AMD RX 6600 vs Intel Arc A580: Which is the best budget GPU?

The AMD RX 6600 and Intel Arc A580 are two of the most popular GPUs in the budget sector, bringing a lot of value to users. Both graphics cards have different performance targets and are available at distinct price points. That said, some gamers may find it difficult to decide which GPU to buy between the two. That's because the Intel graphics chips are relatively new on the market, and it's difficult to know how they will perform in the long run.

Can the Intel Arc A580 beat the tried and tested Radeon RX 6600? This article explains more.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

AMD RX 6600 vs Intel Arc A580

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is designed on the RDNA 2 architecture, bringing significant performance improvements and features over its predecessor.

Meanwhile, the Intel Arc A580 is Intel's first attempt at making a video card. It is based on the Alchemist architecture, and these GPUs perform reasonably well. Before comparing both graphics cards, let's look at their specs.

Specs comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPU chip (Image via AMD)

Here are the specs of the AMD RX 6600 and Intel Arc A580:

Specifications	AMD Radeon RX 6600	Intel Arc A580
Shader cores	1792	3072
RT cores	28	24
TMUs	112	192
ROPs	64	96
Base clock speeds	1626 MHz	1700 MHz
Boost clock speeds	2491 MHz	2000 MHz
VRAM size	8 GB GDDR6	8 GB GDDR6
VRAM bus width	128-bit	256-bit
VRAM bandwidth	224 GB/s	512 GB/s
Manufacturing process node	7nm	6nm
Thermal design power (TDP)	132W	175W
Price	$194.99	$159.99

As is evident, there are significant differences between the two graphics cards. The Intel Arc GPU has higher shader cores and bandwidth memory chips.

The VRAM bus width and bandwidth of the Intel Arc A580 is almost double the AMD card, and it should significantly impact the performance of emulator games. Even native games that are VRAM-dependent may run better on the Intel GPU.

The Intel card also has lower boost clocks, which you can increase by overclocking the core. This should push its performance closer to its bigger brother, the Intel Arc A750.

However, its power consumption could potentially increase. It already consumes more power than the AMD RX 6600, and a further increase in consumption may lead to higher bills.

Performance comparison

Intel Arc A580 Graphics Cards (Image via Intel)

We now look at the real-world gaming performance difference between the AMD RX 6600 and Intel Arc A580. All the FPS numbers have been sourced from the TheSpyHood channel on YouTube.

Note: The two video cards were tested at 1080p resolution with high/ultra settings.

Games	AMD Radeon RX 6600	Intel Arc A580
Spider-Man Remastered	109 FPS	115 FPS
Resident Evil 4 Remake	81 FPS	76 FPS
The Last of Us: Part 1	59 FPS	42 FPS
Dying Light 2	65 FPS	59 FPS
Hitman 3	92 FPS	101 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	67 FPS	63 FPS
Far Cry 6	86 FPS	79 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	86 FPS	89 FPS
A Plague Tale Requiem	64 FPS	73 FPS

The result is mixed. The AMD RX 6600 takes the lead in some games, while the Intel Arc A580 trumps in the rest. On average, the former is 1.7% faster than the latter, which is negligible.

Both GPUs can comfortably run modern games without issues. However, the Intel Arc A580 struggles to play The Last of Us: Part 1, which could be because of Intel's driver instability.

This is the first time Intel has tried creating a dedicated GPU, so its drivers haven't reached the maturity it needs. The driver issues cause the Intel graphics card to struggle in certain games, like the one above. But the company appears to be working hard to improve its drivers, which is evident from the results.

Intel's driver is now miles ahead compared to the launch version, but it is still not on the same level as AMD or Nvidia.

Pricing

AMD Radeon RX 6600 series GPUs (Image via AMD)

The pricing is where the Intel Arc A580 takes a clear win. It is available for just $154.99, which is 21% cheaper than the Radeon RX 6600 ($194.99).

Final verdict

The AMD RX 6600 is the best budget GPU. However, it is only 1.7% faster but costs 25% more, so it's not worth the price. I would recommend the Intel Arc A750 instead. It is a decent graphics card that is available at an incredible price. Besides, Intel is working tirelessly on its drivers and releases them every month.

Check out our other GPU comparisons:

AMD RX 7900 XT vs Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super
Radeon RX 7800 XT vs Radeon RX 7900 GRE
Intel Arc A750 vs RTX 406