The first custom Intel desktop GPU is here, and it looks boring

Date:
Wed, 15 Jun 2022 09:32:36 +0000

Description:
The manufacturer also teased its more powerful flagship Intel Arc GPU, suspected to be the A770 or A780

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Chinese graphics card manufacturer Gunnir has revealed the worlds first third-party custom desktop GPU from Intels new Arc Alchemist line, namely the Arc A380 Photon 6GB OC. Gunnirs press release states that Intel has now officially launched the Arc A3 series in China, aligning with previous news that A3 GPUs would only be available there to start off.

So, does the A380 Photon impress? Well, weve yet to see specific benchmarks, but initial impressions frankly arent great considering the current level of competition in the desktop GPU market. The Arc A380 is an entry-level
graphics card, currently believed to perform similarly to Nvidias GTX 1650 Super , and Gunnirs Photon model tweaks the reference specs a little but not enough to become interesting.

The A380 Photon 6GB OC packs the same eight Xe cores and eight ray-tracing units as the default A380, but the OC part of the name implies that its 2,450MHz boost clock will be higher than the GPUs stock frequency. The TDP is also higher in Gunnirs card, up to 92W from the standard 75W. This is still lower than the GTX 1650 Supers 100W TDP, but higher than AMDs budget RX 6400 at 53W.

One key difference between the stock Arc A380 and the Photon is that Gunnirs card uses a dual-fan design, unlike Intels original single-fan configuration. Its unfortunately a rather uninspired design, which is a bit disappointing given that this is effectively our first glimpse of desktop Intel Arc cards. Oh, and the memory speed is inexplicably lower than the 16Gbps reference figure, running at 15.5Gbps instead.

Gunnirs press release also teased an upcoming flagship GPU in the Arc range, which from this super-blurry image we believe is a three-fan model with a simile aesthetic design. Whether its Intel A770 or A780 GPU cant be
discerned, but Gunnirs use of the term flagship has us thinking itll be the high-end A780. (Image credit: Gunnir, Intel) Analysis: Whats Intel playing at with desktop Arc?

This release from Gunnir has all but confirmed previous leaks about Intels entry-level GPU, but its still left us feeling a bit confused. This is effectively Intels very first official step into the murky waters of the desktop graphics card market, and its taken that first step with virtually no fanfare whatsoever.

Perhaps the real explanation is that Intel is using the Chinese market as a testing ground for Arc, with tightly-controlled releases starting exclusively with Chinese laptop manufacturers, and doesnt want to rock the boat too much in case other national markets take too much notice.

The A380 isnt especially impressive - performance will barely scrape past the now 8-year-old GTX 1060 - so Intel wanting to keep things low-key right now does make sense. It likely won't be troubling our best GPU rankings. However, if entry-level GPUs have the potential to sell well in China, it could be a savvy opening move from Intel, especially given that Nvidias budget GTX 1630 is on the way too.

Arc A5 and A7 GPUs are still on the way with no given release date, and its unclear at this point whether these will also begin life as China-exclusive products. Still, wed expect Intel to make much more of a fuss about the A780 launch, since that card is expected to trade blows with Nvidias excellent RTX 3070 .



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-first-custom-intel-desktop-gpu-is-here-and- it-looks-boring/


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