Intel Arc Discrete Desktop GPUs Will Arrive Soon, Intel CEO Confirms

Release dates are exhausting to belief today, however Intel says its Arc sequence of discrete desktop graphics playing cards will arrive within the subsequent few months, as promised.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who just lately gave a troubling prediction about chip provide shortages, mentioned late final week that the corporate’s desktop graphics playing cards would launch in Q2, which means someday earlier than July. He mentioned extra SKUs would arrive later within the 12 months, suggesting the primary batch of desktop playing cards could be launched in waves, echoing the cell launch.

“AXG [Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group] is on track. And we launched the mobile SKUs. We’ll have the desktop SKUs coming in Q2. And we’ll have more SKUs as we go through the year as well. We’ll be filling out the product line,” Gelsinger said in a financial call, as PC Gamer reports.

Mobile Intel Graphics Cards

Earlier this month, Intel launched its Arc 3 cell graphics card whereas teasing Arc 5 and Arc 7 playing cards. Arc 3 guarantees 2x efficiency over built-in graphics and acts as the corporate’s entry-level playing cards for ultra-thin laptops not meant completely for gaming. They are supposedly delivery to laptop computer makers Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and others, although precise merchandise with Arc 3 are exhausting to search out proper now (and the few that exist are rather expensive).

When they debut later this 12 months, Arc 5 playing cards will probably be for mainstream gaming laptops whereas Arc 7 is supposed to tackle the very best of AMD and Nvidia within the premium gaming phase. We’ll study extra in regards to the two high-end playing cards within the coming months.

Desktop Intel Graphics Cards

On the desktop aspect of issues, Intel mentioned the primary GPUs would arrive this summer season as a “limited edition” launch. The card was revealed in a hype video, however we weren’t aware of any specs or efficiency benchmarks. All we all know is that the element accommodates a dual-fan cooling system and has a modern design with chrome trim (sadly, it’s not blue).

Interestingly, Gelsinger mentioned in his monetary name that there will probably be three variations: 5, 7, and 9—reasonably than 3, 5, and seven as we anticipated. If we needed to guess, these playing cards could possibly be positioned as direct opponents to the RTX 3060, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080 when it comes to pricing.

We could also be within the midst of a chip provide scarcity that has ceaselessly halted the patron tech trade, however Gelsinger suggests the bottleneck at Intel is extra about software program than {hardware}. When requested a couple of timeline for desktop graphics, Gelsinger mentioned Intel is at present working to qualify and optimize particular person video games and reaching out to OEMs to “populate their portfolios of products.”

It’s necessary to maintain our expectations in verify. Intel reentering the desktop GPU market after a two-decade hiatus is thrilling stuff, however the firm will want time to ramp up. It’s attainable a single desktop SKU launches within the coming months adopted by a trickle of further variations thereafter.