Intel has already announced its Arc Alchemist GPU lineup for laptops and notebooks. The lineup for both laptop and desktops will be segmented into three parts similar to how Intel markets its Core i-series processors. Hence there will be Arc 3 for entry-level, Arc 5 for mainstream, and Arc 7 for high-end stuff.
Intel says it will release Arc Alchemist desktops GPUs in Q2 of this year and if you are someone who is expecting Intel to completely disrupt the GPU market like Zen did when it launched back in 2016, you may be in for some disappointment. According to a Wccftech report, Intel is planning to position some of its Arc SKUs in similar price brackets as comparably performing Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon GPU models. In fact, some of the MSRPs may even be higher if we take Nvidia"s MSRPs as reference.
The alleged launch prices for the Intel Alchemist GPUs are given in the table below:
Arc SKU | Comparable GeForce | Comparable Radeon | Alleged MSRP | Alleged release |
---|---|---|---|---|
A750 | RTX 3060 | RX 6600 / XT | $350 | May-June |
A580 | RTX 3050 | RX 6600/ 6500 XT | $280 | May-June |
A380 | GTX 1650 | RX 6400 | $150 | July |
While these prices seem decent at first glance when compared to current GPU prices, it must be kept in mind that graphics cards are getting cheaper gradually, and by the time the Arc desktop lineup is out, it may be too late as AMD and Nvidia may already begin launching their next-gen RDNA 3 RX 7000 series and Ada Lovelace RTX 4000 series GPUs.
In case you are wondering what the specifications of Alchemist will look like, SiSoftware had already leaked some of that in its early review of Arc where it noted that the performance of Intel Arc was "nothing special".
Source: Wccftech