Intel ARC Alchemist – New information about graphics cards, their performance and individual model specifications

In recent weeks, we’ve learned a lot about the Xe-HPG architecture, which is the basis for Intel ARC (Alchemist SoC) graphics cards. The main elements of a single Xe-CORE block are the Vector Engine and Matrix Engines (XMX – Xe Matrix Extensions) modules. The latter is responsible for hardware acceleration of all calculations related to artificial intelligence algorithms. It is also the basis for the operation of XeSS technology, i.e. super image sampling (reconstruction from lower resolution) using artificial intelligence algorithms. Each Xe-CORE block contains 16 Vector Engine and Matrix Engine modules. In each Render Slice block there are 4 dedicated RT (ray tracing module) cores, which are used to speed up real-time ray tracing related calculations. What exactly should we expect from Intel cards? The new information gives us a confirmed preview of the manufacturer’s upcoming premiere.

Intel may in fact plan only three ARC graphics cards, based on a different Alchemist core. It will perform around GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce GTX 1650 / GTX 1650 SUPER, respectively.

Intel Xe-HPG and XeSS – ARC Graphics Architecture Overview and Competitive Technology for NVIDIA DLSS

According to the latest information posted on Moore’s Law is Dead channel, Intel will (at least initially) release three ARC graphics cards with two different Alchemist chips. The first variant of the GPU will be equipped with 512 EU blocks and in this case we are dealing with a full Alchemist SoC 1 core. The base clock of current samples oscillates in the 2200-2500MHz range, with no TGP Depending on the source, cards currently prepared with this SoC for power supply require a single 8-pin 6-pin power plug to be connected. The performance itself depends on specific games – in some titles it is assumed the level of GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, and in others – GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. The second variant of Alchemist SoC 1 must have 384 active EU blocks and use a 192-bit bus (as opposed to the full 256-bit core). The performance of this version of the card oscillates between the GeForce RTX 3060 and the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.

Intel ARC graphics cards have been overclocked since their debut. XeSS technology will not be locked to Intel cards

Intel is also working on a second ARC graphics core – the Alchemist SoC 2 – which will be setup for a low-end segment graphics card. It’s slated to feature 4 or 8 GB of VRAM on a 64-bit memory bus, offering 128 EU blocks and a base clock of 2200-2500MHz. The performance of the Alchemist SoC 2 oscillates around the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER cards. The card is also supposed to offer high energy efficiency, because the TGP should not exceed 75W. So we are talking about a card without additional power sockets. While we still don’t know the exact card pricing, Moore’s Dead Law once again indicates that Intel ARC pricing will be aggressive for competing GPUs, according to his sources. We hope that all this information will eventually find coverage in reality and will indeed compete with NVIDIA and AMD solutions.

Źródło: Moore Matt’s Law, WCCFTech