Summary
Intel Arc GPU users can now expect up to 149% improved performance inStarfieldthanks to the latest driver update. Available now, the update promises a significant performance boost at 1080p and 1440p with DirectX 12 which is great news since the game performed poorly on Arc GPUs at launch. Over the past few weeks, Intel has released multiple driver updates to address performance issues related toStarfieldand other games, along with general bug fixes.
Starfieldlaunched on September 6, and it is the latest Bethesda AAA title that has been developed in partnership with AMD. Naturally, the game uses several AMD graphical technologies and is optimized for Team Red GPUs and CPUs. At launch, Intel Arc GPU owners saw terrible performance, and Intel quickly got to work on releasing driver updates. The first one did not really address the issues with the game, butthe following update did bring some performance improvementsand optimizations.
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Now, withArc & Iris Graphics driver version 31.0.101.4887, Intel says Arc GPU users can get up to 117% uplift in performance at 1080p with ultra settings and up to 149% uplift at 1440p with high settings. These are huge claims, but it should be noted thatStarfieldis not part of Intel’s “Game On” titles that have been fully optimized for Arc graphics cards. This suggests that even more performance improvements could be made down the line till the game is fully optimized if Intel chooses to do so.
Along with improvements toStarfield, the latest graphics driver addsCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Beta,Total War: Pharaoh, andLords of the Fallento the Game On driver support list. The latestForza Motorsportgets an 8% uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings.F1 23players can expect up to 12% uplift at 1440p with ultra settings and up to 136% uplift at 2160p with high settings. Real-world performance improvements for Arc GPU owners should appear online soon.
Interestingly, the driver update adds support for Intel Arc A580 GPU which was first teased in March 2022. Then, following the announcement in September 2022, theArc A770/A750 and A380 cards made their way to the market, but the A580 was nowhere to be seen. Recently,two custom models of the Arc A580 GPUwere spotted with key specifications. It suggested only ASRock and Sparkle will be making Arc A580 GPUs. Furthermore, it was reported that the TDP for the GPU was increased by 10W compared to the initial reveal.
Intel has not shared a release date for the Arc A580 which will be a mid-tier offering sitting between the A300 series and A700 series of GPUs. It will go against the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and AMD Radeon RX 6600. Pricing for the A580 is unknown at this point. However, its competition - the RTX 3050 - is available for as low as $200, and the RX 6600 can be bought for $210 (at the time of writing).
PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB GPU
The PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is a graphics card built on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. It features a core clock speed of 1552MHz and a boost clock speed of 1777MHz, enabling it to handle demanding games. This card is equipped with 8GB GDDR6 (128-bit) on-board memory, 2560 CUDA processing cores, and up to 224 GB/sec memory bandwidth.The card utilizes a PCI Express 4.0 interface for compatibility with various systems and includes DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 outputs for enhanced connectivity options.
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge GPU
This Zotac GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC is a mid-range graphics card that features 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit interface and 14 Gbps speed. The GPU has Zotac’s IceStorm 2.0 cooling solution that supports Freeze Fan Stop and Active Fan Control.The card is based on the Nvidia RTX 3050, which has 2nd generation RT cores for better ray-tracing support and 3rd generation Tensor cores. The GPU supports up to 8K resolution and a maximum of four displays.
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition GPU
The Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition is a mid-tier gaming GPU with Nvidia Ampere Streaming processors that deliver twice the FP32 throughput and improved efficiency. The GPU features updated 2nd generation RT cores with better ray-tracing performance and 3rd generation Tensor cores for an increase in in-game performance and AI capabilities.With OC mode, the GPU has a boost clock of 1875 MHz, and with Gaming Mode 1845 MHz. TheASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition supports up to four displays with a maximum resolution of 8K.
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 GPU
The XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 is an entry-to-mid-level GPU with eight gigabytes of GDDR6 memory with speeds of up to 14 Gbps. This GPU is based on the AMD RX 6600 chipset and AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture with 32 compute units. The boost clock speed of the graphics card is up to 2491 MHz.The GPU has XFX Speedster SWFT210 Dual Fan cooling system. The minimum power supply requirement for the card is 550 watts.
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G Graphics Card
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G is the company’s mid-range graphics card from the most popular Radeon RX 6000 series. It is built with the AMD RDNA 2 architecture and provides a 128-bit memory interface with 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory. It is installed with Gigabyte’s Windforce 3X cooling solution, which means that it sports three alternate spinning fans for optimal airflow. The GPU supports multiple high-resolution monitors simultaneously with two DisplayPort connectors and two HDMIs.
