Arc B580 vs RTX 3060 12GB
How this works
Arc B580 vs RTX 3060 12GB: £305.15 vs £322.99 in the UK (2026-10-31), £/GB of VRAM, which AI models each runs, and a verdict.
| Arc B580 | RTX 3060 12GB | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Brand | Intel | NVIDIA |
| VRAM | 12 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory bus | 192-bit | 192-bit |
| Cheapest new UK price | £305.15 at PcNova | £322.99 at Scan also Box £372.50, AWD-IT £435.95, GamingKit £333.23 |
| Price history | Low £305.15 (now)▼ 6% below 30-day avg🔔 Alert me | Low £322.99 (now)▼ 7% below 30-day avg🔔 Alert me |
| £ per GB VRAM | – | £26.92 |
| Biggest model at Q4 (est.) | Phi-4 14B | Phi-4 14B |
| Biggest model at Q8 (est.) | Qwen3 8B | Qwen3 8B |
| Models that fit at Q4 | 10 of 21 | 10 of 21 |
| Software | ROCm / Vulkan (works in llama.cpp, Ollama, LM Studio; fewer tools than CUDA) | CUDA (widest support in llama.cpp, Ollama, vLLM, PyTorch) |
| Specs | TechPowerUp · our page | TechPowerUp · our page |
Verdict
- Both have 12 GB, so they fit the same models by our estimate; speed then depends on memory bandwidth and software.
- If you want the easiest setup and the widest tool support, NVIDIA's CUDA is still the safer pick; AMD works well in llama.cpp-based apps.
This is a value-for-memory verdict for local AI, not a gaming benchmark. We haven't measured tokens/sec.
FAQ
Is the Arc B580 or RTX 3060 12GB better for local LLMs?
Both have 12 GB, so they fit the same models by our estimate; speed then depends on memory bandwidth and software. If you want the easiest setup and the widest tool support, NVIDIA's CUDA is still the safer pick; AMD works well in llama.cpp-based apps.
Which is cheaper in the UK, Arc B580 or RTX 3060 12GB?
On 2026-10-31: Arc B580 from £305.15 (PcNova), RTX 3060 12GB from £322.99 (Scan).
Can the Arc B580 and RTX 3060 12GB run a 14B model?
Arc B580: yes at Q4; RTX 3060 12GB: yes at Q4 (our estimate, ~4k context).
More details
Prices: lowest listed new price at UK shops (AWD-IT, Box, GamingKit, Laptops Direct, PcNova, Scan) (GPUs and laptops). Stock not verified. Model fit: GGUF size ×1.1 + 1 GB (estimate). Other comparisons: RX 9060 XT 16GB vs RTX 5060 Ti 16GB · RTX 3060 12GB vs RX 9060 XT 16GB · RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 · RX 9070 vs RX 9070 XT · RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 Ti · RTX 5060 Ti 16GB vs RTX 5070 · Radeon AI PRO R9700 vs RTX 5090 · RTX 5070 vs RTX 5070 Ti laptop · RTX 5060 vs RTX 5070 laptop · RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 5050 · RTX 5050 vs Arc B570 · Arc B570 vs RTX 5060 · RTX 5060 vs RX 7600 · RX 7600 vs RX 9060 XT 8GB · RX 9060 XT 8GB vs RTX 5060 Ti 8GB · RTX 5060 Ti 8GB vs RX 9060 XT 16GB