Intel Arc B580 vs Arc A770: Which is the better gaming GPU?
The Intel Arc B580 and the Arc A770 can be hard to choose between, especially given both cards can be scored for around $250 these days. While Intel has formally discounted the Alchemist flagship, third-party AIB variants are still up for grabs in several stores. The older card offers extra VRAM than the B580 while costing about the same, which might add to the confusion of gamers.
To help you choose the ideal option for your budget rig, we have come up with this detailed comparison of the two Intel offerings. Read on to find an analysis of the on-paper specs and framerate numbers scored by either card in some of the latest titles.
The Intel Arc B580 and Arc A770 are capable budget gaming GPUs
The Intel Arc B580 12 GB is designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The Battlemage architecture and the improved Xe2 cores powering it are vastly different from the first iteration of Intel pixel pushers.
Even for a similar on-paper hardware count, the newer GPU will beat the A770 thanks to the efficiency and performance-per-watt improvements that Intel demoed at Computex 2024.
Intel Arc B580 vs Arc A770: Specs comparison
Coming to the specs, the B580 is a cut-down version of a fully fledged Battlemage graphics processor. This is because Intel is yet to debut its flagship A7 series of GPUs based on this new architecture.
This isn't true for the A770, which maxed out the first discrete GPU technology from Team Blue. The key takeaway from this is a much larger die area on the older card with an extremely high core count. This directly relates to the worse power efficiency of the GPU, thereby making it a less lucrative option.
The detailed specs differences between the cards are as follows:
Read more: Intel Arc B580 12 GB vs B570 10 GB
Intel Arc B580 vs Arc A770: Performance comparison
Performance figures are the main differentiator, especially when it comes to budget graphics cards. The B580 confidently drives better framerates in the latest titles thanks to the improved technology powering it.
Below is a comparison of FPS numbers achieved by the two cards. This data was sourced from the YouTube channel Intel Arc Testing.
On average, the B580 12 GB is 20.96% faster than the last-gen flagship. This is pretty huge for a card that cuts $100 in MSRP and targets the mid-range.
However, upon closer analysis of the performance figures, some interesting trends emerge. The biggest gains are noticed in DirectX 12 games. Similar numbers aren't seen in Vulkan titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 and DirectX 11 games like Crysis Remastered.
This observation can likely be explained by software optimization issues. While Intel has polished its drivers over the past couple of years, they still aren't up to par with experienced veterans like AMD or Nvidia.
Intel Arc B580 vs Arc A770: Final conclusion
The Intel Arc A770 has been handsomely discounted lately. We spotted the cheapest offering at $259 for the 16 GB variant. This could make it a lucrative deal for budget gamers. However, we recommend opting for the even cheaper B580, which starts at $249. While you lose four extra gigabytes of VRAM, the 20.96% gain in performance is too much to skimp on.