Intel’s Q3’23 update – driver and software offensive for more performance of Arc graphics cards

Unfortunately, Intel only provided us with the latest information late yesterday evening and I was still busy in the lab with the Radeon Pro W7600 at that time and fully booked this morning. Nevertheless, I took the time and summarized the most important things from the recording for you. Basically, it’s a really noteworthy driver update that has it all in many respects. The latest driver development for Intel’s “Arc” graphics card series promises an impressive performance increase of up to 19%, depending on the software and DirectX version.

This big-bang story has, of course, been eagerly awaited (and long demanded) by the gaming community, as Intel believes it has the potential to shake up the low-end dedicated graphics card market a bit more. An interesting aspect of this release is that Intel is also incorporating PresentMon Beta, complete with its own GUI, into its graphics card integration. This promises not only improved overall performance, but also more efficient use of hardware resources. PresentMon Beta is a tool for analyzing and optimizing frame rates and presentation times, as we already know from NVIDIA’s FrameView or CapFrameX, which all also rely on PresentMon as a basis.

But back to the announced performance improvement. The performance increase of up to 43% in DirectX 9 is particularly remarkable, because there were statements at the beginning that Intel only focused on DirectX 12. However, this swing shows that Intel is not only targeting the latest technologies and APIs, but also continues to support and optimize older games and applications because they seem to have recognized the target audience. This could mean a significant advantage for gamers who like to enjoy older titles and then still want to rely on Arc hardware.

Another promising aspect is the announced improvement of frame rates by up to 20% under DirectX 11. Smooth gameplay is now of crucial importance to ensure an immersive gaming experience. The fact that Intel mentions concrete improvement numbers here is quite promising and shows that they are aware of the importance of a smooth image reproduction. However, they will then have to be measured against these optimistic slides.

It is important to note, however, that the actual performance can of course vary greatly depending on the game, system configuration and other factors. So, the numbers given may not represent the exact result that each gamer will experience for themselves. Still, these promises are a promising step toward better graphics performance for PC gamers who rely on Intel’s Arc. Overall, all indications are that the Intel Arc graphics card series may have taken a significant step forward. The combination of increased performance, support for older games, and integration of tools like PresentMon Beta could help improve the gaming experience. It remains to be seen how these new cards will perform in practice and how the gaming community will react to them.

I’ve “reworked” the current slides a bit more and made them available for you. It’s best if you get an idea of what Intel has planned and released here. At first glance, this is already a decent progress.

If you own an Intel Arc card, feel free to post your impressions in the forum later. We are all curious and excited!