Intel Arc is a new range of GPUs for both laptops and desktop PCs, as Intel looks to challenge AMD and Nvidia in the discrete graphics space.
The Intel Arc range kicked off in late March 2022, with the company’s first major discrete GPU focusing on boosting the gaming performance for ultrathin laptops.
But can Intel go toe-to-toe with the upcoming AMD RDNA 3 and Nvidia RTX 4000 GPU ranges? Keep reading to find out all the latest news on the next range of graphics cards from Intel.
Release date
Originally, we were supposed to meet the first batch of Intel GPUs, codenamed Alchemist, sometime in the first quarter of this year. However, a couple of days after CES 2022, Intel removed all preludes to an early release date from the Intel Arc page, suggesting that the release date could end up being later in the year.
But then, on 30 March Intel revealed the Arc A-Series of mobile GPUs, with two different Arc GPUs available including the A350M and A370M. We should expect to see the more powerful, and more expensive, Arc 5 and Arc 7 mobile GPUs sometime in the early summer, though we will be sure to update this article when a more concrete date is revealed.
Intel confirmed that it plans to launch its very first discrete desktop graphics card this summer too, so it looks like it’s going to be a busy year for the company.
Price
The Intel Arc 3 GPUs are the most affordable and have been designed for entry-level game performance and will be available inside laptops that start at $899.
We can’t predict how much the Arc 5 and Arc 7 models will cost just yet, but since they will be capable of a better performance we would expect that they will cost a fair bit more. It also depends heavily on third-party manufacturers, as a laptop is more than its GPU, with other factors such as CPU, screen, design and more factoring into the cost.
We also don’t know how much the Intel Arc desktop graphics cards will cost just yet, with Intel remaining secretive ahead of the launch.
Specs and features
The Intel Arc A350M and A370M GPUs are low-powered mobile GPUs and have been designed for ultrathin laptops, rather than a devoted gaming laptop.
The Arc Series also follows on from the company’s conventional branding system, with the Arc 3, 5 and 7 naming conventions providing details for their performance tier. This should make it easier for consumers to recognise the general specs of a product and how powerful it is.
The Arc Alchemist GPU will use the Xe HPG architecture, with Intel announcing it already has three future versions in mind, with the Xe2 HPG, Xe3 HPG and Xe Next.
The Xe HPG architecture will have support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing and Xe Super Sampling (aka XeSS), with the latter providing a frame rate boost via upscaling technology, similar to AMD’s FSR and Nvidia’s DLSS.
We know that the entry-level A350M and A370M are not intended for high-level performance, with the GPUs capable of hitting 1080p between 60fps and 90fps. The A350M draws between 25 and 35 watts of power to help keep the six Xe cores running, alongside the six ray-tracing units, 4GB of VRAM and a graphics clock of 1150MHz.
The A370M is more powerful than its little brother, with a watt draw in of 30-50 watts with eights Xe cores, eight ray-tracing units, the same 4GB of VRAM and a 1550MHz graphics clock.
Looking at the spec sheet above, we know that the Arc 5 and Arc 7 will be more powerful than the Arc 3, though since they aren’t due to be released until later in the year, we can’t make any big claims about their performance at the time of writing.
They’re expected to be fitted inside dedicated gaming laptops, and so should be capable of a far better performance than the new Intel Arc 3 range.
Intel has also teased its upcoming desktop graphics card with the below video.
We can see that Intel has opted for a dual-fan design for the graphics card, but we don’t know much about the specs beyond this. But with a touted Summer 2022 release date, it surely won’t be long until Intel reveals more details.
Make sure you bookmark this page and keep checking back in with Trusted Reviews, as we will be updating this page with new information on the Intel Arc Series whenever it comes out.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
