Intel, a grandfather of the PC hardware industry, is joining the GPU wars. The company announced a new brand today, devoted entirely to graphics. Called Intel Arc, the brand includes hardware, software, and services, and yes, that includes GPUs for gamers.
Intel already has multiple generations of Arc planned, with the first being titled Alchemist (it was formerly titled DG2). The upcoming generations of Arc will be named Battlemage, Celestial, and Druid, names ripped straight from the pages of the D&D 5E player’s handbook.
We don’t have any details, like technical specifications, about any future Intel Arc products. However, according to a page on Intel’s site announcing the brand, first-generation Arc products will feature “hardware-based ray tracing and artificial intelligence-driven super sampling, and offer full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate.”
Hardest secret we've ever kept. Introducing: #IntelArc High Performance Graphics. Welcome to the next chapter in our graphics story! 📖
Learn More: https://t.co/o6MfXmIZ5M pic.twitter.com/tzysk9UBux
— Intel Gaming (@IntelGaming) August 16, 2021
For the time being, Intel plans to get Alchemist-based products onto store shelves in the first fiscal quarter of 2022. More details on these products will be shared later this year.
Currently, the graphics market is largely dominated by two companies: AMD and Nvidia. The former has its GPUs in both the Xbox Series X and PS5, as well as a decent stake in the PC gaming market with its CPUs. Nvidia, meanwhile, is a darling for its DLSS tech, which gives PC gamers easy access to ray tracing at high resolutions. However, getting these graphics cards is a problem, one that may extend to Intel’s own hardware. According to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, the ongoing semiconductor shortage could extend well into 2023.
Source: Gamespot
