Intel Unveils New Arc B580 and B570 GPUs: Superior Performance at a Competitive Price | PS5 sales vs Switch | PS5 sales games | Top 10 gaming consoles | Turtles AI
Intel has announced its new Arc B580 and B570 "Battlemage" GPU lineup for the mainstream market. These graphics cards offer high performance at a price point under $250, with performance that beats the competition like the RTX 4060 and better ray tracing capabilities.
Key Points:
- Intel introduces Arc B580 (12GB) and B570 (10GB) “Battlemage” GPUs.
- Outperforms NVIDIA RTX 4060 with faster ray tracing.
- B580 GPU delivers 24% improvement over A750.
- Availability starting December 13 for B580 and January 16 for B570.
Intel has finally launched its new Arc B580 and B570 discrete graphics cards from the "Battlemage" series, a further evolution of its Xe2 architecture, destined to conquer mainstream gamers with a price that does not exceed $ 250. After the introduction of the first generation Alchemist, which made its debut in 2022, Intel is preparing to challenge the proposals of NVIDIA and AMD with these new models, which are positioned as concrete alternatives for those looking for high performance at a low price. The two variants, B580 with 12 GB of VRAM and B570 with 10 GB, are equipped with the BMG-G21 chip based on the Xe2 architecture, which brings significant improvements in terms of both performance and energy efficiency compared to the previous generation. The BMG-G21, produced on the TSMC 5nm process node, features an architecture with 20 Xe2 cores distributed across five render slices, each with 4 Xe2 cores, 8 512-bit vector engines and a dedicated Ray Tracing (RT) unit. Overall, the card is capable of a 70% performance improvement per Xe core and a 50% increase in efficiency per watt compared to previous models. Thanks to the reduction of the die compared to the previous Alchemist ACM-G10, the chip is more compact, with a surface area of 272mm² and 19.6 million transistors, 33% less than the previous version, while still maintaining superior performance and optimized power consumption. The top-end Arc B580 features 20 Xe2 cores, a clock speed of up to 2670 MHz, and 12GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a maximum bandwidth of 456 GB/s. With a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 190 W, it is powered by a PCIe 4.0 x8 connector and an 8-pin power connector, and is designed to offer excellent performance in games at 1440p and 1080p resolutions. The GPU also supports the latest video compression codecs such as AV1, HEVC, AVC, VP9, and XAVC-H, with three DisplayPort 2.1 outputs and one HDMI 2.1. The slightly less powerful Arc B570 features 18 Xe2 cores, 10GB of GDDR6 with a 160-bit bus, and a bandwidth of 380 GB/s. The performance of this variant is also impressive, with a clock speed of up to 2500 MHz and a TDP of 150 W, remaining a very solid choice for mainstream gaming. Both graphics cards offer a significant improvement over previous solutions such as the Arc A750, with the B580 being 24% faster than the latter, while maintaining the same price of $249.
The strong point of the new Arc B580 and B570 GPUs is undoubtedly their advanced management of Ray Tracing, which allows Intel to establish itself as a competitive alternative to NVIDIA and AMD. In particular, the B580 is said to be around 10% faster than the GeForce RTX 4060 in terms of Ray Tracing, despite the latter being sold at a higher price and with only 8 GB of VRAM. In that regard, the increased amount of VRAM on the new Intel cards translates into a clear performance advantage in games with higher-quality textures and advanced ray tracing, making it ideal for those who play at higher resolutions like 1440p, where cards with more graphics memory can provide a smoother, quality experience. Intel has also highlighted the advantage of its architecture in terms of raster performance, with the B580 offering up to 32% improvements over the competition, making it a great choice for gamers looking for a product that is balanced between rasterization and ray tracing performance.
The new GPUs will be available gradually: the B580 will be available starting December 13, while the B570 will arrive on January 16, 2025, with a wide range of custom models and options to choose from. The “Limited Edition” version of the Arc B580, which includes an updated dual-fan, dual-slot cooling design, promises not only great performance, but also quiet operation and optimized thermal management, with overclocking capabilities that can push the card beyond 3 GHz.
Intel has released two graphics cards that are worthy alternatives in the mainstream segment, offering superior performance at competitive prices.
The combination of advanced architecture, powerful ray tracing, and abundant video memory positions the new Arcs as worthy choices for price-conscious gamers who aren’t willing to compromise on performance.