AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT vs Intel Arc B580 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc B580 holds a higher average benchmark score of 23021 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT’s 22549. That’s a narrow lead of roughly 2% for Intel, despite the AMD card winning 9 of the 10 head-to-head tests.

Q: How do the two cards rank against all GPUs?

A: The Arc B580 sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 7700 XT sits at the 67th percentile. Despite the RX 7700 XT’s dominant head-to-head win count, the overall percentile ranks are nearly identical.

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan performance?

A: The Intel Arc B580 wins decisively in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 109672 versus the RX 7700 XT’s 46443. That’s a 136.1% advantage for Intel, the single largest margin in any test.

Q: Which GPU has the higher shading unit count?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has 3456 shading units, while the Intel Arc B580 has 2560. AMD’s count is 35% higher, aligning with its leads in most compute and rasterization tests.

Q: What are the launch MSRPs of the two cards?

A: The Intel Arc B580’s launch MSRP is 249 USD, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT’s launch MSRP is 449 USD.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has 54 ray tracing cores, while the Intel Arc B580 has 20. That’s a 2.7x difference in raw RT core count, though benchmark results don’t show a dedicated RT test.

Where Each One Wins

The data splits cleanly across API and workload types. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT dominates the PassMark suite, winning every DirectX test from 9 through 12, plus the 2D and compute benchmarks. Its largest margin comes in DirectX 11, where it scores 232 against Intel’s 128 — a 44.8% gap. The RX 7700 XT also wins in OpenCL by 32.9%, posting 138383 versus 92821, and in 3DMark Steel Nomad by 7.5% (3316 vs 3068).

The Intel Arc B580’s sole victory is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 109672 against AMD’s 46443. That 136.1% lead is not just a win; it’s a statement. Vulkan is the only test where Intel turns the table so completely that AMD’s other wins look small in comparison. The Arc B580 also edges the RX 7700 XT on average benchmark score (23021 vs 22549) and percentile rank (68 vs 67), suggesting that its Vulkan outlier outweighs AMD’s many narrower wins in the aggregate.

For gamers targeting DirectX titles, the RX 7700 XT is the clear choice — it wins every DirectX benchmark from 9 to 12. For Vulkan-based workloads or engines, the Arc B580’s performance is exceptional, with a margin that no other test comes close to matching. The RX 7700 XT’s wins are frequent but moderate in size; Intel’s win is rare but enormous.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc B580 uses the BMG-G21 chip built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 72.1M / mm². The architecture is Xe2-HPG, part of the Battlemage generation (Arc 5). The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT uses the Navi 32 chip, also on TSMC’s 5 nm process, but with 28,100 million transistors on a larger 346 mm² die, giving a higher density of 81.2M / mm². AMD’s architecture is RDNA 3.0, part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation.

The transistor counts tell different design stories. AMD packs 43% more transistors onto a 27% larger die, reflecting a more complex compute layout. Intel’s die is smaller and less dense, yet it still achieves competitive average scores. The RX 7700 XT’s RDNA 3.0 architecture uses a chiplet-like approach with a separate memory controller die, while Intel’s Xe2-HPG is a monolithic design. This is evident in the FP32 throughput: AMD lists 35.17 TFLOPS, while Intel lists 13.67 TFLOPS — a 2.6x difference that shows up in raw compute benchmarks.

Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7700 XT has 3456 shading units, 216 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, versus Intel’s 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. RT core counts also differ dramatically: 54 for AMD versus 20 for Intel. The RX 7700 XT’s FP16 throughput is identical to its FP32 at 35.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while Intel’s FP16 is double its FP32 at 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This suggests AMD’s architecture handles FP32 and FP16 the same way, while Intel uses a packed math approach.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 7700 XT has a higher base clock of 1435 MHz, but Intel’s base clock is 2670 MHz — a massive difference. However, AMD’s boost clock is 2544 MHz, close to Intel’s 2670 MHz. AMD also lists a game clock of 2171 MHz, a field Intel leaves null. Memory clocks differ slightly: Intel runs 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), AMD runs 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Memory bandwidth is 456.0 GB/s for Intel versus 432.0 GB/s for AMD, despite both using 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

The RX 7700 XT draws more power: 245 W TDP versus 190 W for the Arc B580. It also requires two 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU, while Intel needs one 8-pin and a 450 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards, but dimensions differ: Intel is 272 mm long, 115 mm tall, and 45 mm wide; AMD is 267 mm long, 135 mm tall, and 50 mm wide. The RX 7700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs vary: Intel offers 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1; AMD offers 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. Release dates differ by over a year: Intel launched on 2024-12-12, AMD on 2023-09-05.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT wins 9 of 10 head-to-head tests, but the margins vary wildly. The smallest AMD win is in PassMark DirectX 12, where it scores 79 versus 76 — just a 3.8% gap. The largest AMD win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it posts 138383 against 92821, a 32.9% lead. In PassMark G3D, AMD scores 22547 versus 15748, a 30.2% difference. In PassMark GPU Compute, AMD leads by 40.1% (12912 vs 7729). PassMark DirectX 11 shows AMD ahead by 44.8% (232 vs 128). DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 show AMD ahead by 36.1% and 37.8% respectively. The 2D test has AMD at 1161 versus 709, a 38.9% gap. In 3DMark Steel Nomad, AMD wins 3316 to 3068, a 7.5% margin.

The Intel Arc B580’s one win is the most extreme result in the entire comparison. In Geekbench Vulkan, Intel scores 109672 against AMD’s 46443, a 136.1% advantage. This single result flips the narrative: AMD wins more tests, but Intel’s Vulkan dominance is so large that it pulls Intel’s average score above AMD’s. The Arc B580’s average of 23021 beats the RX 7700 XT’s 22549 by 472 points, even though AMD wins 9 tests. This suggests that the Vulkan test carries significant weight in the average calculation, or that Intel’s other losses are relatively small in magnitude.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the more consistent performer, winning every DirectX benchmark, the OpenCL test, the 2D test, and the compute test. Its margins range from a narrow 3.8% in DirectX 12 to a commanding 44.8% in DirectX 11. For users running DirectX-based games or OpenCL compute workloads, the RX 7700 XT is the stronger choice. The 136.1% Vulkan win for the Arc B580 is the exception, but it’s a big one — enough to give Intel the higher average score and percentile rank.

The Intel Arc B580 is the pick for Vulkan-focused environments. Its 109672 Vulkan score is more than double AMD’s, making it the obvious choice for Vulkan-native engines or applications. It also achieves this with lower power draw (190 W vs 245 W) and a smaller die (272 mm² vs 346 mm²). The RX 7700 XT, meanwhile, offers higher raw compute (35.17 TFLOPS vs 13.67 TFLOPS) and more shading units, which explains its wins in compute and rasterization.

Given the near-identical average scores (23021 vs 22549) and percentile ranks (68 vs 67), neither card is a runaway winner overall. The RX 7700 XT is the safer bet for broad gaming and compute, while the Arc B580 is a specialist that excels in one specific API. If the workload is Vulkan, the Arc B580 is unmatched. For everything else in this dataset, the RX 7700 XT wins — but the margin is often smaller than the scoreboard suggests.