Intel's Arc B580 graphics card is so successful it's hard to find in stock, but AMD still dominates CPU sales

In a nutshell: Intel might have had a 2024 to forget, but at least Team Blue's ending the year with a success – and in the dedicated graphics card market, of all places. The Arc B580 Battlemage GPU arrived this month to universal praise, and is now sold out in most locations. It's a stark contrast to the company's CPU sales, which are struggling against AMD's chips.

Intel has had its worst 12 months in years. Beset by problems on all sides, the company hit its lowest point when CEO Pat Gelsinger was ousted by the board at the start of December.

Intel looked to be on the ropes, but it finally made a right move in the Arc B580 that arrived last week. We called the $250 card the Best Value GPU in our review, highlighting how it outperforms both the GeForce RTX 4060 and Radeon RX 7600 while costing less. You also get more VRAM: 12GB instead of a measly 8GB.

TechSpot feature: Intel Arc B580 Review: Best Value GPU

Reviewers such as Linus Sebastian and Gamers Nexus agree that the Arc B580 is a great card. The GPU is now so in-demand that it's out of stock at many retailers. The only models Newegg has available right now are the Gunnir variants from China that range from $379 to $429. It's sold out on Amazon, too.

Our own Steve Walton doesn't believe that this is a paper launch. He said on Hardware Unboxed that the manufacturers, retailers, and distributors he spoke to confirmed the initial supply was quite substantial. They were "blown away" by demand for the Arc B580 – even the pre-orders were exceptionally high.

Intel told The Verge that demand for the Arc B580 was high and many retailers have sold through their initial inventory. The spokesperson added that the company expects weekly inventory replenishments.

In September, it was reported that Intel had lost all of its dedicated GPU share, losing the four percent share it briefly achieved following the release of the Arc Alchemist series in 2022.

Intel might have a hit in the GPU market right now, but it's still being crushed by AMD when it comes to CPU sales. Every one of the processors in Amazon's top ten best-selling CPU chart is from Team Red (above), and the latest Steam survey shows AMD chips have reached their largest-ever user share, further eroding Intel's lead. Moreover, almost 90% of the motherboards sold by German retailer Mindfactory during the Black Friday sales were AMD boards.