% faster in raw compute throughput as measured by this workload. This is the largest gap between the two in any recorded test, and it aligns with the Arc A580's substantially higher FP32 rating of 12.29 TFLOPS versus 8.659 TFLOPS for the RX 6650M.

The Vulkan result is far tighter. The Intel Arc A580 scores 79381, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650M scores 77735. The delta is only 2.1%, which places the two effectively in the same performance class for graphics API workloads. The RX 6650M's Vulkan score is actually closer to the Arc A580's Vulkan score than it is to its own OpenCL score, a pattern that suggests the AMD architecture handles the Vulkan API with relatively more efficiency compared to its OpenCL showing.

Looking at the averages, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M has an average benchmark score of 71768 across its recorded tests, while the Intel Arc A580 averages 57756. This inversion is notable: despite losing both head-to-head tests, the AMD part has the higher average because the Arc A580's average is dragged down by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2229, which is not part of the head-to-head comparison set. The RX 6650M's two recorded scores, 65800 and 77735, are both substantially higher than that 3DMark figure.

The percentile rankings reflect a similar split. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Intel Arc A580 sits at the 87th percentile. This places the AMD part in a higher overall tier despite losing the direct comparisons, an outcome driven by the inclusion of that low 3DMark result in the Intel card's average.

Rival comparisons reinforce the positioning. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal with an average score of 72098 and a delta of -0.5%, meaning the RX 6650M trails that card by half a percent. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 averages 72379, putting the RX 6650M 0.8% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE averages 70829, which the RX 6650M beats by 1.3%. The AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition averages 73370, leaving the RX 6650M 2.2% behind. The picture is one of a card trading blows with high-end predecessors from the previous generation.

The Intel Arc A580's rivals cluster around a lower average. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM averages 58085, with the Arc A580 trailing by 0.6%. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE averages 57367, which the Arc A580 beats by 0.7%. The Intel Arc A570M averages 58239, putting the A580 0.8% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT averages 58392, leaving the A580 1.1% behind. These are all sub-1.5% deltas, indicating the Arc A580 sits in a tightly packed performance cluster.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A580 wins both recorded head-to-head tests, but the nature of those wins matters for use-case analysis. In OpenCL, the win is decisive at 28.2%, making the Arc A580 the clear choice for compute-oriented workloads that leverage OpenCL. The Arc A580's 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units provide the hardware foundation for this advantage. Its FP32 throughput of 12.29 TFLOPS and FP16 throughput of 24.58 TFLOPS are both roughly 42% higher than the RX 6650M's corresponding figures of 8.659 TFLOPS and 17.32 TFLOPS.

In Vulkan, the Arc A580's win narrows to 2.1%, a margin that falls within typical run-to-run variance for many systems. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M demonstrates here that its RDNA 2.0 architecture can compete closely with Intel's Xe-HPG design in a modern graphics API, even though the raw compute numbers favor Intel. Users running Vulkan-based games or applications would likely see similar performance from either card, with the Intel part holding a slight edge.

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M's advantage appears in the aggregate statistics rather than in direct wins. Its average benchmark score of 71768 exceeds the Arc A580's 57756 by roughly 24%. Its 91st percentile ranking versus the Arc A580's 87th further indicates that, across the broader database of recorded results, the RX 6650M tends to land in higher-performing company. The RX 6650M also achieves these results within a 120 W TDP, compared to the Arc A580's 175 W TDP, though the database does not provide direct power efficiency benchmarks.

For memory bandwidth, the Intel Arc A580 has a clear structural advantage with 512.0 GB/s across a 256 bit bus, versus 224.0 GB/s across a 128 bit bus for the AMD part. This could matter in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, though the head-to-head Vulkan result suggests the practical impact is modest in at least one modern API.

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M offers 28 ray tracing cores against the Arc A580's 24. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API feature parity is complete. The RX 6650M's higher ray tracing core count does not translate into a head-to-head win in the recorded tests, but the database does not include a dedicated ray tracing benchmark for either card.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split recommendation. Users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute performance should choose the Intel Arc A580, as its 28.2% advantage in that test is the single largest margin recorded between the two cards. The Arc A580 also wins the Vulkan test, albeit narrowly at 2.1%, making it the winner in both direct comparisons.

Users who value consistency across a broader range of database results should consider the AMD Radeon RX 6650M. Its average score of 71768 is approximately 24% higher than the Arc A580's 57756, and its 91st percentile ranking versus 87th indicates it competes with a stronger field of GPUs. The RX 6650M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, both cards that historically commanded premium positioning.

The Intel Arc A580's nearest rivals tell a different story. Cards like the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM and AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, separated by deltas of 0.6% and 1.1% respectively, represent a mid-range performance tier. The Arc A580's production status is Active, while the RX 6650M is End-of-life, which may matter for availability considerations, though the database does not record pricing information.

For gaming workloads specifically, the Vulkan result is the most relevant data point. A 2.1% gap falls within noise for most real-world scenarios, so either card would deliver comparable Vulkan performance. For compute workloads leveraging OpenCL, the Arc A580 is the decisive winner. The RX 6650M's higher percentile ranking suggests it may be the safer choice for users whose workloads span a wider variety of applications, but the direct head-to-head record favors Intel.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Intel Arc A580 wins with a score of 91657 against the AMD Radeon RX 6650M's 65800, a margin of 28.2%.

Q: How close is the Vulkan performance between the two?

A: The Intel Arc A580 scores 79381 and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M scores 77735, a difference of only 2.1%.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650M has an average benchmark score of 71768, while the Intel Arc A580 averages 57756.

Q: How do the two GPUs rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650M is at the 91st percentile, and the Intel Arc A580 is at the 87th percentile.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for the AMD Radeon RX 6650M?

A: The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal at 72098 (-0.5%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 at 72379 (-0.8%), AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE at 70829 (+1.3%), and AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition at 73370 (-2.2%).

Q: What are the nearest rivals for the Intel Arc A580?

A: The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM at 58085 (-0.6%), AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE at 57367 (+0.7%), Intel Arc A570M at 58239 (-0.8%), and AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT at 58392 (-1.1%).

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The Intel Arc A580 uses the DG2-512 chip built on Xe-HPG architecture, manufactured on a 6 nm process, also at TSMC. Both chips come from the same foundry, but the process nodes differ by one nanometer step.

Transistor counts diverge significantly. The Intel chip packs 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, while the AMD chip contains 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die. The Intel die is roughly 71% larger and carries nearly twice the transistor count. Transistor density favors Intel slightly at 53.4M per mm² versus 46.7M per mm² for AMD.

The compute configuration differs markedly. The Intel Arc A580 has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Intel card also carries 24 ray tracing cores, while the AMD card has 28. The AMD part's higher ray tracing core count is notable given its smaller overall compute footprint.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M has a base clock of 2068 MHz and a boost clock of 2416 MHz, plus a game clock of 2222 MHz. The Intel Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 2000 MHz. The AMD part's higher clocks partially offset its lower core count, which helps explain the relatively close Vulkan result despite the large shading unit disparity.

Memory subsystems are entirely different in configuration. The AMD card uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128 bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel card also has 8 GB of GDDR6, but on a 256 bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for AMD and 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for Intel. The Intel card's bandwidth advantage is more than double.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making API feature support identical. The production status differs: the AMD part is End-of-life, while the Intel part is Active. The Intel Arc A580's predecessor is listed as Xe Graphics, and its successor is Battlemage. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, with no successor recorded.

Specification Differences

The process node differs: AMD uses 7 nm, Intel uses 6 nm. The AMD chip is Navi 23, the Intel chip is DG2-512. The AMD architecture is RDNA 2.0, the Intel architecture is Xe-HPG. The AMD generation is Navi Mobile (RX 6000M), the Intel generation is Alchemist (Arc 5).

Transistor count: AMD has 11,060 million, Intel has 21,700 million. Die size: AMD is 237 mm², Intel is 406 mm². Transistor density: AMD is 46.7M per mm², Intel is 53.4M per mm².

Base clock: AMD is 2068 MHz, Intel is 1700 MHz. Boost clock: AMD is 2416 MHz, Intel is 2000 MHz. AMD also has a game clock of 2222 MHz; Intel has no recorded game clock. Memory clock: AMD is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), Intel is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective).

Memory bus width: AMD is 128 bit, Intel is 256 bit. Memory bandwidth: AMD is 224.0 GB/s, Intel is 512.0 GB/s. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Shading units: AMD has 1792, Intel has 3072. TMUs: AMD has 112, Intel has 192. ROPs: AMD has 64, Intel has 96. Ray tracing cores: AMD has 28, Intel has 24.

Pixel rate: AMD is 154.6 GPixel/s, Intel is 192.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate: AMD is 270.6 GTexel/s, Intel is 384.0 GTexel/s. FP32: AMD is 8.659 TFLOPS, Intel is 12.29 TFLOPS. FP16: AMD is 17.32 TFLOPS (2:1), Intel is 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1).

TDP: AMD is 120 W, Intel is 175 W. Slot width: AMD is IGP, Intel is Dual-slot. Power connectors: AMD has none, Intel requires 2x 8-pin. Suggested PSU: AMD has none recorded, Intel lists 450 W. Bus interface: AMD is PCIe 4.0 x8, Intel is PCIe 4.0 x16.

Display outputs: AMD is Portable Device Dependent, Intel offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0. Release dates: AMD was released on 2022-01-03, Intel on 2023-10-09. Production status: AMD is End-of-life, Intel is Active. Predecessors: AMD lists Polaris Mobile, Intel lists Xe Graphics. Successors: AMD has none recorded, Intel lists Battlemage.