The first laptops and desktops with Intel’s discrete GPUs are on the way. Acer is leading the way with an announcement, though details remain scarce.
In the middle of last year, Intel announced that it would launch its own discrete GPUs in early 2022 under the name Arc. Intel has been tinkering with its own GPU architecture for several years. That initially resulted in the Xe graphics on board Tiger Lake and now Alder Lake CPUs. However, the processor manufacturer wants to break into the GPU market completely and compete with AMD Radeon and Nvidia. That attack is being led by Intel Arc.
Alchemist
The first Arc GPUs are codenamed Alchemist and, according to Intel, will appear in hardware from Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo and MSI, among others. While Intel itself does not mention specific devices, Acer is apparently going to run with the scoop. That manufacturer is revamping its Swift series with the introduction of a 16-inch Swift X, among others.
The Swift X comes with an Alder Lake CPU and a discrete Intel Arc GPU. What capabilities the GPU has, how much value it adds over integrated graphics on Alder Lake and how the chip compares to Nvidia and AMD offerings all remain unclear. We do know that the Swift X with Arc-GPU remains Intel EVO-certified, suggesting handsome battery life. Moreover, Intel’s new laptop is on the thin side.
Speculate
Acer packs while out with a 13-inch variant of the Swift X. It too has Alder Lake on board for the CPU, but otherwise comes with an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU. That may imply that the Arc chip in the 16-inch chassis is heavier than the 3050 Ti and thus has a higher TDP, though that is mere speculation.
Lenovo also has an Arc laptop ready with the consumer-oriented Lenovo Yoga 7i. It is notable that both Lenovo and Acer have gaming brands with Legion and Predator, respectively. Yet Intel’s discrete GPUs do not initially appear in those gaming laptops. That suggests Intel wants to test the market a bit initially, though further announcements are not out of the question.
Intel further reveals that Arc Alchemist is also on its way to the desktop. We know nothing about specific devices. Intel Arc Alchemist will at least support ray tracing for gamers. For professional applications, the chip specialist cites momentum with partners for ISV certification.
GPU battle
The main benefit of Intel Arc may come from its integration with Intel CPUs. Intel Deep Link provides synergy between CPU and GPU. DaVinci Resolve will already support Deep Link Hyper Encode, where video is encoded by both the integrated graphics capability of Alder Lake chips and the GPU power of the discrete graphics card.
AMD may also bet on such synergy between its AMD Ryzen 6000 APUs and GPUs, but Nvidia is struggling in that regard. After all, that manufacturer does not make its own x86 processors, and its proposed acquisition of ARM is running into considerable resistance. Either way, the imminent introduction of Intel Arc Alchemist will shuffle the cards.
Neither Intel, nor Acer, are communicating the availability of the new hardware yet. So for now, it remains to be seen.