Intel Arc A580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Arc A580 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER in the only shared benchmark test?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Intel Arc A580 scores 2229, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER scores 3075. The NVIDIA card wins this test by 27.5%.

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

A: The Intel Arc A580 has an average benchmark score of 57756, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has an average score of 3075. The Intel card's average is based on three tests, whereas the NVIDIA card's average is based on a single test.

Q: What memory configurations do these two graphics cards use?

A: The Intel Arc A580 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER uses 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count and what is the difference in die size?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, while the Intel Arc A580 has 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip achieves a higher transistor density of 120.6M per mm² compared to Intel's 53.4M per mm².

Q: What are the TDP and power connector requirements for each card?

A: The Intel Arc A580 has a TDP of 175 W and uses 2x 8-pin power connectors with a suggested PSU of 450 W. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has a TDP of 415 W and uses a single 16-pin power connector, with no suggested PSU listed in the database.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database?

A: The Intel Arc A580 ranks in the 87th percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER ranks in the 19th percentile. This percentile is based on average benchmark scores across the tests each card has recorded.

Where Each One Wins

The data splits the two cards into very different roles. The Intel Arc A580 delivers a broad set of benchmark results across 3DMark Steel Nomad, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. Its average score of 57756 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs in the database, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM at 58085 (0.6% ahead), the Intel Arc A570M at 58239 (0.8% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT at 58392 (1.1% ahead). The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE sits 0.7% behind at 57367. This clustering indicates the Arc A580 competes in a dense performance band where small deltas separate several cards.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER, by contrast, has only one recorded benchmark result: 3075 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its average benchmark score is 3075, and its percentile ranking among all GPUs is 19. Its nearest rivals are dramatically different in character: the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 at 3163 (2.8% ahead), the Intel Arc Pro B60 at 3182 (3.4% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce 820A at 2983 (3.1% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M at 2967 (3.6% behind). This grouping suggests the single Steel Nomad result places the RTX 5080 SUPER near older or lower-tier cards in the database, but the limited test coverage prevents drawing broader conclusions about its general performance profile.

The Intel card wins on the strength of multiple benchmark results and a high percentile standing. The NVIDIA card wins the single head-to-head comparison in Steel Nomad, but its database footprint is sparse. The use-case split is therefore not about raw performance tiers alone; it is about which card has demonstrated consistent performance across multiple workloads versus which has a single data point.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different design lineages. Intel's Arc A580 uses the DG2-512 chip built on the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist generation under the Arc 5 family. The chip is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, contains 21,700 million transistors, and measures 406 mm². The transistor density is 53.4M per mm².

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER uses the GB203 chip built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 50-series generation. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, contains 45,600 million transistors, and measures 378 mm². The transistor density is 120.6M per mm², which is more than double the Intel chip's density. The Blackwell 2.0 chip packs more than twice the transistors into a smaller die.

The compute resources differ substantially. The Intel Arc A580 has 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, and 24 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 ray tracing cores, and 336 tensor cores. The NVIDIA card also has a tensor core array that the Intel card lacks entirely, which is relevant for workloads that use tensor operations.

Display output versions also differ. The Intel card offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0, while the NVIDIA card offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so the API feature sets match at the version level.

Specification Differences

The clock speeds differ markedly. The Intel Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 2000 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER has a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. The memory clock for both is listed as 2000 MHz, but the effective data rate differs: Intel runs at 16 Gbps effective, while NVIDIA runs at 32 Gbps effective.

Memory capacity and type are major separators. Intel uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA uses 24 GB of GDDR7 with a 256-bit bus and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has three times the memory capacity and exactly double the bandwidth.

Compute rates scale with the core counts. Intel delivers 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.58 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. NVIDIA delivers 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 and 56.28 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. The pixel rate for Intel is 192.0 GPixel/s, while NVIDIA reaches 293.1 GPixel/s. The texture rate for Intel is 384.0 GTexel/s, while NVIDIA reaches 879.3 GTexel/s.

Power and physical specifications differ as well. Intel has a TDP of 175 W, uses 2x 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. NVIDIA has a TDP of 415 W and uses a single 16-pin power connector. The NVIDIA card has recorded dimensions of 304 mm length, 137 mm height, and 40 mm width. The Intel card has no dimensions listed in the database. Both are dual-slot cards. The bus interface differs: Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while NVIDIA uses PCIe 5.0 x16.

The release dates are also far apart. Intel's Arc A580 launched on 2023-10-09. NVIDIA's RTX 5080 SUPER has a release date of 2025-12-31. Intel lists its predecessor as Xe Graphics and its successor as Battlemage. NVIDIA has no predecessor or successor listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the database is the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The Intel Arc A580 scores 2229, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER scores 3075. The NVIDIA card wins with a delta of 27.5% over the Intel card. This is the only head-to-head result, and it is the sole benchmark recorded for the NVIDIA card.

The Intel card's other results provide context for what it can do beyond this single test. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 91657, and in Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 79381. These results contribute to its average of 57756 and its 87th percentile ranking. The NVIDIA card has no corresponding Geekbench results in the database, so no comparison is possible in those workloads.

The 27.5% margin in Steel Nomad is substantial, but the database does not show whether that margin extends to other workloads. The Intel card's nearest rivals in the database are all within about 1% of its average score, which indicates that its measured performance is well validated by multiple nearby data points. The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals are within 3.6% of its average, but those rivals are not comparable modern GPUs; they include the NVIDIA Quadro P1000, the NVIDIA GeForce 820A, the Intel Arc Pro B60, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M. This suggests the NVIDIA card's single result has not been positioned against similarly classed hardware in the database.

The Verdict

The Intel Arc A580 shows a well-rounded profile with three benchmark results, an average score of 57756, and an 87th percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals in the database are all within 1.1% of its average score, which places it in a tightly contested performance band. This card appears suited to users who want a card with validated performance across multiple general-purpose compute and graphics tests, as evidenced by its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 91657 and 79381 respectively.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER shows a single benchmark result of 3075 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 27.5% ahead of the Intel card in that specific test. Its average of 3075 and 19th percentile ranking reflect the limited data available. The card's nearest rivals include older NVIDIA models and an Intel Arc Pro B60, all within 3.6% of its average. The 24 GB GDDR7 memory, 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, and 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 performance are recorded specifications that indicate a high-end part, but the database contains only one measured result to confirm its standing.

The data suggests the Intel card is the more thoroughly characterized option, while the NVIDIA card has a single strong result that has not been cross-validated across other benchmarks. Users interested in a card with broad benchmark coverage and a high percentile rank would look at the Intel Arc A580. Users focused on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 workload specifically would see the NVIDIA card hold a clear 27.5% advantage in that test. The recorded specifications for the NVIDIA card point to a much larger memory pool and higher compute throughput, but the database currently supports only the one head-to-head comparison.