AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs Intel Arc B580 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark split between the Intel Arc B580 and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is unusually clear-cut, with each card dominating entirely different workload categories. Out of ten recorded head-to-head tests, the AMD card wins eight, while the Intel card wins two. However, the two Intel victories are not minor: they come in compute-oriented and cross-API scenarios where the Arc B580 shows a distinctive strength.

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX wins across the entire spectrum of DirectX rasterization tests. It takes the PassMark DirectX 10, 11, 12, and 9 tests, along with the 2D and 3D graphics tests and the GPU compute test. Its largest single win is in DirectX 11, where it leads by 64 percent. The Intel Arc B580, by contrast, wins in Geekbench OpenCL by a margin of 83.9 percent, and in Geekbench Vulkan by 28.1 percent. These are not close calls; the Intel card is decisively ahead in those two workloads.

The data suggests a use-case split based on API and compute characteristics. For traditional DirectX gaming workloads, regardless of feature level, the AMD card is the stronger performer. For OpenCL compute and Vulkan-based applications, the Intel card holds a substantial edge. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is often used as a modern gaming proxy, goes to AMD by 55.2 percent, reinforcing that in contemporary gaming scenarios, the AMD card is the dominant choice.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages and target different market segments. The Intel Arc B580 uses the BMG-G21 chip based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, part of the Battlemage generation (Arc 5). It is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 72.1M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX uses the Navi 31 chip based on RDNA 3.0, part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation. It is also built on a 5 nm TSMC process, but with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, giving a density of 109.1M per mm².

The scale difference is substantial. The AMD chip has more than twice the transistor count and nearly double the die area. Its shading unit count is 6144 versus 2560 on the Intel chip, with 384 texture mapping units versus 160, and 192 render output units versus 80. The ray tracing core count is 96 on AMD versus 20 on Intel. These raw resource differences explain why the AMD card dominates in most rasterization-heavy tests.

Memory configurations also differ significantly. The AMD card has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel card has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 456.0 GB/s. The AMD card's memory clock is 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), while the Intel card runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The bus interface also differs: the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Intel card uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Clock behavior is another point of distinction. The Intel Arc B580 has a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with no separate game clock listed. The AMD card has a base clock of 1929 MHz, a boost clock of 2498 MHz, and a game clock of 2365 MHz. Despite the lower boost clock, the AMD card achieves far higher fill rates: 479.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 959.2 GTexel/s texture rate, versus 213.6 GPixel/s and 427.2 GTexel/s on the Intel card. The FP32 throughput is 61.39 TFLOPS on AMD versus 13.67 TFLOPS on Intel, a 4.5x difference.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The AMD card has a TDP of 355 W with two 8-pin connectors and a suggested PSU of 750 W. The Intel card has a TDP of 190 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W. Both are dual-slot cards, but the AMD card is longer at 287 mm versus 272 mm, and wider at 51 mm versus 45 mm. The AMD card is slightly shorter in height at 110 mm versus 115 mm. Display outputs are similar, with both offering one HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, though the AMD card adds a USB Type-C port.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is the most telling modern gaming benchmark. Here, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX scores 6841, while the Intel Arc B580 scores 3068. That is a 55.2 percent advantage for AMD. This is not a marginal win; it is a dominant one, indicating that in current DirectX 12 gaming workloads, the AMD card is more than twice as fast.

The Geekbench OpenCL test flips the script entirely. The Intel Arc B580 scores 92821, while the AMD card scores 50465. The Intel card leads by 83.9 percent, a massive margin that suggests its compute architecture is far more efficient in this particular OpenCL workload. Similarly, in Geekbench Vulkan, the Intel card scores 109672 versus 85612 for AMD, a 28.1 percent lead. This shows that in Vulkan API workloads, the Intel card is not just competitive but clearly ahead.

The PassMark DirectX tests all go to AMD. In DirectX 10, the AMD card scores 166 versus 76 for Intel, a 54.2 percent lead. In DirectX 11, AMD scores 356 versus 128, a 64 percent lead, the largest margin in any test. In DirectX 12, AMD scores 131 versus 76, a 42 percent lead. In DirectX 9, AMD scores 330 versus 183, a 44.5 percent lead. These results indicate that across every legacy DirectX version, the AMD card is consistently faster, with the gap widening in the older APIs.

The PassMark 2D and 3D tests also favor AMD. In the 2D test, AMD scores 1267 versus 709, a 44 percent lead. In the 3D test, AMD scores 31238 versus 15748, a 49.6 percent lead. The PassMark GPU compute test goes to AMD as well, with a score of 17689 versus 7729, a 56.3 percent lead. This is notable because it contradicts the Geekbench OpenCL result, suggesting that different compute workloads can favor different architectures.

The overall average benchmark scores reflect this split. The Intel Arc B580 has an average score of 23021, while the AMD card has an average of 19410. This is counterintuitive given that AMD wins eight of ten tests, but it is explained by the magnitude of Intel's wins in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, which pull its average up significantly. The percentile ranks also differ: the Intel card sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD card sits at the 64th percentile.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more benchmark tests?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX wins eight of the ten head-to-head tests. The Intel Arc B580 wins the other two, specifically Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: How large is the AMD card's lead in DirectX 11?

A: The AMD card scores 356 in PassMark DirectX 11, while the Intel card scores 128. This represents a 64 percent lead, the largest margin in any test between the two cards.

Q: In which test does the Intel Arc B580 have its biggest win?

A: The Intel Arc B580's biggest win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 92821 versus 50465 for AMD, a lead of 83.9 percent.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, while the Intel Arc B580 has 456.0 GB/s. The AMD card also has twice the memory capacity, 24 GB versus 12 GB.

Q: How do the transistor counts compare?

A: The AMD card has 57,700 million transistors, while the Intel card has 19,600 million. Both are built on a 5 nm TSMC process, but the AMD die is 529 mm² versus 272 mm².

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has an average of 19410. The Intel card's higher average is driven by its two large wins in Geekbench tests.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear division of labor. For anyone prioritizing DirectX gaming performance, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the definitive choice. It wins every DirectX test in the database, with leads ranging from 42 percent in DirectX 12 to 64 percent in DirectX 11. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6841, a 55.2 percent advantage, confirms that modern gaming workloads will favor this card heavily. The AMD card also has substantially more memory (24 GB versus 12 GB), higher bandwidth (960.0 GB/s versus 456.0 GB/s), and more than double the shading units (6144 versus 2560). If the use case is gaming, the recorded data leaves no ambiguity.

For workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the Intel Arc B580 is the stronger performer. Its 83.9 percent lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 28.1 percent lead in Geekbench Vulkan are not small margins; they indicate a fundamentally different compute efficiency profile. The Intel card also offers a much lower power requirement, with a 190 W TDP versus 355 W, and a smaller physical footprint. It is also listed as Active production status, while the AMD card is End-of-life, which may matter for availability planning.

The average benchmark scores tell an interesting story. The Intel card averages 23021, which is higher than the AMD card's 19410, despite losing eight of ten tests. This is because the two Intel wins are so large that they outweigh the narrower AMD victories. The nearest rival data further complicates the picture: the Intel card's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 with a delta of -0.7 percent, while the AMD card's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 with a delta of -1 percent. These comparisons suggest that raw average scores do not align with the head-to-head results.

The production status is another factor. The Intel Arc B580 is Active, released on 2024-12-12, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is End-of-life, released on 2022-11-02. The AMD card has a listed successor (Navi IV), while the Intel card has none. For long-term procurement, the Intel card's active status and newer release date are relevant.

The verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the gaming and rasterization leader by a wide margin, while the Intel Arc B580 is the compute and Vulkan specialist with a significantly lower power draw and smaller physical footprint. The choice depends entirely on workload. Gaming and DirectX applications point to AMD. OpenCL and Vulkan compute point to Intel. The percentile ranks, 68th for Intel and 64th for AMD, suggest that in the broader GPU landscape, the Intel card holds a slightly higher standing, a result driven by its exceptional compute scores.