Intel's (INTC -2.85%) first generation of discrete graphics cards has been a mixed bag. The hardware itself is solid, and prices are aggressive, but the company still has work to do on the software side. Intel's graphics drivers were inconsistent when the Arc A770 and A750 launched about a year ago, and while a slew of updates have improved the picture, there are still issues. Case in point: The blockbuster game Starfield was a disaster on Intel's graphics cards in the first days of availability.
Intel plans to launch its second-generation graphics cards, codenamed Battlemage, sometime in 2024. More software issues should be ironed out by then, giving Intel a stronger sales pitch. Helping the company will be lackluster midrange graphics card launches from competitors Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Before then, Intel is launching one more graphics card as part of its first-generation lineup. The Arc A580, which slots below the A750, has finally arrived. A few graphics card partners are on board, with the new card snagging an MSRP of $179. Intel is going after a portion of the graphics card market that has largely been ignored by Nvidia and AMD, but pricing may still be a problem.
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Key Data Points
Hard to justify
The Arc A580 is a cut-down version of the A750. The only difference between the two cards is that the A580 has four fewer graphics cores. It's common for semiconductor companies to take chips that don't meet the standards for higher-end products and use them for lower-end products. That's likely what happened here.
In theory, the A580 looks like an attractive budget graphics card. Tom's Hardware found that Intel's newest entry beats AMD's last-gen RX 6600, which currently retails for around $200. It also handily wallops Nvidia's last-gen RX 3050, which also sells for around the $200 mark. In ray tracing benchmarks, the A580 shines, beating out AMD's current-gen RX 7600 and coming close to Nvidia's RTX 3060.
Here's the problem: While the A750 has an MSRP of $249, the street price today is around $200, and it's dropped as low as $189 in recent days. It makes little sense for gamers to opt for the A580 if the A750 is only slightly more expensive. The A750 delivers around 10% higher frame rates at a 1080p resolution, and it's more capable at higher resolutions as well.
At a lower price, the A580 could find some success. The graphics card market is no longer severely undersupplied like it was during the pandemic's height, so it's become common for prices to fall below MSRPs based on supply and demand. If retail prices for the A580 were to dip $20 or $30, a strong case could be made for the new graphics card. But as it stands today, Intel's higher-end cards make far more sense for gamers on a budget.
Looking ahead to 2024
As Intel prepares to roll out its next-gen Battlemage graphics cards next year, the PC market is starting to look better. After two years of brutal declines following a pandemic-era boom, global PC shipments are expected to return to growth in the fourth quarter. That should help the graphics card industry, which has also been suffering from a downturn.
Intel's Battlemage cards are expected to deliver large performance gains over the company's current generation lineup. Intel will likely target a wider range of price points as well. With its current graphics cards, the 16GB variant of the A770 is the top dog with an MSRP of $349. Going after lower price points that Nvidia and AMD have abandoned makes sense, but Intel would do a lot for its reputation as a graphics card company by launching a higher-end card that goes toe-to-toe with its competitors.
Intel's A580 is unlikely to change much about Intel's position in the graphics card industry. Battlemage in 2024 is a different story.
