Intel Arc B580 vs Nvidia RTX 5060: Which is better for gaming?

The Intel Arc B580 and Nvidia RTX 5060 are designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming in the sub-$300 range. These GPUs are among the cheapest in the current generation, making them lucrative for those building a budget system. However, the cards are quite different in terms of underlying hardware: while the Intel video card is based on Battlemage, Nvidia uses Blackwell. The latter is more mature and based on refinements to decades-old technology, a privilege Intel's newly formed GPU division doesn't have.

Team Blue has compensated for this with cheaper prices; the B580 launched at $249, and it drops below that price during sales. Nvidia, on the other hand, competes using its DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, a carefully crafted AI technique that significantly outperforms Intel's XeSS.

Which is the best sub-$300 gaming GPU in mid-2025? Let's try to answer that.

---

The Intel Arc B580 and Nvidia RTX 5060 are powerful mid-range GPUs

The Intel Arc B580 is a sub-$250 budget gaming GPU (Image via Intel)

Looking at the specs of the 5060 and the B580, you can't tell much about the kind of performance to expect. However, it'll give you an idea of what you're signing up for. Both cards ship with multiple compromises to compensate for their lower price points. Let's review the hardware details before moving to performance gaps.

---

Specs comparison

The RTX 5060 8 GB GPU is based on the cut-down AD107 graphics chip. Using a 4nm TSMC process node, this card bundles a 181 mm² die with 3,840 CUDA cores, 30 RT cores, and 120 Tensor cores. While the core counts have been improved, the graphics card still packs 8 GB of VRAM, albeit of the 28 Gbps GDDR7 type. However, the 128-bit bus keeps the total bandwidth limited to 448 GB/s.

The Intel Arc B580, on the other hand, bundles a much larger 272 mm² die. Based on the BMG-G21 graphics chip, you get 2,560 Xe cores, 20 RT units, and 160 XMX units. The GPU also clocks higher than the 5060 and draws more power (145W vs. 190W on the Intel card).

Here are the specs of the two GPUs, side-by-side:

Specification	NVIDIA RTX 5060	Intel Arc B580
Architecture	Blackwell (RTX 50 series)	Xe2-HPG Battalion (“Battlemage”)
Process Node	TSMC 4N, ~21.9B transistors, 181 mm² die	TSMC N5, ~19.6B transistors, 272 mm² die
CUDA / Xe Cores	3,840 CUDA cores, 30 RT cores, 120 Tensor cores	2,560 Xe cores, 20 RT units, 160 XMX (AI) units
Clock Speed	Boost up to 2.50 GHz	~2.67 GHz base/boost (varies by design)
VRAM / Bus	8 GB GDDR7, 128-bit, ~448 GB/s	12 GB GDDR6, 192-bit, ~456 GB/s
Memory Bandwidth	~448 GB/s	~456 GB/s
FP16 / FP32 TFLOPS	~19.2 TFLOPS (FP32), ~58 TFLOPS (FP16)	~13.7 TFLOPS FP32
TDP / Power	145 W	~190 W TBP
Upscaling / Features	DLSS 4 (Multi-Frame Gen), RT Core 4, Reflex 2	Intel XeSS 2 (including Frame Gen & Low Latency), DirectX 12 Ultimate
Launch Price & Date	$299 MSRP, launched May 19, 2025	$249 MSRP, released December 2024

While the B580 is $50 cheaper than the RTX 5060, the Nvidia GPU is currently selling with a $50 coupon on Newegg, effectively making it as costly as the other.

---

Performance comparison

The Nvidia RTX 5060 is a $299 1080p gaming GPU (Image via Nvidia)

Gaming performance in some of the latest AAA titles is the only metric most users look at while deciding between mid-range video cards. Given the differences in their architectures, spec lists can't be used to accurately predict the kind of FPS to expect from the two cards. Here's a look at the framerates the GPUs achieve in some of the latest titles. We sourced these numbers from the YouTube channel Benchmarks for Gamers.

	Nvidia RTX 5060 8 GB	Intel Arc B580 12 GB
DOOM The Dark Ages (RT)	23.1 FPS	34.2 FPS
Clair Obscur Expedition 33	54.5 FPS	41.4 FPS
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (RT)	35.7 FPS	29.3 FPS
The Last of Us Part II Remastered	52.9 FPS	49.7 FPS
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II	50.5 FPS	44.2 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (RT)	34.1 FPS	35 FPS
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2	56.8 FPS	49.2 FPS
Flight Simulator 2024	18 FPS	31.1 FPS
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2	12.1 FPS	34 FPS
Ghost of Tsushima	49.6 FPS	50.5 FPS
Avowed (RT)	43.7 FPS	31.1 FPS
God of War: Ragnarök	61.5 FPS	45.7 FPS

The RTX 5060 8GB performs 1.8% better on average across these 12 games - essentially tying the two GPUs. The 5060's strongest wins are in Avowed (+40.5%), God of War: Ragnarök (34.6%), and Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (+31.6%).

However, while running games that use high-resolution textures, like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Flight Simulator 2024, and DOOM: The Dark Ages, the B580 takes a massive lead. The 5060 fails to deliver even 30 FPS in some of these titles (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 at just 12.1 FPS), making it a bad deal.

---

Final verdict

Given the severe shortcomings of the RTX 5060 in some more demanding titles that require extra VRAM, we recommend buying the Arc B580 12 GB GPU. The Nvidia card costs more while featuring less VRAM, which also limits future-proofing options.