Intel Arc A580 vs NVIDIA N1X 40SM Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A580 has an average benchmark score of 57756, while the NVIDIA N1X 40SM has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, resulting in an average of 0.

Q: How does the Intel Arc A580 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc A580 sits within a narrow performance band: it is 0.6% below the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, 0.8% below the Intel Arc A570M, and 1.1% below the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each GPU?

A: The Intel Arc A580 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM uses 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the process node and foundry for each chip?

A: The Intel Arc A580 is built on a 6 nm process at TSMC with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with an unknown transistor count on a 382 mm² die.

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA N1X 40SM delivers 24.02 TFLOPS FP32, compared to 12.29 TFLOPS for the Intel Arc A580. For FP16, the NVIDIA chip also leads at 24.02 TFLOPS (1:1), versus 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Arc A580.

Q: What API support does each GPU provide?

A: The Intel Arc A580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Arc A580 uses the DG2-512 chip built on the Xe-HPG architecture, part of the Alchemist generation (Arc 5). It is manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 53.4M per mm². The NVIDIA N1X 40SM uses the GB20B chip on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, belonging to the Blackwell IGP (N1x) generation. It is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 382 mm² and an unknown transistor count.

The two chips differ substantially in their internal execution resources. The Arc A580 has 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and only 40 ROPs. The NVIDIA chip also includes 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores, while the Arc A580 includes 24 ray tracing cores and no listed tensor cores.

The memory subsystems take opposite approaches. The Arc A580 pairs 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the N1X 40SM pairs 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA chip has far more capacity but less than half the bandwidth. Clock behavior also differs: the Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost of 2000 MHz, while the N1X 40SM has a much lower base of 741 MHz but a higher boost of 2346 MHz. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the Arc A580 versus 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) for the N1X 40SM.

Form factor and power delivery further separate the two. The Arc A580 is a dual-slot card with two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 450 W, with a TDP of 175 W. The N1X 40SM is an IGP with no power connectors and an unknown TDP. The Arc A580 connects via PCIe 4.0 x16 and provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0 outputs, while the N1X 40SM connects via PCIe 5.0 x16 and provides a single HDMI output.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries comparing the Intel Arc A580 and the NVIDIA N1X 40SM. The head-to-head results table is empty, and neither GPU records a win in a paired test. Consequently, the comparison must rely on the individual benchmark results recorded for the Arc A580 and the architectural specifications of the N1X 40SM.

The Intel Arc A580 has three recorded benchmark scores. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2229. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 91657. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 79381. These results place the Arc A580 at the 87th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 57756. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM has no recorded benchmark scores, sits at the 50th percentile, and holds an average score of 0.

The closest performance reference for the Arc A580 is the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, which averages 58085, a 0.6% margin over the Arc A580. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE averages 57367, which is 0.7% below the Arc A580. The Intel Arc A570M averages 58239, 0.8% above the Arc A580. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT averages 58392, 1.1% above the Arc A580. All four rivals fall within roughly a two-point percentage band, indicating that the Arc A580 occupies a tightly contested performance tier.

Without measured scores for the N1X 40SM, the raw compute figures provide the only quantitative comparison. The NVIDIA chip rates 24.02 TFLOPS FP32, which is roughly double the 12.29 TFLOPS of the Arc A580. The texture rate favors the NVIDIA chip as well: 750.7 GTexel/s against 384.0 GTexel/s. The pixel rate favors the Arc A580 at 192.0 GPixel/s versus 93.84 GPixel/s, a consequence of the NVIDIA chip having only 40 ROPs. The Arc A580 also holds a bandwidth advantage at 512.0 GB/s versus 273.2 GB/s.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows two GPUs designed for entirely different deployment contexts. The Intel Arc A580 is a discrete, actively measured graphics card with a full suite of benchmark results, an 87th percentile standing, and a clear competitive position among four nearest rivals. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM is an integrated graphics processor with no benchmark scores in the database, a 50th percentile position, and no nearest rivals listed.

For any user evaluating a discrete graphics card, the Arc A580 is the only option with measurable performance data. Its average score of 57756 places it within 1.1% of the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, meaning it trades blows with well-established discrete parts. The N1X 40SM cannot be compared on the same basis because no test results exist.

The NVIDIA chip offers superior raw compute resources: more shading units, more TMUs, higher FP32 throughput, and tensor cores. However, its IGP form factor, unknown TDP, and lack of API support listings (DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan all marked N/A) indicate it is not intended for the same workloads. The Arc A580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it the viable choice for gaming and general graphics applications. The data suggests the Arc A580 is the only one of the two that can be assessed as a functional graphics solution in the contexts the database measures.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measured specification.

• Chip and architecture: Intel DG2-512 on Xe-HPG versus NVIDIA GB20B on Blackwell 2.0.
• Generation: Alchemist (Arc 5) versus Blackwell IGP (N1x).
• Process node: 6 nm versus 5 nm, both at TSMC.
• Die size: 406 mm² versus 382 mm².
• Transistors: 21,700 million versus unknown.
• Base clock: 1700 MHz versus 741 MHz.
• Boost clock: 2000 MHz versus 2346 MHz.
• Memory clock: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective).
• Memory size: 8 GB GDDR6 versus 128 GB LPDDR5X.
• Memory bandwidth: 512.0 GB/s versus 273.2 GB/s.
• Shading units: 3072 versus 5120.
• TMUs: 192 versus 320.
• ROPs: 96 versus 40.
• Ray tracing cores: 24 versus 40.
• Tensor cores: none listed versus 160.
• Pixel rate: 192.0 GPixel/s versus 93.84 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: 384.0 GTexel/s versus 750.7 GTexel/s.
• FP32: 12.29 TFLOPS versus 24.02 TFLOPS.
• FP16: 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 24.02 TFLOPS (1:1).
• TDP: 175 W versus unknown.
• Slot width: dual-slot versus IGP.
• Power connectors: 2x 8-pin versus none.
• Suggested PSU: 450 W versus none listed.
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16.
• Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0 versus 1x HDMI.
• API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4 versus N/A for all three.
• Release date: 2023-10-09 versus 2026-05-31.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A580 wins in the areas that matter for a discrete graphics card in the database. It has measured benchmark scores across 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan, placing it at the 87th percentile. It delivers significantly higher memory bandwidth at 512.0 GB/s, a higher pixel rate at 192.0 GPixel/s, and full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its higher ROP count of 96 supports the pixel throughput advantage. It also has a higher base clock and a larger die with a known transistor count.

The NVIDIA N1X 40SM wins in raw compute and resource scaling. It has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 40 ray tracing cores, and 160 tensor cores, all exceeding the Arc A580. Its FP32 throughput of 24.02 TFLOPS is nearly double that of the Arc A580. Its texture rate of 750.7 GTexel/s is roughly twice the Arc A580's 384.0 GTexel/s. It carries 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory, sixteen times the capacity of the Arc A580. Its boost clock of 2346 MHz exceeds the Arc A580's 2000 MHz. Its PCIe 5.0 x16 interface is newer than the Arc A580's PCIe 4.0 x16.

The specification split reveals complementary strengths. The Arc A580 is built for bandwidth, pixel throughput, and software compatibility. The N1X 40SM is built for compute density, texture throughput, and memory capacity. For any benchmark-driven evaluation, the Arc A580 has the only recorded evidence. For any compute-focused comparison based on specifications alone, the N1X 40SM holds the numerical lead in several key categories.