Affordable Arc Power for 1080p Gaming
If you are shopping for a budget friendly graphics card and want something a bit different from the usual Nvidia or AMD options, the Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian OC is worth a look. It has dropped in price by 13 percent and is now selling for $199.99 on Amazon, which puts it firmly in the entry level to lower mid range GPU bracket.
This card is based on Intel's Arc architecture and targets gamers who mainly play at 1080p resolution. At this price it competes with older or cut down models from other brands and can be an interesting choice if you are building a new rig or upgrading from very old hardware.
The Guardian OC version from Sparkle comes with a factory overclock and a custom cooler, which helps squeeze a bit more performance out of the chip while keeping noise and temperatures in check.
Design and Cooling
The Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian OC uses a dual fan design. For most gaming builds this strikes a balance between size, airflow, and noise.
- Two fans push air across a heatsink to cool the GPU core, memory, and power circuitry.
- The dual fan layout usually fits in standard ATX and many micro ATX cases, making it a flexible choice for budget builds.
- An overclocked profile from the factory provides a small performance bump without you needing to tweak anything yourself.
While this is not a massive triple fan monster, the design is more than enough for the power level of this card, especially at 1080p gaming settings where the thermal load is reasonable.
Who This GPU Makes Sense For
The new price of $199.99 makes the Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian OC appealing if you fall into any of these categories.
- Budget 1080p gamer: If you mainly play esports titles or older AAA games at 1080p and are willing to tweak settings a bit, a card in this class can deliver smooth performance without breaking the bank.
- Upgrading from integrated graphics: Coming from an iGPU or a very old card, you will see a large jump in frame rates and visual quality.
- Starter build: For a first time gaming PC, pairing this GPU with a modest modern CPU can deliver a solid entry level experience.
As with other Intel Arc cards, driver support and game optimizations have improved over time but can still vary by title. Gamers who like to experiment and do not mind a bit of tuning and driver updates may get the most out of it.
At under $200, this price cut makes the Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian OC a more competitive option in the crowded budget GPU space and a card worth considering for value focused PC builds.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/intel-arc-b570-gpu-kicks-off-new-year-at-just-usd199-save-usd30-on-one-of-the-best-budget-gpus-around
