AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents two fundamentally different products with almost no overlap in intended use. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is a 28 W integrated-class part built on a 4 nm process, designed for compact, power-constrained systems. The Intel Arc A580 is a 175 W discrete desktop graphics card with a dual-slot cooler, two 8-pin power connectors, and a recommended 450 W power supply. The benchmark database places the Intel Arc A580 at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU sits at the 50th percentile. For users who need a self-contained, low-power graphics solution with 16 GB of memory, the Ryzen Z2 GPU is the only viable choice. For users who need serious rendering throughput, the Arc A580 delivers substantially higher raw performance, as indicated by its average benchmark score of 57,756 compared to the Ryzen Z2 GPU's average of 0, meaning the database has no recorded benchmark scores for the AMD part. The Arc A580 is the clear pick for desktop gaming and content creation workloads where power draw and physical size are not constraints.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs use completely different architectures, process nodes, and memory technologies. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process, with the chip codenamed Hawk Point. It packs 25,390 million transistors into a 178 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 142.6 million transistors per mm². The Intel Arc A580 uses the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-512 chip, built on a 6 nm TSMC process. Its die is 406 mm² and contains 21,700 million transistors, giving a much lower transistor density of 53.4 million per mm². The Arc A580 belongs to the Alchemist generation within the Arc 5 series, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU is classified as a Console GPU from AMD.

Memory architecture differs dramatically. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses 16 GB of LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus, delivering 119.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A580 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is more than four times the memory bandwidth for the Intel part, which directly impacts texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has a memory clock of 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective), while the Arc A580 runs its memory at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective).

Compute resources also differ substantially. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 32 raster output units, and 12 ray tracing cores. The Arc A580 has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 24 ray tracing cores. The Intel card has four times the shading units and TMUs, and three times the ROPs. Clock speeds tell a different story: the Ryzen Z2 GPU boosts to 2700 MHz from an 800 MHz base, while the Arc A580 boosts to 2000 MHz from a 1700 MHz base. The AMD part's higher boost clock does not compensate for the massive difference in execution resources.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has a single USB Type-C display output, while the Arc A580 offers one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 2.0 outputs. The Arc A580 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface; the Ryzen Z2 GPU has no recorded bus interface in the database.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons between the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU and the Intel Arc A580. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has no recorded benchmark scores at all, with an average benchmark score of 0. The Intel Arc A580, by contrast, has three recorded benchmarks. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc A580 scores 2,229. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 91,657. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 79,381. These scores, combined with its average benchmark score of 57,756, place the Arc A580 at the 87th percentile among all GPUs.

The Arc A580's nearest rivals in the database provide context for its performance tier. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM scores 58,085, which is 0.6% above the Arc A580's average. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57,367, which is 0.7% below. The Intel Arc A570M scores 58,239, 0.8% above. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 58,392, 1.1% above. This clustering indicates the Arc A580 performs within a narrow band around 57,000 to 58,000 in the database's aggregate scoring, with all four nearest rivals within roughly one percent of its average score.

Because the Ryzen Z2 GPU lacks recorded benchmarks, quantitative comparison between the two parts is limited to architecture and specification data. The Arc A580's FP32 throughput is 12.29 TFLOPS, and its FP16 throughput is 24.58 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio. The Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 8.294 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The Intel card holds a clear lead in raw floating point performance, but the AMD part's support for 16 GB of memory gives it an advantage in capacity for large datasets or workloads that require more memory than 8 GB can hold.

The pixel rate and texture rate figures favor the Arc A580 heavily. The Intel card achieves 192.0 GPixel/s and 384.0 GTexel/s, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU manages 86.40 GPixel/s and 129.6 GTexel/s. These figures indicate the Arc A580 can fill frames and apply textures at a much higher rate, which matters for high-resolution gaming and rendering.

Specification Differences

The two products differ in nearly every measured specification. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses a 4 nm process; the Arc A580 uses 6 nm. Transistor count is 25,390 million for AMD versus 21,700 million for Intel. Die size is 178 mm² for AMD versus 406 mm² for Intel. Transistor density is 142.6 million per mm² versus 53.4 million per mm². The Ryzen Z2 GPU has a base clock of 800 MHz and boost clock of 2700 MHz. The Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and boost clock of 2000 MHz. Memory differs in size, type, bus width, and bandwidth: 16 GB LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus with 119.9 GB/s versus 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s. Shading units are 768 versus 3072. TMUs are 48 versus 192. ROPs are 32 versus 96. Ray tracing cores are 12 versus 24. Pixel rate is 86.40 GPixel/s versus 192.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 129.6 GTexel/s versus 384.0 GTexel/s. FP32 is 8.294 TFLOPS versus 12.29 TFLOPS. FP16 is 8.294 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is 28 W versus 175 W. The Arc A580 is dual-slot with two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 450 W PSU, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has no power connectors and no recorded slot width. Display outputs are 1x USB Type-C for AMD versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0 for Intel. The bus interface is absent for AMD and PCIe 4.0 x16 for Intel. Release dates differ: the Ryzen Z2 GPU launched on 2024-12-31, while the Arc A580 launched on 2023-10-09. The Arc A580 has a predecessor (Xe Graphics) and successor (Battlemage), while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has neither recorded. Both are marked as Active in production status.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc A580 delivers 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.58 TFLOPS FP16, compared to the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU's 8.294 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each GPU provide?

A: The Arc A580 provides 512.0 GB/s over a 256-bit GDDR6 interface, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU provides 119.9 GB/s over a 128-bit LPDDR5X interface.

Q: Which GPU consumes less power?

A: The Ryzen Z2 GPU has a TDP of 28 W and requires no power connectors. The Arc A580 has a TDP of 175 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a suggested 450 W power supply.

Q: How does the Arc A580 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The Arc A580's average benchmark score is 57,756. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM is 0.6% above, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE is 0.7% below, the Intel Arc A570M is 0.8% above, and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is 1.1% above.

Q: Which GPU has more memory capacity?

A: The Ryzen Z2 GPU has 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory, which is double the 8 GB of GDDR6 found on the Arc A580.

Q: What display outputs does each GPU offer?

A: The Ryzen Z2 GPU offers a single USB Type-C output. The Arc A580 offers one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 2.0 outputs.