Intel's flagship Arc Alchemist GPU poses for the camera

[mongeese]

Rumor mill: An early sample of Intel’s flagship Arc Alchemist GPU has been photographed. It’s unclear if Intel intends to sell this reference design or if they’ve made it for testing purposes, but it’s a good-looker anyhow, and an interesting insight into the development of the GPU.

If you’ve been following the Arc Alchemist leaks, then the photos might look familiar. The YouTuber that published them, Moore’s Law Is Dead, also published photos of an earlier prototype that had a similar shape but a black shroud and a green PCB a few months ago. The design is also similar to the DG1 SDV, which is somewhat of a precursor to the Arc Alchemist series.

Moore’s Law Is Dead says that the photos come from a reliable source that’s worked with him for a long time. Although Moore’s Law Is Dead sometimes makes incorrect claims about product specifications, the photos he publishes are accurate more often than not.

According to his source, the photos are of Intel’s 512 EU model, which was first leaked over two years ago. Recent rumors say that it could perform similarly to the Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and the AMD RX 6800.

On the front of the card are two fans that push air down onto the PCB through black metal fins and out through the vents on the back, which is all standard. The card is slightly taller than its mounting bracket, which means that it’s sized to the full-width and full-height PCIe specification.

On the side of the card are an 8-pin and a 6-pin power connector. Combined, they can provide up to 225W. It could draw an additional 75W from the motherboard if it needed to, but it’s rare for GPUs that are hooked up to the power supply to do so.

Moore’s Law Is Dead also claims to have seen photos of the entry-level Arc Alchemist GPU, which has 128 EU. He produced the rough renders below.

The card is suspected to have a TDP of less than 75W and hence draws all its power from the motherboard. It’s also rumored to be about as fast as a GTX 1660 Ti.

Intel isn’t expected to launch their Arc Alchemist GPUs until early next year, possibly in February. But they’re already busy drumming up excitement with competitions and demos of their new supersampling technology, XeSS.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92009-intel-flagship-arc-alchemist-gpu-poses-camera.html

 

[Dimitriid]

It looks straight out of 2009 but I'm sure will perform better than that.

I would like the look if you get like a similar era case: I'm thinking a cooler master case with lots of 5.25 and 3.5 front bays, massive interior space, the works. Might be difficult to source a similarly old looking mobo that's extremely colorful and such but should be possible.

 

[Ludak021]

I don't use a transparent side panel, saves me money, time...

 

[paul1122]

Because I stare inside my pc all day instead of at the monitor.

 

[kapital98]

It looks straight out of 2009 but I'm sure will perform better than that.

I would like the look if you get like a similar era case: I'm thinking a cooler master case with lots of 5.25 and 3.5 front bays, massive interior space, the works. Might be difficult to source a similarly old looking mobo that's extremely colorful and such but should be possible.

2009 is being generous! A Geforce 8800 GTX or Radeon 3890 both look better in my book.

But, yeah, pair that with a gaudy orange or purple mobo and you got a "retro" build. Can't have too many 5.25 front bays. Don't forget to have the PSU above the motherboard!

 

[Sausagemeat]

I like the 2009 look. And it also looks like there will be similar box art to the era. This reminds me of being in my 20s so I’m all good with it.

I have recently decided that I will up my budget for a GPU. My last one cost £220 and I wasn’t really planning on spending more than £300 on a new card. But I’ve decided screw it, £600 will be my limit. But I want like 3070 level performance minimum and no Radeon again, that sh1t is snake oil. Maybe Intel can help me out!

 

[emmzo]

Maybe the last chance to deal with inflated prices by an increased supply. Ofc, neither of these companies really care about gamers as long as they have a more lucrative mining market and besides, it has been proven that even a lot of gamers seem to agree to pay double or triple the price. For the rest of us getting screwed, ugly looking cards or not, it`s the last glimmer of hope.

 

[Burty117]

I assume we won't really see this reference design much anyway and all the board partners will fit new coolers and designs etc...

 

[Ludak021]

2009 is being generous! A Geforce 8800 GTX or Radeon 3890 both look better in my book.

But, yeah, pair that with a gaudy orange or purple mobo and you got a "retro" build. Can't have too many 5.25 front bays. Don't forget to have the PSU above the motherboard!

Really?

radeon 3890 doesn't even exist, in books, afaik.

 

[Kosmoz]

This is another way of saying "it looks cheap".

 

[Lionvibez]

Because I stare inside my pc all day instead of at the monitor.

Some people have their computer not under the desk but at eye level to the right of their screen. In that position with a side panel you can see the internals all depends on your setup.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I'd be actually impressed if their 75W GPU can perform on the level of a 1660ti, considering nvidia's 75 watt part is the 1650 and the 3050 is looking to be a 90 w part.

Maybe my HTPC will end up with an intel ARC GPU instead of a 3050/rx 6400. And if they can put out a 6800/xt competitor for a decent price I may get one of those too, I run linux mint so drivers will be a non issue. Bring on the cheap silicon!

Some people have their computer not under the desk but at eye level to the right of their screen. In that position with a side panel you can see the internals all depends on your setup.

I have my PCs on my desks.

Of course they have side fans because my cases are actually functional instead of being a RGB project. Hell even with windows most cases all you will see is the PCB. ATX is the wrong way up to look at the nice cooler design.

I like the 2009 look. And it also looks like there will be similar box art to the era. This reminds me of being in my 20s so I’m all good with it.

I have recently decided that I will up my budget for a GPU. My last one cost £220 and I wasn’t really planning on spending more than £300 on a new card. But I’ve decided screw it, £600 will be my limit. But I want like 3070 level performance minimum and no Radeon again, that sh1t is snake oil. Maybe Intel can help me out!

Bad news for you, youll need to spend even more! Or just stick to your guns and wait for awhile, my 5 year old 480 is still holding out pretty well.

 

[Vulcanproject]

Well ok. I want to see the performance. I just grabbed an RTX3060Ti at MSRP this week after following some discord notifications. It is not the card I really wanted, but it was the one at a sensible price. Can't ignore any current GPU at MSRP in this climate!

I only want 1440p/60FPS so it'll tide me over for 12 months at least until a brand new build and hopefully this mess might have started to blow over. In the meantime if Intel can iterate quickly and improve their GPUs they could be real alternatives that might ease the market a little. Anything to help!

 

[Sausagemeat]

Bad news for you, youll need to spend even more! Or just stick to your guns and wait for awhile, my 5 year old 480 is still holding out pretty well.

My 480 is not holding out so well. There are a number of games I just can’t play or I can’t get 60 fps. Or in the case of no mans sky the AMD drivers conflict with it or something and it’s a stuttering mess. I need a new GPU! I want ray tracing and DLSS!

 

[Geralt]

My 480 is not holding out so well. There are a number of games I just can’t play or I can’t get 60 fps. Or in the case of no mans sky the AMD drivers conflict with it or something and it’s a stuttering mess. I need a new GPU! I want ray tracing and DLSS!

You need a new GPU, CPU, mobo and memory, all at the same time.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

My 480 is not holding out so well. There are a number of games I just can’t play or I can’t get 60 fps. Or in the case of no mans sky the AMD drivers conflict with it or something and it’s a stuttering mess. I need a new GPU! I want ray tracing and DLSS!

Have you tried a new installation? Might be time for a wipe and reset. I have 0 issues with NMS on my 480. For the other games, moving from ultra to high can easily net 60 FPS on every game out today at 1080p.

As for RT and DLSS, well for RT its still a new tech and itll be another 2-3 years before widespread implementation is actually noticeable, I wouldnt buy into RT until maybe the RTX 5000/RX 8000 series. For DLSS you can just run at a lower resolution, and BOOM, free vaseline-o-vision.

 

[pcnthuziast]

How it looks doesn't matter. How it performs barely matters. Whether or not it will be widely available at or near msrp is everything. In which case, it would be a very solid foray into the gpu space for Intel.

 

[Sausagemeat]

Have you tried a new installation? Might be time for a wipe and reset. I have 0 issues with NMS on my 480. For the other games, moving from ultra to high can easily net 60 FPS on every game out today at 1080p.

As for RT and DLSS, well for RT its still a new tech and itll be another 2-3 years before widespread implementation is actually noticeable, I wouldnt buy into RT until maybe the RTX 5000/RX 8000 series. For DLSS you can just run at a lower resolution, and BOOM, free vaseline-o-vision.

Lol. RT is already mainstream mate. Most new console titles have it. I live with people who have RTX cards and let me assure you it’s very noticeable. If you think it’s not you need your eyes tested. DLSS is actually decent now, not the Vaseline fest that it delivered 3 years ago. In fact in some games DLSS is objectively better than native. I find it common amongst people who haven’t experienced RTX to think it’s a gimmick. It’s definitely not lol.

Oh and the NmS thing is well documented. There is a conflict with OpenGL and the Radeon drivers. I simply don’t believe you when you claim it runs fine, it doesn’t run fine at all on Radeon drivers.

What I need to do is ditch Radeon. It’s just garbage. And besides, AMD price their parts up there with a Nvidia parts now. Like a specced up Toyota Camry trying to take on a Lambourghini for the same money. Radeon is a viable budget choice but no way will I ever pay premium money for that crap.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Lol. RT is already mainstream mate. Most new console titles have it.

"mainstream"

Full RT support is far from mainstream. Now, the heavily cut down "ambient occlusion+" that consoles can actually manage? Yeah, sure, that's mainstream, but that can also run on a toaster. Full RT, using all the RT effects, not just a few of the easiest to run, is still years away.

I live with people who have RTX cards and let me assure you it’s very noticeable. If you think it’s not you need your eyes tested.

That's entirely subjective. I've yet to see a single RTX enabled game that produces noticeable, impressive lighting effects like the old F.E.A.R. games did. Max RTX usually adds up to tiny reflections on water you'll never see in game, at the cost of 66% of your framerate.

DLSS is actually decent now, not the Vaseline fest that it delivered 3 years ago. In fact in some games DLSS is objectively better than native. I find it common amongst people who haven’t experienced RTX to think it’s a gimmick. It’s definitely not lol.

Imagine arguing that running games at a lower resolution IMPROVED image quality. LMFAO. How hard did you drink the Nvidia Kool-Aid? And even worse, you make the case that DLSS doesnt harm image quality after arguing that minor RTX improvements are quite noticeable. Just how broken are your eyes?

Oh and the NmS thing is well documented. There is a conflict with OpenGL and the Radeon drivers. I simply don’t believe you when you claim it runs fine, it doesn’t run fine at all on Radeon drivers.

Fine. Choose not to believe people giving you advice. Your subjective experience is clearly objective truth.

What I need to do is ditch Radeon. It’s just garbage.

Oh, THAT's how hard you drank the Kool Aid.

And besides, AMD price their parts up there with a Nvidia parts now. Like a specced up Toyota Camry trying to take on a Lambourghini for the same money. Radeon is a viable budget choice but no way will I ever pay premium money for that crap.

If Toyota made a camry as fast as a lambo with 90% of the luxury features It'd certainly warrant a lambo tier price tag. Being from Team Green does not make a GPU worth extra money. I couldnt imagine paying the Team Green tax for a 8GB GPU in 2021, even before the scalping.

 

[paul1122]

How it works and today's MSRP is right. Just had my first EVER hard drive fail on me, and it was a M.2 internal SSD. Go figure, lol.
BTW- I do have the full rainbow internals going on my pc, but it took me 2 weeks to realize that RGBFusion was not loading in Win11 and they were stuck on a orangish loop, lol. Why I did it besides the first build pic confounds me now,,,

 

[Jpe1701]

At this point if it performs well, I don't care if it looks like a turd.

How it works and today's MSRP is right. Just had my first EVER hard drive fail on me, and it was a M.2 internal SSD. Go figure, lol.
BTW- I do have the full rainbow internals going on my pc, but it took me 2 weeks to realize that RGBFusion was not loading in Win11 and they were stuck on a orangish loop, lol. Why I did it besides the first build pic confounds me now,,,

I just barely figured out the same thing with my rgbfusion. Curse you orange! That was my ex-wifes favorite color.

 

[Sausagemeat]

"mainstream"

Full RT support is far from mainstream. Now, the heavily cut down "ambient occlusion+" that consoles can actually manage? Yeah, sure, that's mainstream, but that can also run on a toaster. Full RT, using all the RT effects, not just a few of the easiest to run, is still years away.

That's entirely subjective. I've yet to see a single RTX enabled game that produces noticeable, impressive lighting effects like the old F.E.A.R. games did. Max RTX usually adds up to tiny reflections on water you'll never see in game, at the cost of 66% of your framerate.

Imagine arguing that running games at a lower resolution IMPROVED image quality. LMFAO. How hard did you drink the Nvidia Kool-Aid? And even worse, you make the case that DLSS doesnt harm image quality after arguing that minor RTX improvements are quite noticeable. Just how broken are your eyes?

Fine. Choose not to believe people giving you advice. Your subjective experience is clearly objective truth.

Oh, THAT's how hard you drank the Kool Aid.

If Toyota made a camry as fast as a lambo with 90% of the luxury features It'd certainly warrant a lambo tier price tag. Being from Team Green does not make a GPU worth extra money. I couldnt imagine paying the Team Green tax for a 8GB GPU in 2021, even before the scalping.

Ray tracing is actually mainstream, you seem to be in some kind denial about that fact. In many games turning on ray tracing makes a bigger difference then going from low to high settings. And DLSS looks subjectively better in some games. That isn’t “kool aid” it’s just fact and has been confirmed by several tech journalists. Sure it also looks poor in some games too, it’s a mixed bag but right now it’s a huge advantage to have it as an option.

I’m not really up for this sort of discussion on here but feel free to dm me. I am more than happy to educate you further in private. You seem to carry a lot of misconceptions.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Ray tracing is actually mainstream, you seem to be in some kind denial about that fact. In many games turning on ray tracing makes a bigger difference then going from low to high settings. And DLSS looks subjectively better in some games. That isn’t “kool aid” it’s just fact and has been confirmed by several tech journalists. Sure it also looks poor in some games too, it’s a mixed bag but right now it’s a huge advantage to have it as an option.

I’m not really up for this sort of discussion on here but feel free to dm me. I am more than happy to educate you further in private. You seem to carry a lot of misconceptions.

RT is not mainstream - Minecraft , Doom if you have the GPU - these are highly artificial games- with limited assets .
Look at steam survey - those 1060 and even 2060 aren't going to do much.
Imagine the power needed to show a sunshower in a dappled forest in all it's glory.
Or a dripping jungle on a sunny day .
If you had a RTX 2070 would you run all games allowing it - with all the RT options enabled.
Or even a RTX 3080 ?.

You would still need judicious selections - not set and forget.

I think next gen - with RT cheats/selections will be much much better.
The nest gen after that with hardware & software solutions will be pretty good.

Full real time RTX , in life like games - with few tricks -maybe 10 years for top line cards if we are lucky

 

[Burty117]

Oh, THAT's how hard you drank the Kool Aid.

Na it is true though. Because of Techspot and most other outlets giving the 5700XT great ratings, I took the plunge and built a machine with one.

No matter how hard I try, the drivers do just suck. Randomly crashing games or performing badly for no good reason.

After a year of troubleshooting, we popped a lower powered Nvidia GPU in to see if all the issues we've had are AMD related and sure enough, no game crashes, don't run as well, but at least you can play it without fear of losing all progress at any moment.

I REALLY want AMD to succeed, I really do, competition is good for everyone, but I cannot in good conscience recommend AMD until they can produce a reliable driver.

 

[Sausagemeat]

RT is not mainstream - Minecraft , Doom if you have the GPU - these are highly artificial games- with limited assets .
Look at steam survey - those 1060 and even 2060 aren't going to do much.
Imagine the power needed to show a sunshower in a dappled forest in all it's glory.
Or a dripping jungle on a sunny day .
If you had a RTX 2070 would you run all games allowing it - with all the RT options enabled.
Or even a RTX 3080 ?.

You would still need judicious selections - not set and forget.

I think next gen - with RT cheats/selections will be much much better.
The nest gen after that with hardware & software solutions will be pretty good.

Full real time RTX , in life like games - with few tricks -maybe 10 years for top line cards if we are lucky

You are incorrect. Most new games releasing have RT, or just minecraft and doom Most new AAA titles have it. Many of the most played games have it. It’s even on consoles and has been for over a year.

I’ve noticed people are still living in 2018 when RT is new. But it’s the end of 2021, RT is no longer new or gimmicky or niche.

Sure fully path traced games are some way off, we currently only have two. But RT effects in games are common enough to be called mainstream.

I find it amusing that people are still in denial about RT now in late 2021.

Here is a page with extensive lists of games that have ray tracing features across consoles and PC.

List of games with ray tracing support - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org