Something to Look Forward to Intel has struggled to break into the dedicated graphics card arena for PCs. Its first series of GPUs struggled to market when the company said it would, and early impressions revealed serious flaws.
Intel has been on a roll lately, and it seems they can do no wrong. They continue to produce high-end graphics cards, which are becoming more and more competitive. They are starting to be very successful with their integrated graphics solutions and are planning to take on AMD’s Ryzen CPUs with a new set of integrated graphics cards. However, Intel has done a lot to address some of those shortcomings and appears determined to improve its dedicated graphics offerings.
Anonymous sources told PC Games Hardware that Intel would release another major driver update for its Arc graphics cards in February. Intel plans to roll out a major revamp to the graphics driver in February as part of a new effort to improve its software by providing a more streamlined interface. The company has been working on the software for some time now, but it looks like it’s finally getting serious. Upcoming changes to the graphics control software may also be coming soon.
Intel’s next set of graphics driver updates will be released in February and should significantly improve the performance of Arc Alchemist games using all graphics APIs. The patch follows a December update that fixed major deficiencies in the GPU lineup with DirectX 9 (DX9) titles. This change will also improve the performance of Vulkan and DirectX 12 games.
One of the main weaknesses of the Arc Alchemist is that it does not natively support DX9, as Intel needed to focus its development efforts on DX12. Games started switching from DX9 to DX11 over a decade ago, but some of the most popular titles, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, still use DX9. Initially, the Alchemist GPU ran those games poorly compared to identical cards, but December’s drivers made a huge difference.
The February pilot could repair losses while improving the performance of DX11, DX12 and Vulcan. The update will also introduce new features, but PCGH’s sources didn’t provide any examples.
Intel plans another big graphics driver enhancement in February, focusing on how Arch users control graphics and schedule updates. The company also plans to improve performance, add more features and work on bug fixes. Intel hasn’t publicly disclosed the new software, but Albert Thomas of Linus Tech Tips and Tom’s Hardware confirmed that Intel told them it exists.
Intel’s current Arc graphics control method, Arc Control, has faced heavy criticism, mainly because it is an overlay that lacks an adjustable window rather than independent software. Linus says the replacement app will consolidate Arc control features into a single panel, while Thomas said it would satisfy users who don’t like overlays.
Intel recently revealed its plans to release a new line of graphics drivers in February 2019. The line will be called “Alchemist” and the next big driver update for Intel’s integrated graphics. The line will include three discrete graphics cards and will vastly improve the current generation line. The lineup will be made up of next-generation “Alchemist”, “Sage”, and “Battlemage” discrete graphics cards. “Alchemist” will feature a GTX 1660 Ti, and “Battlemage” will feature a GTX 2080 Ti.
Intel is set to release a new series of graphics drivers for its CPUs this month. The new drivers will be called “Battlemage” and will be the first to feature Intel’s new GPU architecture, codenamed “Alchemist”. Battlemage is expected to improve ray tracing, memory, and machine learning. The drivers will be released to general availability in February with support for the latest Intel CPUs and graphics cards.
