Intel Arc Desktop GPU Finally Arrives, But Only in China

Intel is making the leap into the graphics card industry, but it seems as though the company will have to do a bit of catching up. With Nvidia possibly launching Ada Lovelace this September, and AMD following closely behind with its RDNA 3 technology, team blue is still lagging behind, having seemingly delayed the launch of its Arc desktop cards. However, for those in China, the wait seems to be over, as one of the models is now available.

That's according to a recent report from Videocardz, which says that Intel has released the A380 graphics card, but only to the Chinese market for now. While there's no mention of when it will be launching in other countries, it does represent the start for the tech giant, which seems to have been putting off getting its Arc GPUs onto shelves. The A380 is also a cheaper card, for anyone looking for a more entry-level piece of hardware. The report goes on to say that it's currently priced at 1030 Yuan, which is around $153 US. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, and has a TDP of just 75W.

Despite its limited release, it does sound like a decent budget card for anyone not wanting to spend a lot. It's just unfortunate that it's only available in one country at the moment. The latest rumors suggest that Intel could be releasing Arc desktop GPUs in Q4 of this year. While the mobile variants are basically out, in some laptop models at least, the pushback for desktop products feels like an unusual move, especially when the next generation is fast approaching. Hopefully, the launch of the A380 will get the ball rolling for releases in other parts of the world.

The fact that an Intel Arc graphics card was spotting recently at a pro gaming tournament, sponsored by the company no less, sort of suggests that the tech firm is all but ready to put them on shelves across the globe. Speculations say that the actual hardware is finished, and it's just the drivers that need more work before the products start to properly roll out.

As mentioned above, it could be a bad sign that Intel is dragging its feet on releasing Arc. With graphics card prices continuing to fall, with some models being below their MSRPs, now seems like a good time to get hardware out. With any luck, team blue will make further announcements soon.

AMD RDNA 3 Graphics Cards Could Arrive as Early as October

These are the closing moments of the RDNA 2 and Ampere range, as both AMD and Nvidia seek to make progress on the next generation of graphics card tech. With Nvidia possibly launching the RTX 4090 this August, with additional models to follow, it only seems natural that team red would not wish to be left behind. With that, there's a possibility that the tech giant could be on the way to unleashing its RDNA 3 architecture soon after Lovelace comes out.

That's according to a tweet from industry leaker Greymon55, as spotted by PCGamesN. The speculation states that AMD has already begun production of its Navi products, and will be looking to hand them over to partners in August. Given that, the leaker suggests that team red's next offerings could be hitting the shelves in October or possibly November. It's a little later than the RTX 4000 series, but this could all be subject to change. It's worth remembering that this is just a rumor, and nothing has been officially announced yet.

Although the next generation of GPUs is just over the horizon, it isn't stopping both tech giants from unleashing current-era hardware. Nvidia is supposed to be releasing a new GTX, while AMD has just launched RX 6X50 refresh graphics cards. Even as the industry marches forward, both companies seem keen to eke as much out of this generation as they can, especially as demand seems down, as do the prices.

The same cannot be said for newcomers, Intel. With the Intel Arc desktop card possibly coming out in Q4, perhaps owing to delays that are not being spoken about, team blue is certainly lagging behind in the GPU race. Given that, it's left up to AMD and Nvidia to vie it out for supremacy in the graphics industry. Both are preparing their respective new hardware, yet it remains to be seen which will come out on top, although team green may be first off the starting blocks.

Although the chip shortages may be ongoing until 2024, things seem to be on the up and up, especially with the aforementioned price drops. Both AMD and Nvidia cards have experienced noticeable reductions lately, with some products even being available for under their MSRPs. Radeon 7000 and RTX 4000 will both signify the next stage in graphical technology, and as long as the prices continue to fall, the next generation should hopefully look a lot healthier, as it's been a pretty grim time for gamers and PC enthusiasts.

Nvidia RTX 4080 Could Be 100W Hotter Than Its Predecessor

The industry is moving ever closer to the next GPU generation, with Nvidia and AMD still battling it out. As Intel's Arc desktop card may be delayed, possibly until Q4 of this year, it's the other two giants that are vying for supremacy, leaving team blue to eat their collective dust. As can be imagined, there are many rumors flying around about what each company will be offering, and as speculations begin to heat up, so do the products themselves, it seems.

As spotted by Videocardz, according to a recent tweet from known leaker kopite7kimi, it looks as though one of the upcoming Ada Lovelace GPUs from Nvidia will be a mite warmer than its predecessor. Specifically, the leak suggests that the RTX 4080 will have a TDP, or thermal design power, of 420W. Compare that to the RTX 3080, which runs at 320W, and that's a hundred watts warmer than the current card.

While that's not as hot as the Nvidia RTX 4090 which may have a TDP of 450W, it will still be a noticeably warm piece of kit. Of course, this may be expected, given that the next generation of products from both team red and team green will represent the next stage of graphics power. That said, more than 400W is quite toasty, and that's not taking into consideration additional outputs from other parts of a user's system. Of course, it goes without saying that these are just rumors, so it's best not to digest this latest information just yet.

Nvidia is expected to launch its RTX 4080 in September, with the 4070 possibly coming out in October. But before that, there's the RTX 4090, which may be just a few weeks away, as rumors indicate that it could be hitting shelves in August. This feels like a neat schedule, and it's also evident that team green is looking to make a big push into the next generation before its biggest rival and before Intel can even get its shoes on.

On top of that, graphics card prices are continuing to come down, with May seeing a 15% drop on average. There are even some Nvidia and AMD products that have been seen at lower than their MSRPs. Currently, there are a ton of speculations flying around, but the general gist is that Lovelace and RDNA 3 will aim to provide better performance, but seemingly at the cost of more power consumption.