Intel Arc GPUs are slowly, but surely, making their way into the gaming PC scene, and the company just unveiled its A380 desktop entry in China. While its entry-level graphics card targets a 1080p 60fps experience, its affordable price tag could help the blue team claim some ground within the budget builds scene.
Highlighted by Videocardz, the A380 Intel Arc GPU packs 6GB GDDR6 VRAM and a 96-bit memory bus. It’s also got higher bandwidth speeds than its mobile counterpart at 192GB/s. Benchmarks provided by the company suggest it’s capable of running games at 1080p 60fps with medium settings enabled. In addition, Intel says the card supposedly outpaces AMD’s featherweight contender, as it’s supposedly 25% faster. than the Radeon RX 6400.
There are plenty of low-spec graphics cards already on the market, and Nvidia is scheduled to release its GeForce GTX 1630. Yet, the Intel Arc A380 card’s spec and the price could tempt budget build enthusiasts, as it comes in at 1,030 yuan (roughly $150 USD). Of course, that’s providing the desktop option actually makes its way overseas any time soon, as the company is still dragging its feet with its Arc gaming laptop graphics chips.
With the release of Nvidia RTX 4000 and AMD RDNA 3 GPUs on the horizon, it’s easy to forget about Intel’s foray into the best graphics card race. While it’s unclear whether the top-end “limited edition” A780 will be able to keep up with its next-gen opponents, perhaps the company’s fight will be won within the entry-level ring.
That’s not to say Intel has forgotten about its big guns, as the Chinese manufacturer Gunnir teased a flagship Arc GPU with three fans (via Videocardz). The board partner didn’t clarify whether it’d be an A770 or A780, but if you’re looking to boost fps and resolution on an Intel graphics card, it’s probably worth watching out for its arrival.