Intel Arc B580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile and the Intel Arc B580 represent two very different approaches to GPU design, separated by nearly three years of release dates and built on entirely different architectures. The recorded data shows a clear split: the mobile Ampere part wins the majority of benchmark comparisons, while the Intel Battlemage card takes specific modern workloads. Across ten head-to-head tests, the NVIDIA GPU claims eight victories, with the Intel card taking two, yet the overall average benchmark scores tell a closer story than that count suggests. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile averages 25,740 points across all recorded tests, while the Arc B580 averages 23,021 points, a gap of roughly 11.8 percent in favor of the older mobile chip.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant NVIDIA victory comes in the PassMark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 131 against the Arc B580's 76, a 72.4 percent advantage. This is an enormous margin for a legacy API, and it signals that the Ampere architecture retains strong driver efficiency for older workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL result reinforces this dominance, with the NVIDIA card scoring 117,866 versus 92,821, a 27 percent lead. That OpenCL gap is particularly relevant for compute tasks, as it shows the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivering substantially higher general-purpose throughput despite its lower boost clock.

The PassMark DirectX 11 test shows a 28.1 percent lead for NVIDIA, with scores of 164 and 128. The DirectX 12 result narrows considerably, with NVIDIA winning 88 to 76, a 15.8 percent margin. The DirectX 9 test shows a 9.8 percent edge, 201 to 183. The 2D graphics test also favors NVIDIA, 818 to 709, a 15.4 percent difference. The overall 3D score, PassMark G3D, gives NVIDIA a 22.5 percent advantage at 19,288 versus 15,748. The compute-focused PassMark GPU Compute test shows a narrower 9.6 percent lead, 8,471 to 7,729.

The Intel Arc B580 wins the two most modern tests. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DirectX 12 test, the Intel card scores 3,068 against 2,869, a 6.5 percent advantage. This is the most relevant result for contemporary gaming, as Steel Nomad represents modern DirectX 12 workloads. The Geekbench Vulkan test also goes to Intel, 109,672 versus 107,502, a 2 percent margin. These two wins suggest that the Xe2-HPG architecture is well optimized for the latest graphics APIs, even if it lags in legacy and compute scenarios.

The pattern is clear: NVIDIA dominates the older DirectX API tests and compute workloads, while Intel takes the newest DirectX 12 and Vulkan benchmarks. The fact that the Arc B580 wins Steel Nomad by 6.5 percent despite having fewer shading units and lower FP32 throughput indicates that architectural efficiency and driver optimization for modern APIs can overcome raw compute advantages.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 25,740, compared to the Intel Arc B580's 23,021. The NVIDIA card also sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs, while the Intel card sits at the 68th percentile.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B580 win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the Arc B580 wins two of the ten head-to-head tests. It takes the 3DMark Steel Nomad DirectX 12 test with a score of 3,068 versus 2,869, a 6.5 percent margin, and the Geekbench Vulkan test with 109,672 versus 107,502, a 2 percent margin.

Q: How close are the two cards to their nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, which averages 25,726, just 0.1 percent behind. The Arc B580's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP at 23,061, a 0.2 percent difference. Both cards sit very close to their closest competitors in overall average score.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in either direction?

A: The largest gap is NVIDIA's 72.4 percent lead in the PassMark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 131 and the Arc B580 scores 76. The smallest gap is Intel's 2 percent win in Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: How do the two cards compare in compute performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile leads in both compute-oriented tests. It scores 117,866 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 92,821, a 27 percent lead, and 8,471 in PassMark GPU Compute versus 7,729, a 9.6 percent lead.

Q: What do the nearest rivals suggest about each card's positioning?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile competes with workstation and mobile-class parts like the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 and AMD Radeon RX 6700M, with deltas of 0.1 and 0.4 percent respectively. The Arc B580 competes with older desktop cards like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, with deltas of 0.6 and negative 0.7 percent.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the GA103 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, containing 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The Intel Arc B580 uses the BMG-G21 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a much smaller 272 mm² die, achieving a density of 72.1 million per square millimeter. The Intel chip packs more transistors per area, a direct result of the denser process node, but the NVIDIA chip has more total transistors.

The compute configuration differs substantially. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7,424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The Arc B580 has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Despite having roughly one-third the shader count, the Intel card achieves a higher pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s versus 121.0 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s versus 292.3 GTexel/s. The boost clock difference explains this: Intel runs at 2,670 MHz for both base and boost, while NVIDIA runs at 810 MHz base and 1,260 MHz boost. The Intel card's much higher clock speed allows fewer cores to produce more throughput in pixel and texture operations.

Ray tracing hardware also differs. The NVIDIA card has 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores, while the Intel card has 20 ray tracing units and no tensor core listing. The FP32 compute figures reflect the core count difference: NVIDIA delivers 18.71 TFLOPS while Intel delivers 13.67 TFLOPS. In FP16, NVIDIA also delivers 18.71 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while Intel delivers 27.34 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning Intel has a significant advantage in half-precision workloads.

Memory configurations differ as well. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 456.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has more memory and more bandwidth, but the Intel card has faster effective memory at 19 Gbps versus 16 Gbps. The power envelope is also very different: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is rated at 115 W with no power connectors (portable device dependent), while the Arc B580 is rated at 190 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W.

The interface and physical design differ too. NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The Intel card is a dual-slot design measuring 272 mm in length, 115 mm in height, and 45 mm in width, with display outputs of one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1. The NVIDIA card's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, reflecting its mobile nature. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear division of use cases. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the stronger overall performer, winning eight of ten head-to-head tests and holding a 25,740 to 23,021 average score advantage. It wins every legacy DirectX API test by margins ranging from 9.8 percent to 72.4 percent, and it leads compute workloads by 9.6 to 27 percent. Users running older games, OpenCL compute, or general GPU compute tasks should favor this card based on the recorded results.

The Intel Arc B580 is the better choice for modern DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads. Its 6.5 percent win in 3DMark Steel Nomad and 2 percent win in Geekbench Vulkan indicate that the Xe2-HPG architecture handles contemporary graphics APIs more efficiently. The higher pixel rate and texture rate, combined with the higher clock speed, support this conclusion. Users focused on the latest games and Vulkan titles should consider this card.

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 71st percentile ranking versus the Arc B580's 68th places both cards in similar overall tiers, but the NVIDIA part has a higher ceiling in compute and legacy APIs. The production status also matters: NVIDIA's card is end-of-life, while Intel's is active. The release dates show the NVIDIA card launched in January 2022 and the Intel card in December 2024, so buyers choosing the Intel card are selecting a current product with ongoing support.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in every major specification category. The process node is 8 nm for NVIDIA versus 5 nm for Intel, with Samsung versus TSMC as the foundries. Transistor count is 22,000 million for NVIDIA versus 19,600 million for Intel, on die sizes of 496 mm² versus 272 mm². Transistor density is 44.4M per mm² versus 72.1M per mm². Base clocks are 810 MHz versus 2,670 MHz, with boost clocks of 1,260 MHz versus 2,670 MHz. Memory speed is 16 Gbps effective versus 19 Gbps effective.

Memory size is 16 GB versus 12 GB, bus width is 256-bit versus 192-bit, and bandwidth is 512.0 GB/s versus 456.0 GB/s. Shading units are 7,424 versus 2,560, TMUs are 232 versus 160, and ROPs are 96 versus 80. Ray tracing cores are 58 versus 20, and tensor cores are 232 versus none listed. Pixel rate is 121.0 GPixel/s versus 213.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 292.3 GTexel/s versus 427.2 GTexel/s. FP32 is 18.71 TFLOPS versus 13.67 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 18.71 TFLOPS versus 27.34 TFLOPS. TDP is 115 W versus 190 W, and the bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins in legacy API performance, compute throughput, and memory capacity. Its DirectX 10 lead of 72.4 percent is the single largest margin in the comparison, and its 27 percent OpenCL lead shows strong compute capability. The 16 GB memory capacity and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth give it an edge for large datasets and high-resolution textures. The 22.5 percent G3D lead confirms overall 3D rendering superiority in the PassMark suite.

The Arc B580 wins in modern API efficiency and raw clock speed. Its 2,670 MHz boost clock more than doubles the NVIDIA card's 1,260 MHz, and its pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s exceeds NVIDIA's 121.0 GPixel/s by a significant margin. The FP16 throughput of 27.34 TFLOPS versus 18.71 TFLOPS makes it better suited for half-precision workloads. The 3DMark Steel Nomad win of 6.5 percent and the Vulkan win of 2 percent indicate that the architecture is optimized for the APIs that modern games use most. The Intel card also has a much higher transistor density at 72.1M per mm², suggesting a more efficient design per unit of die area.