Fierce market competition and rapid innovations in technology have enabled businesses to come up with new product lines every other day.
Intel, famously known for its semi-conductor chips and micro-processors in personal computers (PCs), is once again trying to tap into the Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) market.
Earlier this year, there were ongoing rumors about Intel, making an entry in the consumer’s Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) market. Now, we are seeing this get materialized, and things are getting interesting in this competitive niche.
Intel has officially started selling Arc A380 GPUs. They have not released it on a global scale yet, but Intel has started this journey by tapping into China’s humungous market. The price points were a bit higher than the usual Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for similar GPUs. The performance of the new Arc line of GPUs is yet to be reviewed by a wider consumer base.
As of now, we are not completely aware of what other technologies will be compatible with these graphics cards. However, a system requirement guide was released by Intel, which had some hits about the specifications and features of these new cards.
According to some resources, the new Arc series of cards is speculated to support technologies like the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Smart Access Memory (SAM).
Talking about the future support of Smart Access Memory in new GPUs, Intel stated that the introduction and expansion of latest technologies is very much dependent on their customer’s demand.
Intel has further stated that for now, they will be releasing the Arc line of GPUs on some exclusive, targeted platforms, and see how the market reacts to the new launch.
They have reported that re-sizable Bar, in some form, is important in order for the Arc cards to deliver their best performance. The speed at which data is being transferred from the CPU to the GPU, can be drastically increased with the help of such features.
All the above mentioned features are reported to enhance the performance in gaming as well.
The full utilization of these platforms is only possible once they are compatible with the rest of the computer as well. This is true because as of now, say an A380 is put in an AMD 500– series, it will not deliver any notable enhancements to the graphics experience.
According to Intel, updates to the firmware and drivers will be made after the complete launch. After these updates, the AMD chipset would be able to recognize them as SAM – capable GPUs.
This will be the first time that a third-party hardware provider will be able to support Advance Micro Devices (AMD) technology.
As of now, the Arc A380 have been displayed in China for sale. However, one such real-life GPU was seen on the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament this year.
Previously, the users of Arc powered laptops reported delays while dealing with desktop GPUs. Moving forward, a wider userbase will soon be able to use this new technology themselves, and test its features and specifications to see if they actually live up to the market hype.
