Intel has just launched the second-generation of its Intel Arc graphics cards, and it became an instant hit among reviewers, enthusiasts, and just about everyone. Its great price-to-performance ratio has seen it become the new $249 GPU champion, bringing in much needed competition to the budget graphics card market by undercutting the launch prices of the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 while offering better performance. It’s so good that many retailers have run out of stock almost as soon as it launched, and Intel told The Verge that it’s working hard to put more GPUs on store shelves.
“Demand for Arc B580 graphics cards is high and many retailers have sold through their initial inventory. We expect weekly inventory replenishments of the Intel Arc B580 Limited Edition graphics card and are working with partners to ensure a steady availability of choices in the market,” Intel spokesperson Mark Anthony Ramirez told The Verge.
The success of the Arc B580 is likely a welcome respite for Intel. Just a few months ago, Intel was hit by an instability issue of its Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh chips followed closely by massive layoffs that it needed to do to help recover from its $1.6-billion loss in August 2024.
But aside from that, the $249 launch price of the Intel Arc B580 is a breath of fresh air for gamers and enthusiasts alike. Both Nvidia and AMD alike are criticized for practically ignoring the budget GPU segment, with the $299 RTX 4060 and $269 RX 7600 only coming with 8GB of VRAM. On the other hand, the B580 offers 12GB of VRAM, and the lower B570 (with its $210 launch price) still has 10GB. Team Blue has also ironed out some of the driver issues it had with the first launch, ensuring that users won’t have to deal with many problems with their new GPU.
Reviewers have also seen that the card is outperforming its rivals in many game titles. While it doesn’t do that for every game, it was only outclassed in a few titles, and the price difference still give you more bang for the buck.
Nevertheless, Intel cannot rest on its laurels as Nvidia and AMD are reportedly coming out with new generations of their GPU line-ups. Jensen Huang is expected to announce the RTX 5000 series during his keynote at CES 2025, while AMD says that its RDNA4 GPUs are coming in early 2025. So, let’s see if Nvidia and AMD will release something that will dethrone Intel as the budget GPU king.
