Intel proves us wrong with big driver update gains, fixes WebView2 black screen issue

Intel has released its latest Windows Arc beta driver today with version 31.0.101.4499. The new driver once again brings some very significant performance uplifts, something which was lacking in a couple of its previous driver updates. Intel claims the biggest difference is in F1 23 with up to a 33% gain.

Outside of gaming, the new driver fixes a black screen issue with embedded WebView2 content. The full changelog is given below:

GAMING HIGHLIGHTS:

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Counter-Strike 2*
• F1 23*
• Aliens: Dark Descent*
• Forever Skies*

Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4382 software driver for:

• Counter-Strike 2* (DX11)
  • Up to 10% uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
  • Up to 8% uplift at 1440p with High settings
• F1 23* (DX12)
  • Up to 33% uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings with Ray Tracing off
  • Up to 18% uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings with Ray Tracing on
  • Up to 27% uplift at 1440p with High settings
• Destiny 2* (DX11)
  • Up to 11% uplift at 1080p with Highest settings

FIXED ISSUES:

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Destiny 2* (DX11) may experience less than expected performance or stuttering during gameplay.
• A blank screen or error may be observed in certain applications when embedding content using WebView2.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:
  • System may hang while waking up from sleep. May need to power cycle the system for recovery.
  • GPU hardware acceleration may not be available for media playback and encode with some versions of Adobe Premiere Pro.
  • Topaz Video AI* may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.
  • Some users may experience a crash in F1 23 when changing the XeSS presets. Intel® and the developer are aware of the issue and a fix will be coming in a future game patch.
• Intel® Iris™ Xe MAX Graphics Products:
  • Driver installation may not complete successfully on certain notebook systems with both Intel® Iris™ X e + Iris™ X e MAX devices. A system reboot and re-installation of the graphics driver may be required for successful installation.
• Intel® Core™ Processor Products:
  • Total War: Warhammer III* (DX11) may experience an application crash when loading battle scenarios.
  • Call of Duty Warzone 2.0* (DX12) may exhibit corruption on certain light sources such as fire.
  • Conqueror's Blade* (DX12) may experience an application crash during game launch.
  • A Plague Tale: Requiem* (DX12) may experience application instability during gameplay.

INTEL® ARC™ CONTROL KNOWN ISSUES:

• Using Arc Control Studio capture with certain games may incorrectly generate multiple video files.
• With Intel® Arc Control installed, systems may experience slightly higher than expected power consumption during system sleep or hibernate.
• May observe “could not stop Highlights” notification when stopping Auto-Game Highlights.
• The Camera on-screen preview may incorrectly persist when switching between Desktop and Overlay modes.
• The “Connector” type in the Display page may incorrectly show DP* when using an HDMI* display connection.

To download the Intel Arc 31.0.101.4499 beta driver, head over to the company's official website here. The driver is compatible with Arc discrete GPUs, DG1 discrete GPU, and Intel Xe integrated graphics present inside 11th Gen and newer chips.