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

When Intel launched its first Arc video cards two years agoI used to be greater than a bit of skeptical. May an organization that deserted its final main desktop GPU mission in 2009 really make a dent in a market dominated by NVIDIA and AMD? Nicely, after I reviewed them in 2022, the Arc A750 and A770 carried out higher than I believed, though they have been additionally held again by Intel’s poor drivers. However it appears Intel has realized from its errors.

The brand new $250 Bow B580 performs higher than AMD’s low-end Radeon 7600, and it will possibly even go toe-to-toe a bit with NVIDIA in the case of price range ray tracing. The one query is whether or not it is value investing in an Intel video card given its difficult business outlook. However for a video card this low-cost, with a worth harking back to the early 2000s, it could be definitely worth the threat.

Intel

Intel’s Arc B580 is a rarity: a $250 GPU that delivers strong gaming at 1080p and 1440p, even with some ray tracing.

Advantages

• Sooner than a Radeon 7600 and RTX 4060
• XeSS scaling works properly
• Cool, quiet efficiency
• Solely $250

Disadvantages

• XeSS isn’t as broadly supported as DLSS 3
• New AMD playing cards might outperform it

$250 at Newegg

The B580 marks the debut of the second-generation Intel Arc Xe2 GPUs, and will probably be joined by the $219 B570 subsequent month. Primarily based on their specs alone, it is easy to see why they’re nice for price range gaming. The B580 options 20 Xe cores, 20 ray tracing models, and a quicker clock velocity than earlier Arc playing cards. Extra importantly, it has 12GB of VRAM with a 192-bit reminiscence interface, giving it greater than sufficient area for 1440p gameplay.

Compared, the $299 NVIDIA RTX 4060 has 8GB of VRAM and a way more restricted 128-bit interface. Even the RTX 4060 Ti sports activities this meager quantity of VRAM, limiting these two GPUs primarily to 1080p gameplay (particularly for those who wished a little bit of ray tracing). AMD Radeon RX 7600which prices round $269, can also be loaded with 8GB of RAM and weaker ray tracing efficiency than NVIDIA and Intel playing cards.

Though Intel has a transparent {hardware} benefit, timing is as soon as once more a serious concern. The Arc B580 has launched as we gear up for CES 2025, the place NVIDIA and AMD are anticipated to showcase new desktop GPUs. Given NVIDIA’s ever-increasing costs, I would not guess on seeing an RTX 5060 round $250, however AMD is a special story. It has been attempting to make an influence on the low- and mid-range GPU marketplace for years, and that would always be the case with its RDNA 4 playing cards. There is a good probability we’ll finally see some form of low-cost next-gen GPU from AMD.

If it’s good to construct a budget-friendly gaming rig within the coming months, the Arc B580 will serve you properly. In my testing, it carried out barely higher than the RTX 4060 Ti in 3DMark’s Timespy Excessive Benchmark take a look at, and it was additionally noticeably quicker than the Radeon 7600. The B580 shined even brighter with ray tracing. I averaged 58fps within the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark operating at 1080p with Extremely graphics settings and mid-range ray tracing. The Radeon 7600, alternatively, typically struggled to remain above 40 fps at comparable settings.

I used to be genuinely shocked by how properly the Arc B580 tackled 1440p gaming. In Dragon Age: The Veilkeeper, I achieved 70fps on common with excessive graphics settings, mid-range ray tracing, and Intel XeSS scaling enabled. That is higher efficiency than you may see on the $700 PlayStation 5 Professional (though, admittedly, Sony’s PSSR AI upscaling would possibly look higher to you). I additionally reached 85 fps on common whereas enjoying Halo Infinite at 1440p with maxed graphics, which was barely higher than the 4060 Ti. Whereas we’re used to price range playing cards being principally restricted to 1080p gaming, the Arc B580’s additional reminiscence clearly makes it properly suited to 1440p.

Competitors nonetheless provides benefits. NVIDIA’s RTX GPUs also can work with its specialised functions, like NVIDIA Broadcaster, which may clear up your audio and video for streams and recordings. Moreover, NVIDIA’s DLSS 3 upscaling is obtainable on over 500 video games, whereas Intel’s XeSS I just cracked 200. After which there’s the problem of drivers: NVIDIA has a long time of expertise creating strong GPU software program, whereas Intel continues to be recovering from its current driver missteps. Not less than the XeSS 2’s AI upscaling appears extra helpful than AMD’s FSR 3 (FidelityFX Tremendous Decision), as Intel’s expertise is considerably higher and may typically improve the efficiency of a recreation of 30% or extra.

The Arc B580 additionally survived a number of hours of benchmarking and gaming with none {hardware} or driver points. Once I first examined the Arc A750 and A770, they typically crashed inside an hour of testing. Intel’s software program has clearly made progress. The reference B580 mannequin I examined additionally stayed comparatively cool underneath load, and it by no means exceeded 64 levels Celsius (which additionally stored its two giant followers from making a lot noise). Though third-party playing cards can be found, I used to be additionally impressed by Intel’s reference design: the B580 feels premium and durable, not low-cost and plastic like many different price range GPUs.

At this level, it seems that Intel has already difficulty keeping Arc B580 in stocka superb uncommon downside for the besieged chip giant. It is simple to see why players are drawn to it: it provides strong 1080p and 1440p efficiency for many new titles, even with a little bit of ray tracing. Lastly, there is a viable $250 GPU that does not make you’re feeling such as you’re hopelessly behind the pack. This can be a clear win for Intel – not less than till we see what’s subsequent from AMD.