INTEL’S ARC ALCHEMIST GPU REVEALED
And then there were three...
AT THE ANNUAL GAME AWARDS, we got a glimpse of Arc Alchemist in action, Intel’s first serious discrete graphics card. We saw a handful of top titles running at 1440p, and also saw a 3D rendered card which sported an 8-pin power connector (enough for 150W, so a maximum of 225W with the PCIe power). Whilst Intel is tight on details, there are plenty of engineering samples around and we have some solid details on the GPU dies. There are two: the DG2-SOC1 and DG2-SOC2.
The bigger die is the DG2-SOC1 (about the size of an Nvidia GA104) and comes in versions with either 512, 384, or 256 Execution Units. The 512 version sports 16GB of GDDR6, with 32GB being considered for ‘professional’ cards. The 384 EU card gets 12GB, and that half chip version has 8GB. SOC1 cards are being pitched against the Nvidia RTX 3060 and 3070, and AMD’s Radeon 6600 to 6800: mid-range and up to about $500. SOC1 production is due to start in February, so don’t expect to see any cards before April. The smaller die, SOC2, will have two 128 EU versions, one a lower-power version, and a 96 EU variant for low-end kit. It’ll use 6GB or 4GB, and draw its power from PCIe. SOC2 production starts in January. With just two dies, Intel aims to cover almost the entire market, but cards in numbers won’t arrive until the middle of the year.
Prices? The stated aim of Intel is to be 10 percent cheaper and faster than equivalent Nvidia offerings. Intel’s tactic appears to be to establish itself as the third option before going for the crown: the high-end enthusiast cards. We will have to wait, probably until Battlemage in 2023, for that fight. Intel’s promotional video opens with the phrase “a new player enters the game”. It’s not wrong.