Intel may be losing the CPU battle, but it could win the GPU war

If you told me Intel would kill it in the GPU space a year ago, I would be hesitant to believe you. The first generation A-series GPUs were good, but unsurprisingly, Intel still didn’t have many answers to AMD and Nvidia. Fast forward a few years and with countless firmware revisions under its belt, Intel launched Battlemage in late 2024. Intel ArcB580 and Arc B570 are already available and appear to be selling well. This is great news for the company and the wider community, which has had to endure decades of second-tier consequences. Intel may be losing the CPU battle, but it’s making progress in the GPU space.

Battlemage is off to a roaring start

If you’re an Intel fan standing on the sidelines watching Core Ultra Inferno, you’ll have a hard time seeing the rays of light from Battlemage. We put the B580 and B570 through our suite of gaming tests and found that both graphics cards perform well at 1080p and 1440p. Up to 40. This is a testament to how well Intel’s hardware and software has matured since the launch of Intel Arc in 2022. Drivers are rock solid for most PC games, but some outliers can be tricky.

Intel’s push into the affordable GPU market segment has seen the company make some big headlines, and Gamers offered excellent value for less than $250 with the Battlemage GPU. The B580 costs $250, but can pack a punch at 1440p with the latest PC games. It will lower AMD and NVIDIA at launch, but the actual price will depend on how many low-life scalpers are able to stock the stock, and Intel has been able to carve a slice of the market. Throw in the Intel Arc B570, 1080p, 1440p GPU for $219.

Nvidia is riding the wave of artificial intelligence by offering impressive tools and features that push the GPU further than would be possible with hardware improvements alone. DLSS is incredible when combined with ray tracing and other advanced visual features. The RTX 50 series is set to take this even further by using more powerful AI cores and boosting frame generation, touting the performance of the RTX 4090 over the RTX 5070. At $549, it’s a pretty good deal for those pushing hard for 1440p and 4K gaming, but it’s not true performance and it’s still a hefty price tag.

You can buy two B580 GPUs for the price of one RTX 5070. Nvidia isn’t just gouging this price, the RTX%090 will be available for $1,999. AMD is also guilty of raising GPU prices accordingly. Replication allowed the two giants to ride the crypto and lockdown wave, and enjoyed incredible demand for graphics cards. The early 2020s was a great time to be a GPU manufacturer. Gamers are being left behind and unable to purchase mid-range to flagship hardware due to cost. This is what Intel is working on with their B-series GPUs.

How Intel can tackle AMD and Nvidia

Intel has an uphill battle ahead of itself within the GPU market. Nvidia has a foothold in a space with the lion’s share of the market share, where even AMD, with decades of experience, continues to struggle to take on green eyes. According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, which gives a rough idea of ​​the popularity of components and brands within the PC industry, Nvidia accounts for around 75%. AMD is second at 16%, and Intel is at just 8%. Most of Intel’s GPU coverage within this study is GPUs integrated into processors, so there is plenty of room for growth.

The A-series Arc GPUs were decent enough to garner attention and sales, but fell short of what AMD and Nvidia offered. Intel handled the B-series launch well and got ahead of CES 2025 with great and affordable GPUs. This is something PC gamers have been demanding for years, and while AMD didn’t price their GPUs as high as NVIDIA, they didn’t weaken the competition enough to provide real value to consumers. . Enter Intel with the ARC B580 GPU for just $249. For $250 you get a graphics card that can handle 1080p and 1440p.

Intel has yet to launch a 4K GPU, and the company is now releasing its B-series into the wild to do so. Although billed as a 1440p GPU, the B580 is conservatively configured for 4K gaming and can be configured with XESS enabled to handle 4K gaming. Will we see such a dedication from Intel? We’re not sure, but Battlemage seems to be selling well enough for Intel to continue taking its separate GPU arm seriously. The company said during CES 2025 that it will remain in the game with AMD and Nvidia. Intel is said to be planning to launch a 24 GB GPU later this year.

VRAM is an issue for many GPU launches, especially with inflated prices. AMD is finally pivoting from its original software-based FSR to AI computing, but Intel has already jumped on this wagon with Xess, developing the technology to deliver GPUs without sending the card’s TDP into space. We are developing further. We look forward to seeing what Intel has to bring next. Having a viable third player in GPU games is great for PC gamers.