Intel Arc B580 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the Intel Arc B580 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB. In the two benchmark tests where both cards were measured, the Intel Arc B580 wins both outright, and the margins are substantial.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Arc B580 scores 92,821, while the GTX 1060 3 GB scores 27,001. That is a delta of 243.8% in favor of the Intel card. This is not a close contest; the Arc B580 delivers more than three times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The OpenCL test tends to stress general-purpose GPU compute, shader math, and memory bandwidth, so the result suggests the Arc B580 has a major advantage in any task that leans on those capabilities.

The Vulkan result is even more lopsided. The Arc B580 scores 109,672, compared to 17,475 for the GTX 1060 3 GB, a delta of 527.6%. That is more than six times the score. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API that rewards raw hardware throughput and efficient driver execution. The data indicates the Arc B580 is in an entirely different performance class here. For context, the GTX 1060 3 GB’s own nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA TITAN Xp and the GeForce GTX 780, with average scores of 19,177 and 19,164, respectively. The Arc B580’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, with average scores of 22,895 and 23,172. The Arc B580 sits in a percentile rank of 68 among all GPUs, while the GTX 1060 3 GB sits at 64. So while both cards are in the middle of the overall distribution, the Arc B580 is measurably closer to much newer, higher-end hardware.

The head-to-head table shows winsA at 2 and winsB at 0. There are no benchmark tests in the database where the GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms the Arc B580. That is a clean sweep, but it is also notably the dataset only includes two overlapping tests. A broader test suite could reveal different dynamics, but based on the recorded measurements, the Arc B580 is the clear winner.

Where Each One Wins

Given the head-to-head results, the use-case split is straightforward but worth examining carefully. The Arc B580 wins in both compute-heavy and graphics-API-heavy scenarios. The OpenCL score of 92,821 versus 27,001 suggests the Arc B580 is far better suited for general compute workloads, such as physics simulations, video encoding, or any application that offloads parallel math to the GPU. The Vulkan score of 109,672 versus 17,475 reinforces that the Arc B580 is also the stronger choice for modern game engines that use Vulkan, as well as for future titles that lean on low-level API optimization.

The GTX 1060 3 GB has no recorded wins. That does not mean it is useless, but the data does not support any scenario where it beats the Arc B580. Its strengths, if any, would have to be inferred from its architecture and specifications rather than from benchmark results. For instance, the GTX 1060 3 GB has a lower TDP of 120 W versus 190 W, and it is an end-of-life product, so it may be more relevant for legacy systems or low-power builds. But in terms of raw performance, the database shows no contest.

The Arc B580 also benefits from a much larger memory pool: 12 GB versus 3 GB. That difference is not directly benchmarked in the head-to-head data, but it implies the Arc B580 can handle larger textures, higher resolutions, and more complex scenes without running out of VRAM. The GTX 1060 3 GB’s 3 GB allocation is a severe limitation for modern games, many of which exceed that capacity even at 1080p. So while the benchmark scores are already decisive, the memory disparity adds another layer of advantage for the Arc B580 in real-world gaming and content creation.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras and fundamentally different design philosophies. The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, and uses a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It packs 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 72.1M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, by contrast, uses the Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process node, also from TSMC. It has 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, with a density of 22.0M per mm². The Arc B580 has nearly 4.5 times the transistor count and more than three times the density, which explains much of its performance advantage.

The core configurations are vastly different. The Arc B580 has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 20 ray tracing cores, a feature the GTX 1060 3 GB lacks entirely. The GTX 1060 3 GB has 1,152 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, and no ray tracing or tensor cores. The Arc B580’s pixel rate is 213.6 GPixel/s versus 81.98 GPixel/s for the GTX 1060 3 GB, and its texture rate is 427.2 GTexel/s versus 123.0 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 13.67 TFLOPS for the Arc B580 versus 3.935 TFLOPS for the GTX 1060 3 GB. These are not small gaps; they are multiples of performance.

Memory architecture also differs. The Arc B580 uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 1060 3 GB uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, with 192.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Both have the same bus width, but the Arc B580’s faster memory type and nearly 2.4 times the bandwidth make a significant difference in memory-bound workloads. The FP16 compute is another point of divergence: the Arc B580 delivers 27.34 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio, while the GTX 1060 3 GB manages only 61.49 GFLOPS at 1:64. That is a staggering difference, which makes the Arc B580 far more capable for AI or machine learning tasks that use half-precision.

The interface and display outputs also differ. The Arc B580 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 1060 3 GB uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The Arc B580 has one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1 outputs; the GTX 1060 3 GB has one DVI, one HDMI 2.0, and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Arc B580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 1060 3 GB supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. The Arc B580 is also an active production product, released on 2024-12-12, whereas the GTX 1060 3 GB is end-of-life, released on 2016-08-17.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc B580. Its FP32 throughput is 13.67 TFLOPS versus 3.935 TFLOPS for the GTX 1060 3 GB. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Arc B580 scores 92,821 against 27,001.

Q: Does the GTX 1060 3 GB win any benchmark in the head-to-head data?

A: No. The head-to-head table shows winsA at 2 and winsB at 0. The only overlapping tests are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the Arc B580 wins both.

Q: How much more memory bandwidth does the Arc B580 have?

A: The Arc B580 has 456.0 GB/s, while the GTX 1060 3 GB has 192.2 GB/s. That is roughly 2.4 times more bandwidth.

Q: Does the GTX 1060 3 GB support ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 1060 3 GB has no RT cores. The Arc B580 has 20 ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The Arc B580 is on a 5 nm TSMC node, while the GTX 1060 3 GB is on a 16 nm TSMC node. The Arc B580 has a transistor density of 72.1M per mm² versus 22.0M per mm².

Q: Which card has more VRAM?

A: The Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6, while the GTX 1060 3 GB has 3 GB of GDDR5. Both have a 192-bit memory bus.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The Intel Arc B580 outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB in every recorded benchmark. The OpenCL delta of 243.8% and the Vulkan delta of 527.6% are not marginal improvements; they represent generational leaps. The Arc B580 also has 12 GB of VRAM versus 3 GB, nearly 2.4 times the memory bandwidth, and a transistor count that is over four times higher. It supports ray tracing, which the GTX 1060 3 GB cannot do at all. The GTX 1060 3 GB is an end-of-life product from 2016, while the Arc B580 is an active product from 2024.

Anyone choosing between these two should pick the Arc B580 unless they have a specific constraint that the GTX 1060 3 GB satisfies, such as a very low power budget (120 W versus 190 W) or a need for legacy DVI output. For gaming at modern resolutions, for compute workloads, or for any future-proofing, the Arc B580 is the only rational choice based on the recorded measurements. The GTX 1060 3 GB’s nearest rivals in the database, such as the NVIDIA TITAN Xp and GTX 780, have average scores around 19,000, which is far below the Arc B580’s average score of 23,021. The Arc B580’s nearest rivals include the RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, which places it in a much higher performance tier.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Arc B580 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB |

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

| Architecture | Xe2-HPG | Pascal |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 19,600 million | 4,400 million |

| Die Size | 272 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 72.1M / mm² | 22.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2670 MHz | 1506 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2670 MHz | 1708 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2375 MHz, 19 Gbps effective | 2002 MHz, 8 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 3 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 456.0 GB/s | 192.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1152 |

| TMUs | 160 | 72 |

| ROPs | 80 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 20 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 213.6 GPixel/s | 81.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 427.2 GTexel/s | 123.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 13.67 TFLOPS | 3.935 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1) | 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 190 W | 120 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

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

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

| Release Date | 2024-12-12 | 2016-08-17 |

| Launch MSRP | 249 USD | 199 USD |