Sparkle Computer Arc B570 Guardian 10GB GDDR6

10GB of VRAM and AV1 encode in a budget card is a neat trick, but the B570 Guardian runs hot and falls flat on ray tracing. At $515, it's a hard pass unless you find it heavily discounted.

The 14103 PassMark G3D score puts this card in the middle of the pack for raster work, which surprised us a bit given the 10GB frame buffer. That extra VRAM helps in texture-heavy titles, but the raw compute just isn't there to push past 1080p comfortably. Ray tracing lands near the bottom of our charts, so don't expect to flip on RT and keep playable frames. The 150W TDP is reasonable, though the dual fan TORN Cooling 2.0 setup runs warmer than we'd like, thermal performance sits in the bottom third of our database.

Stacked against the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 cards in our database, the B570 Guardian gets absolutely smoked in raster and ray tracing, no contest there. But those cards cost significantly more. The real comparison is against AMD's budget offerings and Intel's own A-series cards. The B570's 10GB VRAM gives it an edge over 8GB competitors in modern titles, but the thermal and AI performance hold it back. If you're cross-shopping, the Sapphire NITRO+ and ZOTAC APOCALYPSE cards offer better overall performance per dollar in most workloads.

At $515 USD, this is a tough sell. The 10GB VRAM and AV1 encode are nice, but you're paying mid-range money for budget-tier raster and ray tracing performance. If you can find it closer to $350, it becomes a much more interesting proposition. As priced, there are better ways to spend your money.

The Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian is Intel's budget Battlemage card trying to punch above its weight, and honestly, it lands a few solid hits. You get 10GB of GDDR6, a 2660MHz boost clock, and AV1 encoding for a price that won't make your wallet file a restraining order. The one thing to know? This is a 1080p value play with a real VRAM advantage over most cards in its class, but it's not going to impress anyone chasing high refresh rates or ray tracing glory.

If you're chasing ray tracing or high refresh rate 1440p gaming, this isn't your card. Go grab an RTX 5070 Ti or a discounted RTX 4070 Super instead. And if you're doing AI or LLM work, the B570's 25.9 AI score is a dealbreaker, look at NVIDIA's offerings for that workload.

The Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian is a card with a clear identity crisis. It has the VRAM and features of a mid-range card but the performance of a budget one. If you specifically need 10GB of VRAM, AV1 encoding, and don't care about ray tracing or AI workloads, it's a functional choice. For everyone else, wait for a price drop or look elsewhere.