Early in the year, reviewers like Hardware Unboxed noticed something odd: the Arc B580 performs decently on modern CPUs — like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D — but collapses into a frame-skipping mess when paired with older silicon. In contrast, Nvidia’s RTX 4060 keeps its head above water across both (see video).

Using a Ryzen 5 2600, Hardware Unboxed saw performance on the B580 dip below 30 FPS in some games, while the RTX 4060 ran around 22 per cent faster on average. This didn’t even factor in one per cent lows, which are reportedly grim for the B580. So, if you’re gaming on a budget with older gear, the Arc card might give you less game for your money.

Intel acknowledged the issue in its forums, with a community mod admitting the company is “aware of reports of performance sensitivity in some games when paired with older generation processors.” They’re apparently widening their test platform coverage and working on optimisations.

This isn’t just a bad look — it’s a direct hit to the exact audience the B580 is supposed to serve. Many folks running setups with AM4, AM3+, or older Intel platforms are eyeing these cheap GPUs to stretch their system life. However, with this overhead issue, the $249 card might come with an unplanned motherboard and CPU upgrade tax, turning a bargain into a budget-breaker.

Even AMD has been kinder to budget users by keeping AM4 alive into 2025. If Intel wants the Arc B580 to succeed, especially in a climate of inflated hardware prices, it needs to sort this out fast—or risk losing the trust of the budget crowd entirely.