Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Intel claims up to 268% gaming boost with latest Arc graphics drivers

The Arc A770 graphics card running in a PC.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Intel has released a new graphics driver update for its Arc lineup of GPUs. It is the company’s first major update this year, primarily supporting new game titles like Enshrouded, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8, and Palworld. As always, the new Game On drivers (31.0.101.5186) also ensure a substantial performance boost to many existing DirectX11 and DirectX12 games.

As per Intel, gamers can expect a massive increase of up to 268% average fps (frame per second) uplift in Just Cause 4 at 1080p with very high settings and about 160% average fps uplift in Just Cause 3 with similar settings. Popular titles like Tekken 8 (DX12) also witness up to 15% average fps uplift at 4K with ultra settings and up to 8% average fps uplift in The Last of Us Part 1 at 1080p with ultra settings.

Here’s the entire list of game performance improvements that one can expect if they are using an Intel Arc A-series GPU with the latest driver update:

  • Albion Online (DX11) – Up to 11% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Anno 1800 (DX11) – Up to 33% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings
  • Apex Legends (DX11) – Up to 26% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (DX11) – Up to 13% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings
  • Black Desert Online (DX11) – Up to 18% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Elder Scrolls Online (DX11) – Up to 10% average fps uplift at 4K with Ultra settings
  • Elex II (DX11) – Up to 101% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Humankind (DX11) – Up to 11% average fps uplift at 1080p with Fantastic settings
  • Hunt: Showdown (DX11) – Up to 27% average fps uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Just Cause 3 (DX11) – Up to 160% average fps uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
  • Just Cause 4 (DX11) – Up to 268% average fps uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
  • New World (DX11) – Up to 13% average fps uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
  • Returnal (DX12) – Up to 8% average fps uplift at 1080p with Epic settings
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (DX11) – Up to 32% average fps uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Sons of the Forest (DX11) – Up to 15% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Space Engineers (DX11) – Up to 69% average fps uplift at 1080p with Extreme settings
  • Star Citizen (DX11) – Up to 9% average fps uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
  • Star Wars Squadrons (DX11) – Up to 6% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Stellaris (DX11) – Up to 5% average fps uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Tekken 8 (DX12) – Up to 15% average fps uplift at 4K with Ultra settings
  • The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12) – Up to 8% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Warframe (DX11) – Up to 20% average fps uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Watch Dogs: Legion (DX11) – Up to 16% average fps uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • XCOM 2 (DX11) – Up to 4% average fps uplift at 1080p with Maximum settings

A new driver update (31.0.101.5234) is also being rolled out for Intel’s Arc mobile graphics integrated with the latest Intel Core Ultra CPUs. This update brings support for three games, including Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8, and Palworld, as well as certain performance boosts in the following games:

  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (DX12) – Up to 25% average fps uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Returnal (DX12) – Up to 6% average fps uplift at 1080p with Low settings
  • The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12) – Up to 6% average fps uplift at 1080p with Very Low settings

This isn’t the first time Intel has impressed us with its efforts to improve the performance of its well-priced Arc series GPUs. In October, Intel released a major graphics driver update, which introduced double-digit gains in terms of performance, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution gaining a 119% uplift.

Kunal Khullar
Kunal is a Computing writer contributing content around PC hardware, laptops, monitors, and more for Digital Trends. Having…
Intel’s new CPU feature boosted my performance by 26% — but it still needs work
The Intel Core i9-14900K slotted in a motherboard.

A 26% increase in frame rates from your CPU sounds far-fetched. If that's not enough to catch the attention of PC gamers, I don't know is. But trust me -- according to my own testing -- that's exactly what Intel's Application Optimization, or APO, delivers.

What started as a niche feature only supported by Intel's flagship chip and two games has since been broadened, with unofficial support for older CPUs and a much longer list of titles.

Read more
Intel just boosted gaming performance by up to 155%
A tray of Intel Core Ultra CPUs.

Intel's engineers once again managed to introduce significant improvements in the latest driver update -- but this time, it's not the discrete graphics cards that received a boost. Instead, the recent patch targets integrated Intel Arc GPUs found in Intel Core Ultra processors, which are some of Intel's top CPUs for laptops. This update adds support for a couple of games, but more importantly, it boosts gaming performance by as much as 155%.

For starters, the new 31.0.101.5333 WHQL driver adds support for Last Epoch and Sea of Thieves, more precisely, the DX 12 update. This applies both to the Intel Arc A-series, meaning dedicated GPUs, and to the Core Ultra chips. Next, we have a slew of performance improvements in DX11 games.

Read more
Intel isn’t giving up on GPUs yet
The Intel logo on the Arc A770 graphics card.

Intel hasn't said much about its graphics cards lately. We saw the launch of the Arc A770 and A750 late last year, and the A580 just a few months ago, but after the departure of Raja Koduri from Intel's graphics division earlier this year, the future of Intel Arc has been a bit patchy. It now appears Intel is still planning to deliver on its road map, though.

A slide shared with Japanese gaming outlet 4Gamer shows that Intel is planning to launch a next-gen GPU in 2024. This lines up with Intel's initial road map, which promised that gamers would see next-gen Battlemage GPUs some time in early 2024.

Read more