Intel Arc A580 vs NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal Comparison

The NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and Intel Arc A580 represent two very different moments in GPU history, separated by seven years of architectural evolution. One is a former flagship from the Pascal era, built on a now-mature 16 nm process, while the other is a modern midrange contender from Intel’s first discrete desktop generation, fabricated on a dense 6 nm node. The database provides a limited but telling set of benchmarks, and a close look at the recorded numbers reveals a clear shift in capability.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal has a higher average benchmark score of 72098, compared to the Intel Arc A580’s average of 57756.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Intel Arc A580 scores 91657 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 27.2% higher than the TITAN X Pascal’s score of 66696. This is a decisive win for the Intel card.

Q: Is the TITAN X Pascal faster than the Arc A580 in any benchmark?

A: In the recorded head-to-head data, the TITAN X Pascal does not win any of the two benchmarks. The Intel Arc A580 wins both the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests.

Q: What is the closest rival to the TITAN X Pascal in the database?

A: The nearest rival to the TITAN X Pascal by average score is the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, which scores 72379 and sits 0.4% behind. Another close competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 6650M with 71768, just 0.5% behind.

Q: What is the closest rival to the Intel Arc A580 in the database?

A: The closest rival to the Intel Arc A580 is the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, with an average score of 58085, placing it 0.6% ahead of the Arc A580. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE trails the Arc A580 by 0.7% with a score of 57367.

Q: Which GPU supports hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the Intel Arc A580 includes dedicated ray tracing cores, with 24 RT cores. The NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal has no RT cores, as it predates the RTX generation.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by more than just release dates; they represent fundamentally different design philosophies and manufacturing eras. The TITAN X Pascal uses the GP102 chip built on TSMC’s 16 nm process, housing 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.1 million per mm². In contrast, the Intel Arc A580 uses the DG2-512 chip on TSMC’s 6 nm node, packing 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die, achieving a dramatically higher density of 53.4 million per mm². This nearly doubled density is a hallmark of process advancement, but raw transistor count alone does not guarantee performance parity.

The TITAN X Pascal deploys 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The Arc A580 has fewer shading units at 3072 and fewer TMUs at 192, but it matches the TITAN’s 96 ROP count. Crucially, the Intel architecture introduces 24 ray tracing cores, a feature absent from the Pascal generation entirely. This reflects a shift in graphics workloads: the Arc card is designed for modern rendering techniques that the older card cannot accelerate in hardware.

Memory subsystems tell a different story. The TITAN X Pascal uses 12 GB of GDDR5X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 480.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A580 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a narrower 256-bit bus, but its higher memory clock (16 Gbps effective) yields 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, a slight advantage in raw throughput. The older card has more capacity, while the newer card has marginally higher bandwidth.

API support also diverges. The Arc A580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), including features like mesh shaders and variable-rate shading, whereas the TITAN X Pascal tops out at DirectX 12 (12_1). Both share OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the Intel card’s feature set aligns with contemporary console and PC titles that leverage DX12 Ultimate.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only two common benchmarks between these GPUs, and in both cases, the Intel Arc A580 emerges ahead. The most dramatic difference appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the Arc A580 scores 91657 against the TITAN X Pascal’s 66696. That is a 27.2% margin in favor of the Intel card, a sizeable lead that suggests compute-heavy workloads benefit from the newer architecture’s higher FP32 throughput (12.29 TFLOPS versus 10.97 TFLOPS) and its efficient 2:1 FP16 ratio.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is a tighter contest. The Arc A580 scores 79381, while the TITAN X Pascal scores 77499, a difference of 2.4% in the Intel card’s favor. This narrow win indicates that in graphics-centric API workloads, the two cards are far closer, with the Pascal generation’s raw shading and raster hardware still competing well. Given that the TITAN X Pascal sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Arc A580 sits at the 87th, the Vulkan result aligns with their ranking: the TITAN is slightly higher overall, but the Arc’s modern feature set and driver maturity for Vulkan close the gap.

The TITAN X Pascal wins zero of the two recorded benchmarks. This is a significant outcome: a former flagship card, once priced at a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD, cannot beat a midrange Intel offering from 2023 in these compute and graphics tests. The Arc A580’s wins are not flukes; the margins suggest the Intel card handles parallel computation more efficiently, likely due to its improved shader architecture and newer process node.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for buyers who prioritize synthetic benchmark performance. The Intel Arc A580 is the faster card in the two tests recorded, with a commanding lead in OpenCL and a respectable edge in Vulkan. For users running compute-heavy applications, such as content creation or data science tasks that leverage OpenCL, the Arc A580’s 27.2% advantage is substantial. Its higher FP32 throughput and dedicated ray tracing cores also make it a more future-proof choice for games that implement DX12 Ultimate features.

The NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal still holds value in its 12 GB memory buffer, which exceeds the Arc’s 8 GB, and its higher percentile ranking (91st versus 87th) indicates that across the full database of benchmarks, it remains a more capable all-around performer when averaged with other tests not present in this direct comparison. The TITAN X Pascal’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 and Radeon RX 6650M, sit within 0.5% of its average score, showing it is still competitive in its class. However, it lacks hardware ray tracing and cannot match the Arc’s raw compute metrics.

Ultimately, the choice depends on workload. For modern gaming with ray tracing or compute-heavy tasks, the Intel Arc A580 appears better suited. For legacy compatibility or scenarios requiring 12 GB of VRAM, and where the specific Vulkan or OpenCL tests are not the primary concern, the TITAN X Pascal remains a viable option, though its end-of-life production status means support will dwindle. The Intel card is actively produced and newer.

Specification Differences

| Feature | NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal | Intel Arc A580 |

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

| Process Node | 16 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 11,800 million | 21,700 million |

| Die Size | 471 mm² | 406 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 53.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1417 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1531 MHz | 2000 MHz |

| Memory | 12 GB GDDR5X | 8 GB GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 480.4 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 3072 |

| TMUs | 224 | 192 |

| ROPs | 96 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 24 |

| FP32 Performance | 10.97 TFLOPS | 12.29 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 171.5 GFLOPS (1:64) | 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 175 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2016-08-01 | 2023-10-09 |

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A580 wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. Its 27.2% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 2.4% lead in Geekbench Vulkan indicate that users prioritizing these compute and graphics API tests will see better results with the Intel card. The higher FP32 throughput of 12.29 TFLOPS versus 10.97 TFLOPS, along with the thicker 2:1 FP16 ratio, supports workloads that leverage half-precision math. The inclusion of 24 RT cores means modern games utilizing ray tracing will have hardware acceleration, a capability the TITAN X Pascal simply does not possess. The Arc A580 also draws less power (175 W versus 250 W) and supports PCIe 4.0, which can help with data transfer bandwidth in newer systems.

The NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, despite losing both direct comparisons, retains advantages in specific areas. Its 12 GB GDDR5X memory provides 4 GB more capacity than the Arc A580, which can be critical for large dataset processing or high-resolution texture packs. The 384-bit memory bus, though lower in bandwidth, offers different memory subsystem characteristics that may benefit certain professional workloads. Its average benchmark score of 72098 places it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, higher than the Arc A580’s 87th percentile, suggesting that in a broader suite of tests, the TITAN X Pascal would win more often. The GPU’s nearest rivals are close: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 (72379, 0.4% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M (71768, 0.5% behind) show the TITAN remains competitive within its tier. For users who rely on older APIs or have workloads that favor the Pascal architecture’s design, the TITAN X Pascal remains a capable contender, provided its end-of-life status and higher power requirement are acceptable.