The new Intel Arc graphics driver boosts gaming performance by up to 155%
Intel Arc gets another great update
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Intelhas released a new driver for itsIntel Arc graphicscards, specifically the ‘Meteor Lake’ Intel Core Ultra mobile processors with built-in Arc graphics cards.
Thenew driver updateincludes performance updates for cards like the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Ultra 5 125H, and Ultra 9 185H and features massive improvements to DirectX 11 titles ranging from 7% to 155% boosts in framerate. Some of the most impressive jumps are a 65% framerate increase inCall of Duty: Infinite WarfareandAssassin’s Creed Syndicate,and a massive framerate increase of 155% inJust Cause 4.
It’s important to note that this driver covers DirectX 11 titles at 1080p resolution with ‘Medium’ settings enabled. Though DirectX 11 is used in older titles, some new games likePalworldalso use the API, which receives a staggering 155% boost in framerate. In addition, this new driver coversLast Epochas well as the DirectX 12 update forSea of Thieves.
The release notes for the update also cover known bugs and issues like sporadic crashing forDragon Quest X Online, terrain corruption inDiablo 4, crashing in theUncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection, and other apps crashing. These are most likely ones that will be fixed in the next update.
Below is the full list of improvements for their respective games.
Intel Arc graphics are good but could be better
The Intel Arc graphics cards continue to improve in performance and efficiency with each new update and are rapidly approaching some of thebest graphics cardson the market. Not to mention that Intel’s cards are on the low-end budget spectrum, which is a market that’s seriously lacking this generation due toAMDandNvidia’s apathy.
Cards like theIntel Arc A770andIntel Arc A750are also hitting their stride when it comes to creative and editing workloads, with as much as40% increased performancecompared to the 2022 launch drivers. Indeed these graphics cards are a far cry from their underpowered launch versions and deserve to stand with their Team Green (Nvidia) and Team Red (AMD) rivals.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
However, Team Blue’s (Intel) cards are still lagging in key areas like AI development and gaming, meaning that they’re not being considered a viable investment. TheJanuary 2024SteamHardware & Software Survey proves this to be true, with Nvidia still considered the golden child. It also struggles with running much older games and all togethercould not runStarfield, an issue that Nvidia and AMD do not share.
All in all, these are points that Intel needs to take into consideration before they launch a new generation of graphics cards. If the tech giant can address these issues, it’ll have truly thebest cheap graphics cardsaround.
You might also like
Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.
Intel Battlemage rumored for December – could new budget GPUs win over gamers neglected by Nvidia and save the Arc brand?
Nvidia RTX 5090 Ti suddenly pops up – and RTX 6000 GPUs are mentioned in trademark filings too – but don’t get excited
Cybersecurity is business survival and CISOs need to act now
