Skip to main content

Intel quietly steps out of the shadows with two new GPUs

Two Intel Arc chips in front of a blue and purple gradient background.
Intel

Intel has just released two new mobile graphics cards — the Arc A570M and the Arc A530M. However, the launch was a little bit of a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it.” The cards appeared on Intel’s website, but there was no announcement of any kind.

Over time, we’ve grown quite fond of Intel’s initial batch of desktop GPUs, so we’re paying close attention to how the company continues to grow its mobile cards for gaming and other high-performance laptops. This unexpected launch puts Intel ahead of both AMD and Nvidia when it comes to the number of laptop GPUs available, but the actual number of computers that will utilize these cards remains to be seen.

Recommended Videos

Intel’s Arc Alchemist laptop lineup is already bigger than its desktop range — we’ve had the Arc A770M, A730M, A550M, A370M, and A350M. The new GPUs slot neatly in the gaps between the higher and lower ends of the lineup, but one of them is very similar to the A550M in terms of specs.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As discovered by Bionic_Squash on Twitter, the new Arcs are built upon a new graphics processor referred to as ACM-G12, which was previously unused in the consumer market.

Neat, more G12 SKU's.
It's device ID is 0x5696 and 0x5697 https://t.co/1SSd1yu2tr pic.twitter.com/9pesSX0wqD

— Bionic_Squash (@SquashBionic) August 1, 2023

The A570M comes with 16 Xe cores, which translates to 256 execution units. This is the same core count as the A550M, but the new GPU boosts the clock speed from just 900MHz to 1,300MHz. The price for the higher frequency is an increase in TGP, which is now rated at 75-95 watts, up from 60-80 watts. VideoCardz reports that the A570M comes with 8GB of GGDR6 memory across a 128-bit bus.

On the other hand, the A530M creates something of a halfway point between the midrange A550M and the entry-level A370M. The new GPU comes with 12 Xe cores (192 execution units) and a clock speed of 1,300MHz, which is actually a bit slower than the A370M with its 1,550MHz. We’re not sure about how much VRAM this card is going to sport, but 8 to 6GB seems like a safe bet. The TGP ranges from 65 to 95 watts.

Intel Arc laptops aren’t gaming beasts, and these new GPUs won’t change that — the top gaming laptop spots will still belong to AMD and Nvidia.

However, with Intel Battlemage slated for a 2024 release, it’s good to see that Intel is still doing what it can to stay on the radar with its GPUs, even if they’re last-gen by current standards.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
Intel’s new $249 GPU brings 1440p gaming to the masses
An exploded view of Intel's Arc A580 GPU.

Intel is trying to redefine what a "budget GPU" really means in 2024, and it's doing so with the new Arc B580 GPU. In what Intel itself described as its "worst kept secret," the B580 is the debut graphics card in Intel's new Battlemage range of discrete GPUs, and it's arriving at just $249. That's a price point that's been relegated to 1080p for decades, but Intel says the B580 will change that dynamic.

It's a 1440p GPU, at least by Intel's definition. That's despite the fact that Intel is comparing the card to GPUs like the RTX 4060 and RX 7600, both of which are more expensive than the B580 and squarely target 1080p. Intel says it can deliver higher performance than these two GPUs while undercutting the price, all in an attempt to capitalize on 1440p gamers. "1440p is becoming 1080p," as Intel's Tom Petersen put it in a pre-briefing with the press.

Read more
Intel Battlemage is almost here, but the wait isn’t over
Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

After weeks of rumors, it's finally a fact: Intel Arc Battlemage is on the imminent horizon, and the company is set to announce its next-gen GPUs on December 3. However, according to leaks, we're not getting the full scope of Intel Battlemage just yet. In fact, it may be a long time before we see Battlemage rank among the best graphics cards.

It's been a quiet year for Intel's discrete graphics department, but the last few weeks have been filled with leaks, and now, Intel itself confirms that we're getting some sort of an announcement tomorrow. It's unclear what exactly is being announced, other than the fact that it's Battlemage.

Read more
Nvidia CEO in 1997: ‘We need to kill Intel’
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at GTC

Those headline above includes strong words from the maker of the best graphics cards you can buy, and they have extra significance considering where Nvidia sits today in relation to Intel. But in 1997, things were a bit different. The quote comes from the upcoming book The Nvidia Way, written by columnist Tae Kim, and was shared as part of an excerpt ahead of the book's release next month.

The words from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang came as part of an all-hands meeting at the company in 1997 following the launch of the RIVA 128. This was prior to the release of the GeForce 256, when Nvidia finally coined the term "GPU," and it was a precarious time for the new company. Shortly following the release of the RIVA 128, Intel launched its own i740, which came with an 8MB frame buffer. The RIVA 128 came with only a 4MB frame buffer.

Read more