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Arc B580 vs RTX 5050

The two cheapest current-generation cards, taking opposite approaches. Intel offers 12 GB and a wider memory bus; NVIDIA offers the DLSS ecosystem and lower power draw at the same price.

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Intel Arc B580

$249 MSRP · 12 GB · 190 W · index 27 at 1440p

The most memory you can buy at this price: 12 GB on a 192-bit bus for entry-level money. Ray tracing is respectable for the tier, but the card needs Resizable BAR to perform as intended, and driver maturity varies more than it does on NVIDIA or AMD.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

$249 MSRP · 8 GB · 130 W · index 22 at 1440p

The cheapest way into the RTX 50 feature set. It is an entry-level 1080p card that leans heavily on DLSS to hit modern frame-rate targets, and it uses slower GDDR6 rather than GDDR7.

Full specification comparison

Every row that can be compared marks a winner. Rows where the two cards match, or where a figure is not published, say so.

Specification comparison of Arc B580, RTX 5050
SpecificationArc B580IntelRTX 5050NVIDIA
Price and value
Launch MSRPEssentially tied$249$249
Current priceCompareYourGPU does not publish a price it has not verified.Check current priceCheck current price
Performance per $100Performance index at 1440p per $100 of launch MSRP.Best in this row: 10.88.8
Performance
CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here.Best in this row: 3127
CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here.Best in this row: 2722
CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here.Best in this row: 2016
CompareYourGPU estimate, 100 = fastest card here.Best in this row: 2421
Measured suite average at 1440pNot compared: data missing for at least one cardThird-party geometric mean across their game suite, run with vendor upscaling at Quality. A different test from the estimated row below, not a check on it.37.2 FPS (ComputerBase)Not tested
Estimated FPS at 1440pModelled estimate for a typical modern AAA game at High settings with no upscaling. Not a measurement.Best in this row: 50-70 FPS40-55 FPS
Memory
Best in this row: 12 GB8 GB
GDDR6GDDR6
Best in this row: 192-bit128-bit
Best in this row: 456 GB/s320 GB/s
Memory speed19 GbpsBest in this row: 20 Gbps
Graphics processor
ArchitectureXe2 (Battlemage)Blackwell
GPU dieBMG-G21GB207
Essentially tiedOnly comparable within one manufacturer.2,5602,560
Not compared: data missing for at least one card20Data unavailable
Essentially tied2020
Best in this row: 16080
Data unavailableData unavailable
2,670 MHz2,572 MHz
Game clockAMD only.Data unavailableData unavailable
Power
190 WBest in this row: 130 W
Vendor figure where published, otherwise board power plus 300 W of headroom.Best in this row: 500 W (estimate)550 W
Performance per 100 W14.2Best in this row: 16.9
Power connectors1x 8-pin1x 8-pin
Technologies
2nd-generation Intel ray tracing units4th-generation RT cores
XeSS 2 Super Resolution, FSR 3.1DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, FSR 3.1, XeSS
XeSS 2 Frame GenerationDLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation
YesYes
Video encoderXe Media Engine with AV1, HEVC and H.264 encode9th-generation NVENC with AV1 and HEVC encode
Video decoderAV1, HEVC, H.264 and VVC decode6th-generation NVDEC with AV1, HEVC and H.264 decode
Display outputs
DisplayPort3x 2.13x 2.1b
HDMI1x 2.1a1x 2.1b
USB-CNoneNone
Physical
LengthData unavailableData unavailable
Height from bracketData unavailableData unavailable
Not compared: data missing for at least one card2 slotsData unavailable
Release
Launch dateDecember 13, 2024July 2025
GenerationArc B-Series (Battlemage)RTX 50
AvailabilityIn productionIn production

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Winner by category

Each category is decided by the same numbers used everywhere else on the site. A category with no clear leader says so rather than picking one.

  • Performance at 1440p

    Arc B580

    Performance index 27

  • Ray tracing

    Arc B580

    Ray tracing index 24

  • Price

    Essentially tied

  • Performance per dollar

    Arc B580

    10.8 index points per $100

  • VRAM

    Arc B580

    12 GB

  • Memory bandwidth

    Arc B580

    456 GB/s

  • Efficiency

    RTX 5050

    16.9 index points per 100 W

  • Lowest power draw

    RTX 5050

    130 W board power

The shape of the trade-off

All six axes are normalised to a 0-100 scale so they can share one chart. Performance and ray tracing are CompareYourGPU’s estimated indices; value, VRAM, efficiency and features are each card’s standing relative to every other card tracked here.

Normalised comparison of Arc B580, RTX 5050 across six criteria, judged at 1440p.
PerformanceRay tracingValueVRAMEfficiencyFeatures
  • Arc B580
  • RTX 5050
Normalised comparison of Arc B580, RTX 5050 across six criteria, judged at 1440p.
CriterionArc B580RTX 5050
Performance2722
Ray tracing2421
Value10075
VRAM5736
Efficiency1637
Features8585

Performance, memory and value

Estimated performance index at 1440p. 100 is the fastest card CompareYourGPU tracks.

CompareYourGPU estimate aggregated from public review coverage, not a measurement.

Estimated frame rate at 1440p in a typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling.

Modelled from the performance index. Not a measured benchmark. Real results vary widely by title.

VRAM capacity.

Capacity alone is not the whole story: memory bus width and bandwidth decide how much of it the GPU can actually use.

Launch price.

CompareYourGPU scores value from launch MSRP because it does not carry a verified live price feed. Street prices differ.

Which one should you buy?

Maximum performance

Arc B580

Highest estimated performance index at 1440p of the cards compared here, at 27. It is the right answer if frame rate is the only thing you are optimising for.

Best value

Arc B580

Delivers the most performance per dollar of the cards compared, at $249. Choose this if the difference in price matters more to you than the difference in frame rate.

Ray tracing

Arc B580

Strongest ray-traced performance here, with an estimated ray tracing index of 24 at 1440p. It also carries XeSS 2 Super Resolution, which is how ray tracing becomes practical.

Memory headroom

Arc B580

Carries 12 GB, the most headroom of the cards compared at 1440p. Memory is usually what dates a card before raw speed does.

Small or quiet builds

RTX 5050

Best performance per watt of the cards compared, drawing 130 W. That means less heat, quieter fans and less pressure on your power supply.

Best overall

Arc B580

Best balance of speed, price and memory of the cards compared: 50% performance at 1440p, 30% performance per dollar, 20% memory headroom. Not necessarily the fastest.

Arc B580 vs RTX 5050: common questions

Which is the better budget buy?
The Arc B580 offers more memory and more bandwidth for the money, which matters for texture settings and longevity. The RTX 5050 offers DLSS 4 including Multi Frame Generation, lower power draw and no Resizable BAR dependency. On a modern platform the B580 is the stronger hardware; on an older one the RTX 5050 is the safer choice.
What is the Resizable BAR issue with Intel Arc?
Arc cards depend on Resizable BAR, a motherboard feature that lets the processor address the whole of the card's memory at once. Without it, Arc performance drops substantially. Most platforms from the last few years support it, but older ones may not.
Which handles ray tracing better?
Both are entry-level cards where ray tracing is a stretch. Intel's ray tracing hardware is surprisingly capable for the price, but the RTX 5050's DLSS support gives it more ways to claw back the performance cost.

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