AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU vs Intel Arc B580 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural differences between the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU and the Intel Arc B580?

A: The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses AMD’s RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process, while the Arc B580 uses Intel’s Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) on a 5 nm TSMC process. The Ryzen Z2 is a console GPU with 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, whereas the Arc B580 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs.

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The Intel Arc B580 delivers 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 192-bit bus using 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU provides 119.9 GB/s over a 128-bit bus with 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory.

Q: How do the two compare in raw FP32 compute performance?

A: The Arc B580 is significantly ahead, with 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput versus 8.294 TFLOPS for the Ryzen Z2 GPU. The Arc B580 also offers 27.34 TFLOPS of FP16 compute (2:1 ratio), while the Ryzen Z2 provides 8.294 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Ryzen Z2 GPU has a TDP of 28 W and requires no power connectors. The Arc B580 has a TDP of 190 W, uses a single 8-pin power connector, and Intel recommends a 450 W power supply.

Q: Which GPU shows a higher percentile ranking in the database?

A: The Intel Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile against all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU sits in the 50th percentile. The Arc B580’s average benchmark score is 23,021, whereas the Ryzen Z2 has no recorded benchmark scores.

Q: What are the physical dimensions of the Intel Arc B580?

A: The Arc B580 measures 272 mm in length (10.7 inches), 115 mm in height (4.5 inches), and 45 mm in width (1.8 inches), with a dual-slot form factor.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU and Intel Arc B580 represent two fundamentally different design philosophies. The Ryzen Z2 is built on TSMC’s 4 nm process, packing 25,390 million transistors into a 178 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 142.6 million per mm². The Arc B580 uses a 5 nm TSMC process with 19,600 million transistors spread across a much larger 272 mm² die, resulting in a significantly lower density of 72.1 million per mm².

The compute configuration diverges sharply. The Ryzen Z2 GPU employs 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The Arc B580 scales up to 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, more than tripling the shading unit count and quintupling the ROP count. Ray tracing resources also differ: the Ryzen Z2 has 12 RT cores, while the Arc B580 carries 20.

Clock behavior is another distinguishing factor. The Ryzen Z2 has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2700 MHz, allowing for substantial dynamic range. The Arc B580 runs at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost, indicating a locked operating point. Memory clocks are also different, with the Ryzen Z2’s LPDDR5X running at 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective) and the Arc B580’s GDDR6 at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystem reveals a tradeoff between capacity and bandwidth. The Ryzen Z2 offers 16 GB of LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus, prioritizing capacity for console-style workloads. The Arc B580 provides 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, achieving 456.0 GB/s, nearly four times the Ryzen Z2’s 119.9 GB/s. This bandwidth advantage directly feeds the Arc B580’s higher pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, compared to 86.40 GPixel/s and 129.6 GTexel/s for the Ryzen Z2.

Power delivery further separates the two. The Ryzen Z2 sips power at 28 W with no external connectors, making it suitable for integrated or low-power implementations. The Arc B580 consumes 190 W, requires a single 8-pin connector, and carries a 450 W PSU recommendation. The Arc B580 is a dual-slot card with dimensions of 272 mm by 115 mm by 45 mm, while the Ryzen Z2 has no recorded dimensions, reflecting its likely embedded or mobile deployment.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs differ: the Ryzen Z2 provides a single USB Type-C port, while the Arc B580 offers one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1 outputs. The Arc B580 uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface; the Ryzen Z2’s bus interface is not recorded. The Arc B580’s predecessor is listed as “Alchemist,” while the Ryzen Z2 has no predecessor in the database.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records no direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons between the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU and the Intel Arc B580. However, the Arc B580 has a substantial set of individual benchmark scores that provide context for its performance tier. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has no recorded benchmark scores, which limits direct numerical comparison.

The Arc B580’s strongest results come from compute-oriented workloads. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 109,672, and in Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 92,821. These figures indicate strong general-purpose compute throughput, consistent with its FP32 and FP16 specifications. In 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), the Arc B580 records 3,068 points, reflecting modern DirectX 12 rendering performance.

PassMark results show a varied profile. The PassMark G3D score is 15,748, while the G2D score is 709. Legacy DirectX tests reveal lower scores: 183 in DirectX 9, 128 in DirectX 11, 76 in DirectX 10, and 76 in DirectX 12. The PassMark GPU Compute score is 7,729.

The Arc B580’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 23,021. Its nearest rivals in the database are closely grouped. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP averages 23,061, a delta of -0.2% relative to the Arc B580. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 averages 22,895, putting the Arc B580 0.6% ahead. The RTX 3080 averages 23,172, making the Arc B580 0.7% slower. The NVIDIA P106-100 averages 23,249, with the Arc B580 trailing by 1.0%. These margins are narrow, suggesting the Arc B580 sits within a tight performance cluster around the 23,000-point mark.

Without benchmark data for the Ryzen Z2 GPU, the head-to-head comparison relies on theoretical specifications. The Arc B580’s FP32 throughput is 64.8% higher than the Ryzen Z2’s (13.67 versus 8.294 TFLOPS). Its pixel rate is 147% higher, and its texture rate is 230% higher. The bandwidth gap is even larger, with the Arc B580 delivering 456.0 GB/s versus 119.9 GB/s, a 280% advantage. These figures indicate that the Arc B580 would dominate in bandwidth-bound and fill-rate-bound workloads.

The Ryzen Z2 GPU’s advantages are limited to capacity (16 GB versus 12 GB) and power efficiency (28 W versus 190 W). The 4 nm process node and higher transistor density suggest architectural efficiency, but the recorded data shows no performance measurements to validate this. The Ryzen Z2’s 50th percentile ranking versus the Arc B580’s 68th percentile implies the Arc B580 occupies a higher performance tier in the database’s overall distribution.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU | Intel Arc B580 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Xe2-HPG |

| Generation | Console GPU (AMD) | Battlemage (Arc 5) |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 25,390 million | 19,600 million |

| Die Size | 178 mm² | 272 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 142.6M / mm² | 72.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 800 MHz | 2670 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2700 MHz | 2670 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 937 MHz 7.5 Gbps effective | 2375 MHz 19 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | LPDDR5X | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 119.9 GB/s | 456.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 48 | 160 |

| ROPs | 32 | 80 |

| RT Cores | 12 | 20 |

| Pixel Rate | 86.40 GPixel/s | 213.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 129.6 GTexel/s | 427.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.294 TFLOPS | 13.67 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.294 TFLOPS (1:1) | 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 28 W | 190 W |

| Slot Width | Not recorded | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not recorded | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | Not recorded | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x USB Type-C | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 |

| Dimensions | Not recorded | 272 mm x 115 mm x 45 mm |

| Predecessor | Not recorded | Alchemist |

| Launch MSRP | Not recorded | 249 USD |

The Verdict

The recorded data places the Intel Arc B580 in a clearly higher performance tier. Its 68th percentile ranking, average benchmark score of 23,021, and substantial lead in FP32 (13.67 versus 8.294 TFLOPS), pixel rate (213.6 versus 86.40 GPixel/s), and memory bandwidth (456.0 versus 119.9 GB/s) establish it as the stronger compute and rendering device. Its nearest rivals, including the RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, sit within a 1% margin, confirming that the Arc B580 competes at that level.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU’s strengths are different. Its 16 GB memory capacity exceeds the Arc B580’s 12 GB, and its 28 W power envelope with no external connectors makes it suitable for low-power implementations. The 4 nm process and higher transistor density indicate architectural refinement, but the database contains no benchmark scores to substantiate real-world performance. The 50th percentile ranking places it in the middle of the distribution, well below the Arc B580.

For workloads that demand maximum throughput, the data points to the Arc B580. Its higher shading unit count, larger ROP count, and vastly superior bandwidth make it the choice for high-resolution rendering and compute-heavy tasks. The narrow margins against its nearest rivals suggest it delivers consistent performance around the 23,000-point average.

For applications constrained by power or thermal limits, the Ryzen Z2 GPU offers a compelling specification sheet. Its 28 W TDP and 16 GB memory configuration suit scenarios where capacity and efficiency take precedence over raw speed. However, the absence of benchmark data means its real-world standing is unverified.

The launch MSRP for the Arc B580 is 249 USD, recorded once in the database. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has no listed launch MSRP. Buyers seeking a desktop graphics card with documented performance should consider the Arc B580. Systems requiring minimal power draw and integrated-style operation align with the Ryzen Z2 GPU’s profile, though its performance remains unmeasured in the database.