The brand new king of $250 GPUs (for now)

When Intel debuted its first Arc video cards two years ago, I used to be greater than a bit of skeptical. Might an organization that famously gave up on its final main desktop GPU undertaking in 2009 truly make a dent in a market dominated by NVIDIA and AMD? Properly, after I reviewed them in 2022, the Arc A750 and A770 turned out higher than I assumed, although they had been additionally held again by Intel’s poor drivers. But it surely appears Intel has realized from its errors.

The brand new $250 Arc B580 performs higher than AMD’s low-end Radeon 7600, and it will possibly even tangle a bit with NVIDIA in relation to funds ray tracing. The one query is that if it is value investing in an Intel video card given its rocky corporate outlook. However for such an affordable video card, with a value that harkens again to the early 2000s, the chance could also be value it.

The B580 marks the debut of Intel’s second-generation Arc Xe2 GPUs, and it will be joined by the $219 B570 subsequent month. Primarily based on their specs alone, it is simple to see why they’re compelling for funds video games. The B580 options 20 Xe cores, 20 ray tracing items and a sooner clock velocity than the earlier Arc playing cards. Most significantly, although, it is rocking 12GB of VRAM with a 192-bit reminiscence interface, giving it greater than sufficient room to pump out 1440p gameplay.

The $299 NVIDIA RTX 4060, compared, is caught with 8GB of VRAM and a much more restricted 128-bit interface. Even the RTX 4060 Ti sports activities that meager quantity of VRAM, limiting each of these GPUs principally to 1080p gameplay (particularly in case you needed a little bit of ray tracing). AMD’s Radeon RX 7600, which works for round $269, can also be burdened with 8GB of RAM and weaker ray tracing efficiency than NVIDIA and Intel’s playing cards.

Whereas Intel has a transparent {hardware} benefit, timing is as soon as once more a significant concern. The Arc B580 launched as we’re getting ready for CES 2025, the place each NVIDIA and AMD are anticipated to point out off new desktop GPUs. Given NVIDIA’s ever-increasing costs, I would not guess on seeing an RTX 5060 round $250, however AMD is one other story. It has been making an attempt to make an impression within the low- and mid-range GPU marketplace for years, and that’s reportedly still the case with its RDNA 4 playing cards. There is a good probability we’ll finally see some kind of cheap next-gen GPU from AMD.

If it is advisable to construct a funds gaming rig within the subsequent few months or so, although, the Arc B580 will serve you effectively. In my testing, it scored barely increased than the RTX 4060 Ti in 3DMark’s Timespy Excessive Benchmark, and it was additionally noticeably sooner than the Radeon 7600. The B580 shone even brighter with ray tracing. I hit a 58 fps common within the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark operating at 1080p with Extremely graphics settings and mid-range ray tracing. The Radeon 7600, alternatively, generally struggled to remain above 40 fps with comparable settings.

I used to be genuinely stunned by how effectively the Arc B580 tackled 1440p gaming. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I hit 70 fps on common with excessive graphics settings, mid-range ray tracing and Intel’s XeSS upscaling flipped on. That is higher efficiency than you may see on the $700 PlayStation 5 Professional (although admittedly, Sony’s PSSR AI upscaling may look higher to your eyes). I additionally hit 85 fps on common whereas taking part in Halo Infinite in 1440p with maxed out graphics, which was barely higher than the 4060 Ti. Whereas we’re used to funds playing cards being primarily restricted to 1080p gaming, the Arc B580’s extra reminiscence clearly makes it effectively suitedfor 1440p.

Nonetheless, there are advantages that the competitors provides. NVIDIA’s RTX GPUs also can work with its specialised apps, like NVIDIA Broadcaster, which may clear up your audio and video for streams and recordings. Moreover, NVIDIA’s DLSS 3 upscaling is offered on over 500 video games, whereas Intel’s XeSS just cracked 200. After which there’s the driving force concern: NVIDIA has many years of expertise crafting strong GPU software program, whereas Intel continues to be recovering from its current driver missteps. A minimum of the XeSS 2 AI upscaling appears extra helpful than AMD’s FSR 3 (FidelityFX Tremendous Decision), as Intel’s tech appears to be like dramatically higher and might typically enhance a sport’s efficiency by 30 p.c or extra.

The Arc B580 additionally survived a number of hours of benchmarking and gaming with none {hardware} or driver points. After I first examined the Arc A750 and A770, they might typically crash inside an hour of testing. Intel’s software program has clearly made some progress. The B580 reference mannequin I examined additionally stayed comparatively cool below load, and it by no means surpassed 64 levels celsius (which additionally stored its two massive followers from ever making a lot noise). Whereas there can be third-party playing cards obtainable, I used to be additionally impressed by Intel’s reference design: The B580 feels premium and durable, not low cost and plasticky like many different funds GPUs.

At this level, it looks as if Intel is already having trouble keeping the Arc B580 in stock, a uncommon good drawback for the beleaguered chip giant. It’s simple to see why players are smitten: It delivers strong 1080p and 1440p efficiency for many new titles, even with a little bit of ray tracing. Lastly, there’s a viable $250 GPU that doesn’t make you’re feeling such as you’re desperately behind the pack. It’s a transparent win for Intel – at the least till we see what’s new from AMD.