Intel’s next GPU just leaked, and it looks like a sub-$200 c…
A long-forgotten Intel Arc GPU has resurfaced once more, and this time, it might actually be real. Intel’s Arch A580 appeared on Austrian price comparison site Geizhals, and is also available in two different models. Although the Arch A580 doesn’t have the ability to compete with some of the best graphics cards, it can be a solid budget-friendly option if priced appropriately.
The Intel Arc A580 was announced what feels like forever ago. Intel mentioned it several times before the launch of its A770 and A750, and it was included in marketing materials for the Arch A770, Arch A750, and Arch 380. It always seemed like a good middle ground between the three GPUs that bridge it. The difference between the top of the lineup and the entry level A380. But it never materialized and Intel hasn’t said a word about it since.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that the card was quietly cancelled, and yet, here it is. The ASRock Arch A580 Challenger OC was spotted by frequent Twitter leaker momomo_us and later shared by VideoCardz, and a second model by Sparkle has also surfaced with the signature blue shroud. The GPUs differ slightly in design, with the Sparkle card appearing to be much more compact than the ASRock, with a triple slot design.
Both manufacturers built the GPUs to be identical to their respective Arch A750 counterparts. Each has a dual-fan cooler and dual 8-pin power connectors. The ASRock is said to have a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface with support for one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 2.1 connections.
The Arch A580 will have 3,072 shader cores or 24 Xe-cores, and is reported to run on an ACM-G10 GPU. The card will sport 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a maximum clock speed of 2GHz on a 256-bit bus.
It appears that Intel won’t be producing its own version of the Arch A580, so the ASRock and Sparkle may be the only models we’ll ever see, unless other manufacturers have something up their sleeve. Intel’s strategy for launching and marketing this card has been strange, to say the least, and we don’t really have any official confirmation that it’s coming, or when it’s coming. However, seeing these finished GPUs tells us that it is coming soon.
Will the Arch A580 have any chance of a breakthrough in late 2023, when both AMD and Nvidia have long since moved on to the next generation of GPUs? That could happen, but only if Intel (and its partners) stick to the initial plan and price the card aggressively. This will be closer to the performance of the Arch A750 than the Arch A380, and the Arch is already hovering in the $200 to $240 price range. Given the stiff competition from cards like the RTX 3060 and RX 6600, Intel should aim for a $150 to $170 price tag to deliver impressive value for the money.
