Intel"s roadmap for its Arc GPU is going through a lot of ups and downs. Various tests have suggested that there are many issues that need to be ironed out before they are officially launched. Today, a new report from tech tester Igor Wallossek from Igor"s Lab has suggested that Intel"s dream could be on a brink of collapse. The report reflects on serious troubles with system integrators, board partners, and even retailers.
In his report (translated from German), Igor states:
"I asked some dealers, potential distributors and manufacturers in Europe about Intel"s Arc cards and the plans of these companies in this regard. However, for the most part there was little or no interest in embarking on the adventure with this new product. "
This was at a time long before the Arc lineup"s benchmarks and tests were leaked. The company has not given any price guarantee either. Furthermore, it isn"t offering a competitive enough package for RMAs which makes their GPU lineup, a risky investment. Without the interest from commercial customers, the board partners are left with a decision whether it would be better to pull the plug on the entire project, or keep going.
"At least one of the major board partners has now even completely stopped producing Intel cards (due to quality concerns)" says the report further. This was said for the Alchemist generation of GPUs, which is the first generation of the Arc lineup.
The company is also sitting on a lot of unsold inventory. This includes products such as graphics cards, motherboards, etc. However, this indicates that a lot of capital is tied up holding that inventory, which leaves a little financial room for experiments such as the Arc lineup.
Intel has released only one card so far - the Arc A380. It is a budget GPU and is currently available only in China. This is because it has partnered up with OEMs and system integrators to launch its products.
An increasing number of problems has made it hard for Intel to follow its own timeline. Board members have already cut off marketing, and it looks the Arc series is a dark road ahead for Intel.
Source: Igor"s Lab (via Tom"s Hardware)