Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

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Intel's new Arc GPU could be more broken promises or a game-changer

Intel’s new mobile Arc GPU comes with a lot of performance promises but, will it deliver?
(Image credit: Intel)

Today Intel revealed its new Arc GPU with promises of massive performance improvements in gaming and content creation. Normally this would excite me, but we've been here before with Intel. 

The company has attempted to excite us with its integrated graphics, with promises of buttery gaming and fast video rendering when editing, and consumers have been let down time and again. 

During the thirty-minute presentation, Intel demonstrated improved gameplay and rendering in 1080p and 4K using the new Arc GPU. The company also revealed impressive video resolution upscaling capabilities and more.

If you want to watch the full presentation below you can do so, but we'll walk you through the highlights.

Intel unveiled the Xe HPG GPU with multiple cores handling several different processes to improve and enhance graphic performance. 

Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel also discussed the use of a new AV1 codec that is supposed to be 50% more efficient than H.264 and 20% more efficient than HEVC, which are considerable gains in performance that could be game-changing. 

Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

(Image credit: Intel)

The Full AV1 hardware acceleration is supposed to improve performance by up to 50% in Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve. We'll believe it when we see it. While that's not likely to make any Apple ecosystem devotees consider making the switch from their M1-powered Macs, it could keep longtime Intel and Windows fans from converting.

Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel also announced that the first new Arc GPU-powered laptop will be the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro which is available to order today.

Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel also stated that other manufacturers will have Arc-powered laptops in the coming weeks and months.

Intel’s Arc GPUs come with a lot of performance promises — will they deliver?

(Image credit: Intel)

As the Youtube event came to a close, Intel teased that they would be releasing a new Arc desktop GPU this summer. I want to be excited, and I am sure that GPU makers AMD and Nvidia are also very interested to see how Intel's new GPUs perform and how capable they are of delivering on Intels performance promises. 

The other player that will be paying close attention is Apple. Sure Apple's M1 delivers excellent performance, especially for content creators, but you can't game on them. I mean, sure you can, but it's awful. Now with the new Arc GPU, Intel is saying, we can do content creation and gaming, and we can do it better. Though my hopes are high, Intel has let me down so many times in the past. I hope I'm not being gaslit by the chipmaker once again. 

Mark Anthony Ramirez
Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.