Highlights
- Intel Arc A580 GPU models are set to be released soon, with minor changes in specifications compared to the original announcement.
- Nvidia is reportedly developing a less powerful variant of the RTX 3050 GPU based on the GA107-325 variant, offering lower performance.
- The Intel Arc A580 competes with Nvidia’s RTX 3050 and AMD’s RX 6600, but pricing for the A580 has not been revealed yet.
Intel Arc A580 GPU models have been spotted online, suggesting they will become available for purchase soon. The GPU was announced last year but has not gone on sale yet. Now, from the latest reports, it seems like Intel has made a minor change in the specifications compared to the original announcement. On the other hand, Nvidia is said to be planning a less powerful RTX 3050 GPU model that will be based on the GA107-325 GPU variant. That’s different from the original RTX 3050 from last year.
The Intel Arc series of graphics cards was first teased in March 2022. Then in June, the entry-level Arc A380 launched. In September, the company showcased its lineup of Arc graphics cards which included the A770/A750, A380, and the A580. Following the announcement, the Arc A770/A750 and A380 cards made their way to the market, but the A580 was nowhere to be seen. Over the following months, Intel added Arc mobile GPUs to the lineup as well.
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Now, according to a new report, two custom models of the Arc A580 GPU could be in the works. An image shared on Twitter by leaker ‘@momomo_us’ mentions the A580 GPU with key specifications while a separate post suggests that only ASRock and Sparkle will be making Arc A580 GPUs. Looking at the specifications, the slide shared by the leaker shows the Intel Arc A580 with 24 Xe Cores, 24 Ray Tracing units, and 8GB VRAM. These are the same specifications as previously shared by Intel, but what’s different is that the slide mentions a 185W TBP compared to the 175W mentioned originally.
The small 10W difference is likely not that big of a deal, but Intel claims the A580 competes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and AMD Radeon RX 6600. At this point, pricing for the A580 is unknown, but for reference, the RTX 3050 is available for as low as $200 and the RX 6600 can be bought for $210 (at the time of writing). Both the RTX 3050 and RX 6600 come with 8GB of VRAM.
PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB GPU
$248 $325 Save $77
The PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is a graphics card built on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. It features a core clock speed of 1552MHz and a boost clock speed of 1777MHz, enabling it to handle demanding games. This card is equipped with 8GB GDDR6 (128-bit) on-board memory, 2560 CUDA processing cores, and up to 224 GB/sec memory bandwidth.
The card utilizes a PCI Express 4.0 interface for compatibility with various systems and includes DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 outputs for enhanced connectivity options.
$248 at Amazon
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge GPU
$220 $300 Save $80
This Zotac GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC is a mid-range graphics card that features 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit interface and 14 Gbps speed. The GPU has Zotac’s IceStorm 2.0 cooling solution that supports Freeze Fan Stop and Active Fan Control.
The card is based on the Nvidia RTX 3050, which has 2nd generation RT cores for better ray-tracing support and 3rd generation Tensor cores. The GPU supports up to 8K resolution and a maximum of four displays.
$220 at Amazon $269 at Walmart $328 at Newegg
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
$229 $520 Save $291
AMD describes the RX 6600 XT as the ultimate 1080p gaming experience. Built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and 8 GB of VRAM the RX 6600 XT offers excellent performance for a reasonable price. With a TDP of 160 W, this GPU will probably not cause any power surges.
Take control with RX 6600 XT series and experience powerful, accelerated gaming that’s customized for gamers. Radeon RX 6600 XT series features new compute units, new instructions better suited for visual effects, and a multi-level cache hierarchy for greatly reduced latency and highly responsive gaming.
Amazon $290 at Best Buy
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 GPU
$220 $280 Save $60
The XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 is an entry-to-mid-level GPU with eight gigabytes of GDDR6 memory with speeds of up to 14 Gbps. This GPU is based on the AMD RX 6600 chipset and AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture with 32 compute units. The boost clock speed of the graphics card is up to 2491 MHz.
The GPU has XFX Speedster SWFT210 Dual Fan cooling system. The minimum power supply requirement for the card is 550 watts.
$220 at Amazon
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G Graphics Card
$230 $270 Save $40
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G is the company’s mid-range graphics card from the most popular Radeon RX 6000 series. It is built with the AMD RDNA 2 architecture and provides a 128-bit memory interface with 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory. It is installed with Gigabyte’s Windforce 3X cooling solution, which means that it sports three alternate spinning fans for optimal airflow. The GPU supports multiple high-resolution monitors simultaneously with two DisplayPort connectors and two HDMIs.
$230 at Amazon $210 at Newegg $210 at Walmart
Speaking of the RTX 3050, a separate report states that the company is working on a less powerful RTX 3050 model based on the GA107-325 GPU variant. The RTX 3050 launched in January 2022 as an entry-level offering in the RTX series. It came with 2304 CUDA cores, a base clock of 1.51 GHz, a boost clock of 1.76 GHz, and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit memory bus. It was based on the GA106-150 GPU variant.
The new RTX 3050 model is said to come with a 1.47 GHz boost clock and 6GB of VRAM on a 96-bit memory bus. This would translate to around 20% lower performance on the newer RTX 3050. Why Nvidia is working on a lower-powered RTX 30 series card is unclear, and the company has not shared any official information about a new GPU.
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