Intel has unveiled a new entry-level graphics card for its Intel Arc lineup, in the shape of the Intel Arc A580. The new card has the potential to be a compelling budget option as it brings current-gen features such as capable ray tracing cores and Intel XeSS support while coming in at a price that significantly undercuts competing AMD and Nvidia cards.
The actual GPU is the same ACM-G10 silicon as in the A770, but cut down to only use parts of the die. As such it will include 24 Xe-cores, which compares to 32 Xe-cores on the A770. It also comes equipped with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which puts it level with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 and ahead of the 6GB used on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060.
These GPU reductions further equate to a total of 384 execution units with 3,072 unified shaders, 384 XMX cores for AI acceleration, 24 ray tracing units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.
The result, according to early reviews, is solid 1080p gaming performance, with 60fps achievable in Cyberpunk 2077 and 120fps in Battlefield 5. Ray tracing is also technically possible but the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 running at 24fps would be playable only with extensive upscaling engaged.
While those sorts of numbers aren’t exactly game-changing, and Intel’s history of middling support for pre-DX12 games means performance might not be support consistent, this card costs only $179. An $80 saving over the next cheapest current-gen option – the RX 7600 – is significant at this price range.
We’ll be getting in the A580 for review as soon as possible to see just how it fares in our tests. In the mean time, you can check out our current choices for best graphics card here.