Intel Arc B580 vs Intel Arc B570: What’s the difference?

You’d be forgiven for thinking there were only two GPU makers for PCs. Nvidia and AMD have the market tied up, with Nvidia leading by quite a way (if the Steam Hardware Survey is any indication). Recently, though, another player has entered the discrete GPU arena, and that third player is Intel. Intel has form in this market, with its standalone i740 GPUs dating all the way back to 1998. More recently we’ve had the first of its Arc GPUs in the form of its “Alchemist” range.

It’s fair to say that this first generation, or A-series of GPUs, suffered serious hiccups when it came to driver support, particularly for older titles. And while there was clearly potential there, ultimately, they were difficult to recommend. The underlying hardware performance wasn’t too far off the pace, at least at the price points Intel shipped them at, so that left plenty of optimism on the table when it came to the second generation, its B-series, codenamed “Battlemage.”

Intel resolved a lot of the compatibility problems with updates to the original “Alchemist” GPUs, and by the time it launched the Arc B580 and B570, things were in a much better place. It is still playing catchup to Nvidia and AMD when it comes to games support, but the performance really isn’t too far off where it needs to be. This is great news if you’re on a tight budget, as Intel launched the B580 and B570 at sub-$250 price points.

Graphics cards are in high demand again now though, forcing pricing upwards, and that extends all the way down to these more affordable options. You’re looking at around $310 for cards based on the Intel Arc B580 and around $260 for B570s, which sets them at roughly $50 more than their launch pricing. They still crop up in sales and deals from time to time though, so they can make for tempting options.

Now that we’ve sorted out pricing, it’s time to compare the specs between the B580 and B570:

A cursory glance will reveal that the B580 has better specs across the board. That’s because the B580 is aimed at 1440p gaming, while the B570 is more suited to 1080p. That’s Intel’s intention, at least, but the good news is that both cards largely deliver on that promise. You may have to get your hands dirty in the graphics setting screens to get the most out of these cards with more modern and demanding titles, but that’s always going to be true at this price point.

One thing that is worth highlighting from the specs table is the amount of VRAM both cards lay claim to. The fact that the B580 ships with 12GB of memory means that it has plenty of space for the latest games and ensures that more recent titles won’t struggle in the way that they can on 8GB models. The same is true for the B570 as well, which packs 10GB onto its cards, giving it an edge against the 8GB competition. Intel knows what it’s doing here.

There are plenty of benchmarks to pore over if that’s your thing, with the likes of Digital Foundry for one, giving the B580 a good workout across a wide range of games. Hardware Unboxed has plenty of testing for the Intel Arc B570 as well. These are just a few example reviews, and you should find reviews across your favorite sites and channels.

The takeaway in terms of performance though echoes what we said at the start. The performance is largely there, and it’s comparable or even better than the likes of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, albeit with the proviso that there are still a few games out there that either don’t run as well as Nvidia’s or AMD’s offerings or fail to run at all. Intel’s done impressive work on this front, but all it takes is for one game you love to not work and you’re going to be incredibly frustrated.

It’s worth highlighting that Ray Tracing performance is impressive too. It feels like this is a feature where Nvidia is generally perceived to be way ahead of the rest, but the B580 manages to pull some impressive performance figures, particularly in Cyberpunk 2077 and Metro Exodus, making it an affordable option for some of the best looking games around. Don’t dismiss Intel’s GPUs on this point alone, basically.

Should you buy an Intel Arc B580 or B570? That all depends on your budget and what you’re trying to do. It’s fair to say that even allowing for the price increases, these are still some of the best “budget” GPUs around. Of the two, you do get a lot more for your money with the B580, but it does depend on the games you play, at what resolutions, and what level of fiddling you’re prepared to put up with.

Ultimately, it’s the price that defines whether you should consider either GPU. Nvidia has the lead at the high-end, there’s no question there. And in the mid-range there’s an argument to be made for AMD’s more recent offerings, although it’s a close battle with Nvidia depending on just how much cash you have to splash on your graphics card. Intel does definitely get a look in at the more affordable end of the scale though, as long as you can live with somewhat patchy game support.

It’s worth noting that the next range of Intel Arc GPUs, the so-called C-Series or “Celestial”, has been cancelled as Intel refocuses its efforts on AI workloads and datacenter markets. The fourth-generation cards, the follow-up D-Series or “Druid”, are potentially still on the way though, so all this work may pay off in the future.