Intel’s Arc B580 is making waves in the graphics card market by offering powerful performance at a price point that feels almost too good to be true. At just $249, the B580 is proving to be more than just another affordable option. It is positioning itself as a genuine competitor to both AMD and Nvidia in the mainstream gaming space.
Benchmarks tell a clear story. At 1440p, the Arc B580 outpaces the AMD Radeon RX 7600 by 5 to 13 percent, and at 4K the lead stretches to more than 25 percent in some games. Against the more expensive RX 7600 XT, the B580 still manages to hold its ground. When tested against Nvidia’s RTX 4060, it consistently comes out ahead by margins ranging from 3 to 10 percent depending on the resolution. This puts the B580 in a unique position, offering performance normally reserved for pricier GPUs while sticking to its budget-friendly tag.
Independent testing further confirms these results. Gamers Nexus found that in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail at 4K, the Arc B580 not only beat the RTX 4060 by almost 30 percent but also performed better than the RTX 4060 Ti and Intel’s own A770 and A750 cards. Even at lower resolutions the B580 maintains a lead, though the gap is smaller, hovering around 10 percent at 1080p.
Of course, the card isn’t perfect. In games like Starfield, performance drops off compared to competitors, and frame pacing can sometimes result in stuttering. Driver support, while improved over earlier Arc releases, still needs additional refinement. There are also reports of issues when enabling ray tracing in some Unreal Engine 4 titles, although this seems to be an engine-level challenge that affects other GPUs as well.
Even with these drawbacks, the Arc B580 has captured the attention of gamers. Its strong combination of price and performance has led to high demand, with many retailers struggling to keep it in stock. Tech publications have already recognized it as one of the best GPUs under $250, particularly for gamers who play at 1080p and 1440p.
In the end, Intel has delivered a product that changes expectations for what a budget graphics card can do. The Arc B580 doesn’t just compete—it challenges both AMD and Nvidia head-on. For gamers looking to stretch every dollar without sacrificing modern performance, it is quickly becoming the go-to choice in 2025.
