Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing

Intel teases the design of its Arc Alchemist GPU in the coolest way possible

Monica J. White
By

Following the recent release of Intel Arc, a new brand dedicated to high-performance gaming hardware, software, and services, Intel made another announcement. The company teased the upcoming release of its first discrete gaming graphics card in an unexpectedly unique way.

If Intel’s goal was to draw attention to its line of graphics cards that had until recently been code-named Intel Arc Alchemist, it’s safe to say it succeeded. The company sent 1,000 of its own drones out into the night sky and recorded a dazzling light show that was then compiled into a one-minute video on Twitter.

Recommended Videos

We’ve painted pixels in the sky with 1,000 Intel drones. Now, that’s a visual experience. What will you create next? https://t.co/FYeygLy6Oh #IntelArc #inteldrones #inteldronelightshows #dronelightshows pic.twitter.com/c0Q4ycNYVS

— Intel Graphics (@IntelGraphics) August 17, 2021

“We’ve painted pixels in the sky with 1,000 Intel drones. Now, that’s a visual experience. What will you create next?” said the message attached to the video.

Aside from a number of fun visual effects created by the drones, the video carried an important teaser — the image of a dual-fan graphics card. We can only assume that this might be the future design of Intel’s Alchemist, but it is possible that the brand just tried to create an easily recognizable image. Whether Intel’s drone creation is a correct depiction of Alchemist or not, it seems the company is not going to put too much stock into cooling. Based on current information, two fans seem adequate for most, if not all, configurations of this GPU.

Intel hasn’t confirmed any specs of its future gaming GPUs yet, although the company has indicated that it aims to rival Nvidia’s and AMD’s best graphics cards. Leaks indicate that the cards will have a maximum of 512 execution units (EUs) combined with 16GB of GDDR6 memory. Twitter user @GPUsAreMagic stated that the 512 EUs found in Arc Alchemist are divided into four groups, each including 128 EUs. However, we don’t know this for a fact, as this assumption is based on a render of the die that was included in one of Intel’s video announcements.

LEDs forming a graphics card.

Alchemist is going to be the first product released by the Intel Arc team. Anton Kaplanyan, a recently poached ex-Nvidia DLSS engineer who now works for Intel, recently revealed more about the card’s capabilities.

“In case you were curious, Intel Arc GPUs will come with full DX12U support, including mesh shading and high-performance ray tracing. Bonus, high-quality neural supersampling deserves a separate announcement,” said Anton in response to the launch of Intel Arc.

Intel’s “high-quality neural supersampling” sounds a lot like Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR. It’s certainly a feature that future Intel GPU owners will be happy to have, but it’s uncertain how much use it will find in gaming. As game developers already have to try to optimize their games for both DLSS and FSR, it’s likely that Intel’s tech will not be supported on too many platforms — at least not until the cards hold a larger share of the market.

Intel Arc’s plans in regards to the gaming graphics card sector seem to stretch far into the future. The company has already announced that Alchemist, which was previously named DG2, will have several successors — Battlemage, Celestial, and Druid. Intel Arc Alchemist is set to release in the first quarter  of 2022, so if all goes well, we should start seeing more information about its design and performance in the coming months.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Monica J. White
Monica J. White
Computing Writer
Monica is a UK-based freelance writer and self-proclaimed geek. A firm believer in the "PC building is just like expensive…
Here’s how Intel doubled Arc GPUs’ performance with a simple driver update
intel arc alchemist driver update doubled performance a770 logo respec featured

As newcomers in the world of discrete graphics cards, the best hope for Intel's Arc A770 and A750 was that they wouldn't be terrible. And Intel mostly delivered in raw power, but the two budget-focused GPUs have been lagging in the software department. Over the course of the last few months, Intel has corrected course.

Through a series of driver updates, Intel has delivered close to double the performance in DirectX 9 titles compared to launch, as well as steep upgrades in certain DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games. I caught up with Intel's Tom Petersen and Omar Faiz to find out how Intel was able to rearchitect its drivers, and more importantly, how it's continuing to drive software revisions in the future.
The driver of your games

Read more
Nvidia may have another monster GPU in the works, and the price could be outrageous
GeForce RTX logo is shown on the side of a graphics card.

Today, yet another sign of an upcoming Nvidia Titan RTX Ada GPU appeared -- the card's specs were spotted in a shipping manifest. This suggests that engineering samples of the monstrous GPU might be on their way to various development centers around the globe.

Everything points to the Nvidia Titan card making a big comeback in this generation, and the development seems to be farther along than it initially seemed to be. There's a catch, though -- how many people will even be able to afford it?

Read more
Intel targets RTX 3060 takedown with Arc Alchemist price cut
Two intel Arc graphics cards on a pink background.

Intel is cutting the price of its Arc A750 graphics card in an attempt to strike at Nvidia's popular RTX 3060. Starting today, the Arc A750 starts at $250 for Intel's Limited Edition model.

As you can read in our Intel Arc A770 and A750 review, the card narrowly beats the RTX 3060 at 1080p, while carving out a more significant lead at 1440p. The price cut brings a $40 reduction in the price the A750 debuted out, tipping the value scales in Intel's favor.

Read more