Intel has started taking the issue of performance loss with its Arc GPUs more seriously, especially concerning older CPUs, and is actively investigating the problem to come up with a fix.
The Arc B580 and B570 initially showed promise when they launched, offering more VRAM than many of their competitors. However, these GPUs struggled with lackluster optimizations and couldn’t make a significant impact in the market. The primary problem wasn’t just about Intel’s GPU drivers; there was an underlying issue that left the Arc Battlemage GPUs trailing behind. You might recall that Hardware Unboxed was among the first to highlight the troubling performance of the Arc B580, especially when paired with older processors like the Ryzen 2000 and Intel’s 9th-gen CPUs.
For a long time, Intel remained silent on this matter, but they have finally addressed it on their forums. Here’s their official statement:
“We appreciate your patience. We are aware of reports noting performance sensitivity in certain games when using older generation processors. We’ve expanded our platform coverage to include more configurations in our validation processes, and our team is investigating further optimizations.”
Intel’s acknowledgment suggests they were aware of this issue but hadn’t prioritized resolving it. They plan to extend optimizations across more configurations, aiming to address the performance disparities soon. However, they haven’t provided a specific timeline for the anticipated updates.
It’s crucial for Intel to issue driver updates since their hardware is on par with rival products from previous generations when it comes to running recent titles. While no performance throttling was observed with the Arc B580 or B570 when using the latest Intel and AMD CPUs, the underperformance with older Intel CPUs was indeed unexpected.
These forthcoming patches might level the playing field for Intel against AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. Nonetheless, this doesn’t guarantee a significant shift in Intel’s standing in the GPU market. Currently, Intel’s Arc Battlemage GPUs are largely missing from the market, and their poor availability means they aren’t strong contenders in the budget GPU segment at present.
Source: Intel
