Intel has finally acknowledged the performance issues with its Arc GPUs and is now actively investigating the compatibility problems with older CPUs.
Addressing the Performance Concerns with Intel Arc GPUs on Older Processors
When the Intel Arc B580 and B570 GPUs were launched, they seemed promising, especially as they came with more VRAM than their competitors. However, they struggled to make a mark, largely due to subpar optimizations.
This isn’t just about Intel’s GPU drivers. There’s a specific issue that has kept the Arc Battlemage GPUs from reaching their potential. Hardware Unboxed was quick to highlight that the Arc B580’s performance dipped when paired with older processors like the Ryzen 2000 series and 9th-gen Intel Core chips.
Intel has now addressed this issue on public forums, albeit much later than anticipated. Here’s the official statement from Intel:
"We appreciate your patience. We are aware of reports regarding performance sensitivity in some games when older generation processors are used. We’ve broadened our platform coverage to include more configurations in our validation process, and we’re continuing to work on optimizations."
It appears Intel had already identified the problem but hadn’t prioritized the optimizations. Now, Intel plans to extend these optimizations across various configurations, though they haven’t specified when these updates will roll out.
At present, Intel needs to focus on updating its drivers, as their hardware appears capable of standing up to competition from previous-generation GPUs in newer releases. It was surprising to witness performance issues with older Intel CPUs, especially given the smooth performance seen with the latest Intel and AMD processors using the Arc B580 and B570.
With the upcoming patches, Intel is poised to compete more effectively with AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. However, this doesn’t guarantee that Intel will quickly gain a foothold in the GPU market. The Intel Arc Battlemage GPUs are still largely unavailable, which has left them out of the running in the budget segment of the current GPU competition.
Source: Intel