Intel Arc B580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and Intel Arc B580 occupy vastly different positions in the hardware landscape, yet their average benchmark scores land surprisingly close. The RTX 3080, a former high-end Ampere flagship, posts an average score of 23,172, while the newer Intel Arc B580 achieves 23,021. Both cards sit at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, and in the nearestRivals data, the RTX 3080 edges out the Arc B580 by a mere 0.7%. This near-parity in aggregate, however, masks a head-to-head record where the RTX 3080 wins 9 out of 10 tests, often by dramatic margins.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided result in the head-to-head suite belongs to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in the Passmark DirectX 10 test, where it scores 170 against Intel’s 76. That is a 123.7% advantage, more than doubling the Arc B580’s output. A similar story unfolds in Passmark GPU Compute, where the RTX 3080’s 14,397 score crushes the Arc B580’s 7,729, a 86.3% lead. These two tests highlight the raw compute and legacy API strength of the older NVIDIA part.

The gap narrows but remains decisive in modern workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3080 scores 152,423 versus 92,821 for the Arc B580, a 64.2% victory. The Passmark G3D test shows a 59.3% margin (25,086 vs 15,748), and Passmark DirectX 11 yields a 61.7% difference (207 vs 128). Even in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a current-generation test, the RTX 3080 leads with 4,407 points against 3,068, a 43.6% gap. The NVIDIA card also wins Passmark DirectX 9 (258 vs 183, +41%), Passmark DirectX 12 (100 vs 76, +31.6%), and Passmark G2D (1054 vs 709, +48.7%).

The single bright spot for Intel is Geekbench Vulkan, where the Arc B580 scores 109,672 versus the RTX 3080’s 33,620. That is a 69.3% swing in Intel’s favor, and it is the only test where the newer architecture decisively outclasses the older one. Vulkan’s low-level overhead appears to favor the Xe2-HPG design, but this one win does little to offset the nine losses. Across every other benchmark, the RTX 3080’s higher shading unit count, wider memory bus, and mature driver stack produce consistently superior frame rates and compute throughput.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 wins 9 out of 10 tests. The only Intel Arc B580 victory comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it leads by 69.3%.

Q: How large is the RTX 3080’s lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 4,407 versus 3,068 for the Arc B580, a 43.6% advantage in this DirectX 12 workload.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX 3080 averages 23,172 points, while the Arc B580 averages 23,021. The RTX 3080 leads by 0.7%, and the nearest rival list shows the Arc B580 trailing the RTX 3080 by exactly that margin.

Q: Does the Intel card win any compute-oriented tests?

A: No. The RTX 3080 wins Passmark GPU Compute by 86.3% (14,397 vs 7,729) and Geekbench OpenCL by 64.2% (152,423 vs 92,821).

Q: How do the two cards compare in legacy DirectX 9 performance?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 258 in Passmark DirectX 9, while the Arc B580 scores 183. That gives NVIDIA a 41% lead in this older API test.

Q: Are the two cards similar in overall ranking among all GPUs?

A: Yes, both sit at the 68th percentile among all GPUs. Their average scores differ by only 151 points, placing them in the same performance tier despite the lopsided head-to-head results.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark. The RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip built on Samsung’s 8 nm process, featuring 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². Intel’s Arc B580, in contrast, employs the BMG-G21 chip fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm node, packing 19,600 million transistors into a 272 mm² die — a density of 72.1 million per mm². The newer process allows Intel to pack more transistors per area, but the RTX 3080’s sheer die size gives it a massive transistor budget.

Core configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 3080 carries 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. The Arc B580 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 80 ROPs, and 20 RT cores, with no tensor core count listed. This 3.4x difference in shading units explains why the NVIDIA card dominates in FP32 compute: 29.77 TFLOPS versus 13.67 TFLOPS. Interestingly, the Arc B580’s FP16 output of 27.34 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) nearly matches the RTX 3080’s FP16 figure of 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1), suggesting Intel’s architecture handles half-precision workloads more efficiently relative to its FP32 throughput.

Memory subsystems also differ fundamentally. The RTX 3080 uses 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc B580 opts for 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 456.0 GB/s. The RTX 3080’s bandwidth advantage is 66.7%, which directly feeds its higher pixel rate (164.2 GPixel/s vs 213.6 GPixel/s for Intel — though the Arc B580 actually leads here) and texture rate (465.1 GTexel/s vs 427.2 GTexel/s). The Intel card’s higher pixel rate is a notable exception, indicating faster ROP throughput despite fewer ROPs.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge on nearly every measurable specification. The RTX 3080 has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, while the Arc B580 runs at a flat 2670 MHz for both base and boost. Memory clocks are similar in effective data rate — 19 Gbps for both — but the NVIDIA card uses GDDR6X while Intel uses GDDR6. Memory capacity favors Intel (12 GB vs 10 GB), but bus width (320-bit vs 192-bit) and bandwidth (760.3 GB/s vs 456.0 GB/s) favor NVIDIA.

Power requirements differ substantially. The RTX 3080 has a 320 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU, using a single 12-pin power connector. The Arc B580 draws only 190 W, needs a 450 W PSU, and uses a standard 8-pin connector. Physical dimensions are close: the RTX 3080 measures 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width; the Arc B580 is 272 mm long, 115 mm tall, and 45 mm wide. Both are dual-slot cards.

Bus interface and display outputs also differ. The RTX 3080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Arc B580 runs at PCIe 4.0 x8. For outputs, NVIDIA provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a; Intel offers 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1. The RTX 3080 was released on 2020-08-31 and is end-of-life, while the Arc B580 launched 2024-12-12 and remains active. The launch MSRP for the RTX 3080 was 699 USD; the Arc B580 launched at 249 USD.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear performance hierarchy: the RTX 3080 is the faster card in almost every workload, with margins ranging from 31.6% in Passmark DirectX 12 to 123.7% in Passmark DirectX 10. Its 43.6% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 59.3% lead in Passmark G3D confirm that this advantage persists in modern gaming and rendering scenarios. The 0.7% average score difference between the two cards is misleading — it is driven entirely by the Arc B580’s singular Vulkan triumph, which inflates Intel’s aggregate while masking consistent defeats elsewhere.

For users prioritizing raw performance in DirectX, OpenCL, or compute workloads, the RTX 3080 is the obvious choice. Its 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 760.3 GB/s bandwidth, and 10 GB of GDDR6X memory deliver results that the Arc B580 cannot match outside of Vulkan. The RTX 3080’s higher TDP of 320 W and 700 W PSU requirement are the trade-offs for this performance.

The Intel Arc B580 appeals to a different set of priorities. Its 190 W TDP, 450 W PSU requirement, and 12 GB of GDDR6 memory make it a more efficient and capacity-friendly option. The Vulkan score of 109,672 versus 33,620 demonstrates genuine architectural strength in that API, and its 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds the RTX 3080’s 164.2 GPixel/s. For users running Vulkan-based titles or valuing lower power draw, the Arc B580 holds merit. However, the benchmark record is unambiguous: the RTX 3080 wins 9 of 10 tests, and buyers seeking maximum frame rates should follow the data, not the aggregate score.