Arc GPUs: Intel on production numbers and launches wallpaper

Intel plans to ship the new Arc graphics chips introduced last year in the first quarter of 2022. Where there were new leaks of the planned models a few days ago, there are now the first figures on production quantities. With this, Intel GPU chief architect Raja Koduri seems to reassure fans, critics and potential buyers about the situation in the chip market. Intel wants to ship “millions of Intel Arc GPUs” a year because demand is high – but currently supply is generally low for all manufacturers. You can do that, Koduri confirmed, answering you directly critical article by PC Gamer which dealt with the current situation in the graphics card market.

According to PC Gamer’s open letter, Intel is the “last great hope for peace in the graphics card market”. As the head of Intel’s GPU division, Koduri is well aware of the situation PC gamers find themselves in right now. The number of GPUs produced is far less than the demand, resulting in high prices. Koduri wrote: “I agree with @pcgamer that this is a huge problem for PC gamers and the industry in general. @IntelGraphics is working hard to find a way to reach the target – millions of getting Arc graphics cards into the hands of PC gamers every year.”

IntelArc Wallpaper

Although you can now take him seriously on the statement about the amount remains to be seen. But at least it also shows that Intel is a little concerned about the situation. As a small “bonus” the company has now released some fancy wallpapers for the upcoming Intel Arc GPUs. All photos can be found at imgur.

Arc “Alchemist” image

The Intel Arc architecture was previously announced on Architecture Day 2021. The first-generation Arc “Alchemist” GPUs will be based on the Xe-HPG architecture and produced on TSMC’s N6 or 6nm FinFET process. This is the same lithography currently used by the recently announced Nvidia Radeon RX 6500 XT. However, Intel has already confirmed that it will not limit the mining performance of cards like those with Nvidia Lite Hash Rate (LHR) GPUs. In fact, Intel itself is working on a special ASIC miner called “Bonanza Mine”. Perhaps the company wants to steer those interested in mining away from the upcoming Arc GPUs to the new Bonanza ASICs ahead of time.