Intel has added new Alchemist Arc GPU PCI IDs within its recent Linux driver which might hint towards a potential refresh coming soon.
Intel Arc Alchemist Refresh GPUs Might Be On The Way As Linux Driver Lists New PCI IDs
Intel recently introduced the Arc A580 graphics card which was the last remaining desktop graphics card from the original lineup introduced a year ago. The lineup currently includes five products, the Arc A770, Arc A750, Arc A580, Arc A380, & the Arc A310. All of these GPUs utilize the Alchemist GPU architecture (ACM-G10 / ACM-G11 SKUs). But Intel has also secretly added a few more GPU PCI IDs within its Linux driver.
As discovered by Phoronix, Intel added a few more GPU PCI IDs to its Linux open-source i915 Direct Rendering Manager driver. These include:
- 0x56B0 - TBD
- 0x56BA - TBD
- 0x56BB - TBD
- 0x56BC - TBD
- 0x56BD - TBD
- 0x56A0 - Arc A770
- 0x56A1 - Arc A750
- 5x56A2 - Arc A580
- 0x56A5 - Arc A380
- 0x56A6- Arc A310
- 0x56B3 - Arc Pro A60
- 0x56B1- Arc Pro A50
- 0x56B1 - Arc Pro A40
- 0x5690 - Arc A770M
- 0x5691 - Arc A730M
- 0x5692 - Arc A550M
- 0x5696 - Arc A570M
- 0x5697 - Arc A530M
- 0x5693 - Arc A370M
- 0x5694 - Arc A350M
As you can tell, there are at least five new Intel Alchemist GPU PCI IDs added to the Linux driver, & it might hint at upcoming products that are yet to be announced. Rumors for an Alchemist Refresh family which was originally anticipated to launch within the second half of 2023 though Intel hasn't made any such announcements and Innovation 2023 was very dry on the GPU side of things. Intel's graphics division however plays things their own way and might do a secret event or just hold it off until CES 2024.
Intel's next-gen Battlemage GPUs are targeting a 2H 2024 release window so a slight refresh in the first half of 2024 on the existing Alchemist family could make sense. The Alchemist lineup has been fine-tuned and receives ongoing optimizations across various titles. The lineup is in a much better state than it was at launch and currently offers some great performance and value in the sub $300 and sub-$200 US market.
Speaking of optimizations, Phoronix also reports that Intel has enabled FCV optimizations for Gen 12.5+ graphics on Linux, offering boosted performance of up to +45% in titles such as F1 2022. The optimizations will be added to Alchemist & Meteor Lake CPUs which share the DG2 Gen 12.5+ GPU architecture.
Intel ARC Gaming GPU Lineup
| GPU Family | Intel Xe-HPG | Intel Xe-HPG | Intel Xe2-HPG | Intel Xe3-HPG | Intel Xe Next | Intel Xe Next Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Products | ARC Alchemist GPUs | ARC Alchemist+ GPUs | ARC Battlemage GPUs | ARC Celestial GPUs | ARC Druid GPUs | ARC E*** GPUs |
| GPU Segment | Mainstream Gaming (Discrete) | Mainstream Gaming (Discrete) | Mainstream / High-End Gaming (Discrete) | Mainstream / High-End Gaming (Discrete) | Mainstream / High-End Gaming (Discrete) | Mainstream / High-End Gaming (Discrete) |
| GPU Gen | Gen 12 | Gen 12 | Gen 13? | Gen 14? | Gen 15? | Gen 16? |
| Process Node | TSMC 6nm | TSMC 6nm | TSMC 4nm? | TSMC 3nm? | TBA | TBA |
| Specs / Design | 512 EUs / 1 Tile / 1 GPU | 512 EUs / 1 Tile / 1 GPU | 1024 EUs / 1 Tile / 1 GPU | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Memory Subsystem | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6(X)? | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Launch | 2022 | 2023? | 2024? | 2026 | 2026+ | 2026+ |
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