The ASRock Intel Arc A380 is now officially a thing, as the company has officially revealed its spin on the Arc Alchemist graphics card. The entry-level card boats similar specs to the previously released Gunnir Photon 6GB OC GPU, but it’s equipped with a single fan and a low-profile ITX shroud.
Spotted by Momomo_us, the Intel Arc A380 Challenger somewhat ends the company’s red team exclusivity, as ASRock traditionally makes AMD GPUs. The latest custom Arc Alchemist graphics card to release packs 6GB 96-bit GDDR6 VRAM, and PCI Express 4.0 support., three DisplayPort, and an HDMI 2.0b port.
While Intel previous revealed Arc GPUs can support HDMI 2.1 if they’ve got a ‘Proton Converter’, it looks like ASRock has opted not to include one. Naturally, this means the port’s output is limited to 4K 60Hz, which is perhaps reasonable considering the A380’s entry-level status.
Speaking of which, the Intel Arc A380 is entry-level in terms of price and specs, as it is currently available for 299 RMB (roughly $192 USD) at Chinese retailers like JD.
Just like the Gunnir Photon, the ASRock A380 Challenger includes an 8-pin connector, and the company recommends using a gaming PC with a 500W power supply. This might sound like overkill, especially since Intel’s official TDP is 75W, but overlocking the A380 can apparently boost fps in games like Doom Eternal, so it’s probably worth having some spare juice.
As you may have guessed, the ASRock Intel A380 GPU is exclusively available in China. Whether the custom card will make its way overseas remains to be seen, but even gaming laptop variants are still listed as “coming soon” at retailers like Best Buy. There’s even reason to believe future Arc GPU plans will be cancelled, so we might not end up with a third horse in the graphics card race after all.