In great news for those who are having a soft side for Intel, mainly in their efforts for their penetration of the GPU aspect of the computing and gaming PC side of their business, is that Intel is committing on their Arc brand and try to have a proper third GPU giant title along with Nvidia and AMD.
In a much needed contrast to former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s negativity on the GPU business with Intel Arc, which he saw it as a failed experiment, Intel’s new co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus has confirmed the audience in the company’s CES 2025 keynote, that Arc isn’t going away.
As a matter of fact, it is one of the most frequently asked question as Johnson claimed (quoted by The Verge).
With that Holthaus took the opportunity to say tat Intel will launch the Arc B570 GPU this next week, a card which is even more budget than the B580.
About that GPU, is based on Xe2 “Battlemage” GPU architecture with 16 cores (some cores will be for direct computing and others for efficiency), up to 12GB of dedicated video memory, and up to 190W of energy usage and this Arc GPU aims to compete with Nvidia GeForce 4060 and Radeon 7600 XT.
One thing that I would consider as expected, is that Intel might be going the same route that Nvidia and AMD are going regarding leveraging GPU for both gaming and AI as part of the strategic plans on the future includes their investment for AI solutions.
But hey, if this justifies Intel Arc’s existence and brings more choices for the consumer, mainly the budget consumer, it should be seen as a good thing.