Intel Arc
CreatedMarch 30, 2022[1]
ManufacturerTSMC
DesignfirmIntel
CodenamesAlchemist · Battlemage · Celestial · Druid
ArchitectureIntel Xe
ProcessTSMC N5
TSMC N6
TransistorsUp to 21.7 billion
EntryArc 3
MidrangeArc 5
HighendArc 7
Openclversion3.0[a]
Openglversion4.6
Vulkanapi1.3
Predecessor
NumcoresUp to 32 Xe cores
Dxversion12 Ultimate

Intel Arc is a brand of graphics processing units (GPUs) developed by Intel, representing the company's line of discrete GPUs for gaming, content creation, and professional applications. Arc GPUs are designed by Intel and manufactured under contract by TSMC. The brand also includes supporting graphics software and driver technologies, and is sold alongside Intel Graphics Technology, the company's line of integrated graphics processors, found in most of its processors.

Intel Arc competes with Nvidia's GeForce and AMD's Radeon products.[2] The first generation, the Arc A-series, launched in 2022 with laptop GPUs debuting in March and desktop models such as the A750 and A770 following later that year.[3][4]

The Arc Pro series for workstation use was introduced in August 2022,[5] followed by the second-generation Battlemage (B-series) GPUs, announced in December 2024. The first model, the B580, was released later that month.[6]

Etymology

According to Intel, the brand is named after the concept of story arcs found in video games.[7] Each generation of Arc is named after character classes sorted by each letter of the Latin alphabet in ascending order. They begin with A, then B, then C, and so on. The first generation is named Alchemist, while Battlemage, Celestial and Druid are the respective names for the second, third and fourth Arc generations.[8]

Graphics processor generations

Alchemist

Developed under the previous codename "DG2", the first generation of Intel Arc GPUs (codenamed "Alchemist") released on March 30, 2022.[1][9] It comes in both add-on desktop card and laptop form factors. TSMC manufactures the die, using their N6 process.[10]

Alchemist uses the Intel Xe GPU architecture, or more specifically, the Xe-HPG variant. Alchemist supports hardware-based ray tracing, XeSS or supersampling based on neural networks (similar to Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR), and DirectX 12 Ultimate.[1][11] Also supported are DisplayPort 2.0 and overclocking. AV1 fixed-function hardware encoder is included in Alchemist GPUs as part of the Intel Quick Sync Video core.[12]

Intel confirmed ASTC support has been removed from hardware starting with Alchemist and future Arc GPU microarchitectures will also not support it.[13]

Arc Alchemist does not support SR-IOV[14] or Direct3D 9 natively, instead falling back on the D3D9On12 wrapper which translates Direct3D 9 calls to their Direct3D 12 equivalents.[15][16]

Arc support OpenCL 3.0[note 1] for example, this GPU can work in the grid World Community Grid.[17]

Display connections: DisplayPort 2.0 (40 Gbit/s bandwidth) and HDMI 2.1

Battlemage

Battlemage (Xe2) is the second-generation Xe architecture that debuted with its low power variant in Lunar Lake mobile processors that released in September 2024.[18] On December 3, 2024, Intel announced two Arc B-Series desktop graphics cards based on the Xe2-HPG graphics architecture.[19]

Future generations

Intel has revealed future generations of Intel Arc GPUs under development: Celestial (Xe3P), and Druid (Xe4).[20][21] Additionally, Panther Lake series iGPUs will be based on the Xe3 architecture.

Intel XeSS

Intel XeSS is a real-time deep learning image upsampling technology developed primarily for use in video games as a competitor to Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR technologies.[22] Additionally, XeSS is not restricted to Arc graphics cards, similar to FSR. It utilizes XMX instructions exclusive to Arc graphics cards, but will fall back to utilizing DP4a instructions on competing GPUs that have support for DP4a instructions. XeSS is trained with 64 samples per pixel as opposed to Nvidia DLSS's 16 samples per pixel (16K reference images).[23][24] XeSS 3 supports Multi-Frame Generation (MFG), similar to DLSS 4. This feature is exclusive to Intel Arc graphics cards, and will be supported on both Arc Battlemage and Alchemist series cards. Games that support XeSS 2 will support XeSS 3 at launch of XeSS 3.

Standard XeSS quality presets[25]
Quality preset[b]Scale factor[c]Render scale[d]Scale factor[c]
(1.0-1.2)		Render scale[d]
(1.0-1.2)
Native Anti-Aliasing(since 1.3)1.00x(since 1.3)100%N/A
Ultra Quality Plus(since 1.3)1.30x(since 1.3)77.0%
Ultra Quality1.50×(since 1.3)66.7%1.30x77.0%
Quality1.70×(since 1.3)58.8%1.50x66.7%
Balanced2.00×(since 1.3)50.0%1.70x58.8%
Performance2.30×(since 1.3)43.5%2.00x50.0%
Ultra Performance(since 1.3)3.00×(since 1.3)33.3%N/A
  1. ^ In OpenCL 3.0, OpenCL 1.2 functionality has become a mandatory baseline, while all OpenCL 2.x and OpenCL 3.0 features were made optional.
  2. ^ The algorithm does not necessarily need to be implemented using these presets; it is possible for the implementer to define custom input and output resolutions.
  3. ^ The linear scale factor used for upsampling the input resolution to the output resolution. For example, a scene rendered at 540p with a 2.00× scale factor would have an output resolution of 1080p.
  4. ^ The linear render scale, compared to the output resolution, that the technology uses to render scenes internally before upsampling. For example, a 1080p scene with a 50% render scale would have an internal resolution of 540p.

Issues

Drivers

Performance on Intel Arc GPUs has suffered from poor driver support, particularly at launch. An investigation by Gamers Nexus discovered 43 known driver issues with Arc GPUs, prompting a response and acknowledgement of the issues from Intel.[26][27][28] Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger also blamed driver problems as a reason for Arc's delayed launch.[29] A beta driver from October 2022 accidentally reduced the memory clock by 9% on the Arc A770 from 2187 MHz to 2000 MHz, resulting in a 17% reduction in memory bandwidth.[30] This particular issue was later fixed.[31] Intel provides an open source driver for Linux.[32] Intel does not officially support Intel Arc for Windows Server operating systems, except the Intel Arc Pro.

DirectX 9 compatibility

As of the Alchemist generation, Arc only includes direct hardware support for the DirectX 11 & 12 and Vulkan graphics APIs, with the older DirectX 9 & 10 and OpenGL APIs being supported via a real-time compatibility layer built into Intel's graphics driver.[33] As a result, Alchemist GPUs perform noticeably worse than competing Nvidia and AMD GPUs in software that can only use these older APIs, including multiple DirectX 9-based esports games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.[34] There is also a performance gap between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12.

A December 2022 driver update improved Arc compatibility and performance with DirectX 9-based games.[35] According to Intel, the driver update made Arc GPUs up to 1.8x faster in DirectX 9 games.[36] A February 2023 driver update further improved Arc's performance on DirectX 9-based games.[37]

Legacy BIOS compatibility

Intel Arc requires a UEFI BIOS with resizable BAR support for optimal performance.[38] UEFI Class 1 and Class 2 BIOS are not supported by Intel Arc.

HW Design Limitations

The Intel Arc A and B series does not support dynamic VRAM clocking at idle like AMD Radeon and Nvidia GPUs. Instead, the VRAM continues to run at its maximum stock speed even when the system is not under load and they consume more energy when idle.

Footnotes

  1. ^ In OpenCL 3.0, OpenCL 1.2 functionality has become a mandatory baseline, while all OpenCL 2.x and OpenCL 3.0 features were made optional.

References

  1. ^ Hachman, Mark (2022-03-14). "Intel will launch its Arc GPUs on March 30". PCWorld. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  2. ^ Warren, Tom (2021-08-16). "Intel enters the PC gaming GPU battle with Arc". The Verge. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  3. ^ "Intel® Arc™ A750 Graphics – Product Specifications". Intel. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  4. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (2022-03-30). "Intel's first Arc GPUs are now available for laptops". The Verge. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  5. ^ "Intel Unveils Arc Pro GPU Products". Intel. 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  6. ^ "Intel Launches Arc B-Series Graphics Cards". Intel. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  7. ^ Ung, Gordon (2021-08-19). "Intel's Arc gaming GPU: Price, specs and availability". PCWorld. Archived 2021-08-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  8. ^ "Intel Introduces New High-Performance Graphics Brand: Intel Arc". Intel. 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  9. ^ Rutherford, Sam (2021-08-16). "Intel Names New Brand of GPUs That Will Hit Shelves Next Year". Gizmodo. Archived 2022-01-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  10. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (2021-08-20). "Intel provides more details on its Arc GPUs, which will be made by TSMC". Ars Technica. Archived 2021-08-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  11. ^ Grau, Kyle M. (2022-06-20). "Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics Gaming API Guide". Intel. Archived 2022-07-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  12. ^ Szewczyk, Chris (2022-04-04). "Intel Arc GPUs will support AV1 encode and decode". PC Gamer. Archived 2022-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  13. ^ Ekstrand, Faith (2021-10-05). "intel: ASTC support was removed on Gfx12.5". GitLab. Archived 2021-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  14. ^ "Graphics Virtualization Technologies Support for Each Intel® Graphics Family". Intel. Archived 2022-08-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  15. ^ "Which Intel® Graphics Products Support DirectX 9* (DX9)?". Intel. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Killian, Zak (2022-08-15). "Intel Xe And Arc Graphics Lack DX9 Support Forcing DX12 Emulation". HotHardware. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  17. ^ "Graphics Card Processing". World Community Grid. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  18. ^ Lam, Chester (October 8, 2024). "Lunar Lake's iGPU: Debut of Intel's Xe2 Architecture". Chips and Cheese. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Hollister, Sean (December 3, 2024). "Intel announces $249 Arc B580 and $219 Arc B570 'Battlemage' graphics cards". The Verge. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Smith, Ryan (2021-08-16). "Intel Video Cards Get a Brand Name: Arc, Starting with 'Alchemist' in Q1 2022". AnandTech. Archived from the original on 2022-01-08. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "Intel Introduces New High-Performance Graphics Brand: Intel Arc". Intel. 2021-08-16. Archived 2022-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  22. ^ "Intel Arc 140T Review: Ray Tracing on a Best Budget iGPU?". Geekom. 2025-12-30. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  23. ^ Solca, Bogdan (2022-08-08). "More details on Intel's AI-based Xe SuperSampling tech launching with the ARC GPUs revealed by principal engineer". NotebookCheck. Archived 2022-07-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  24. ^ "Intel® Iris® Xe MAX Graphics Open Source Programmer's Reference Manual For the 2020 Discrete GPU formerly named "DG1" Volume 11: Media Engines February 2021, Revision 1.0". Intel. 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  25. ^ Mujtaba, Hassan (2022-03-24). "Intel Showcases Arc Alchemist GPU Performance With XeSS & Raytracing Enabled, Calls XeSS Better Than Temporal Upscaling". Wccftech. Archived 2022-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  26. ^ "Worst We've Tested: Broken Intel Arc GPU Drivers". YouTube. Gamers Nexus. 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  27. ^ McLoughlin, Aleksha (2022-10-08). "Intel Arc driver issues – Are they fixed?". PC Guide. Archived from the original on 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  28. ^ Pearce, Lisa (2022-08-19). "Engineering Arc – 8/19/2022". Intel. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  29. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (2022-08-09). "Rumors, delays, and early testing suggest Intel's Arc GPUs are on shaky ground". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  30. ^ "Some Intel Arc A770 Limited Edition GPUs may show up with lower memory clock". VideoCardz. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  31. ^ Klotz, Aaron (2022-10-28). "Intel Arc A770 GPU Memory Clock Bug Fixed With Driver Update". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  32. ^ Larabel, Michael (2022-08-25). "Intel Arc Graphics Running On Fully Open-Source Linux Driver". Phoronix. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  33. ^ Roach, Jacob (2022-08-22). "Bad news: Intel's Arc GPU issues run much deeper than performance". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  34. ^ Kan, Michael (2022-12-07). "With New Driver, Intel Arc GPUs Run Older DirectX 9 Games Up to 79% Faster". PCMag. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  35. ^ Shrout, Ryan (2022-12-06). "Upward Trajectory: Improvements to DirectX 9 Games on Intel® Arc™ Graphics". Intel. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  36. ^ "Intel Arc GPUs get performance boost for DirectX 9 games, CS:GO now up to 1.8x faster". VideoCardz. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  37. ^ "Intel Arc Graphics Updates, New Bundle, and Pricing". Intel. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  38. ^ "Intel® Arc™ Graphics – Desktop Quick Start Guide". Intel. 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2026-05-30.