Intel is slated to launch its 1st Gen Arc “Alchemist” graphics cards in the first quarter of 2022. With three dies aimed at the entry-level, budget, and midrange markets, the chipmaker plans to cement its position in the GPU market over the next 2-3 years. This will be accompanied by an aggressive roadmap, with yearly releases based on TSMC’s cutting edge process node, and a cut-throat pricing strategy.
While the 1st Gen Alchemist GPUs won’t target the high-end enthusiast market, the 2nd Gen Battlemage (aptly named) lineup will target the enthusiast segment as well. We’re talking about competitors for the GeForce RTX x80, x90, and the x80 Ti. And of course, the Radeon RX 7800 XT, and the 7900 XT (and perhaps the RX 8800 XT/8900 XT).
Interestingly, Intel doesn’t seem to consider AMD’s Radeon lineup an actual threat to its ambitions in the discrete graphics card market. Considering the relatively slimmer presence of Radeon graphics cards on the market, this may make sense, but let’s not forget that AMD has got its hands in a lot of other pies as well. Both the consoles are powered by RDNA 2 hardware, and plenty of developers have deep relationships with Team Red.
Furthermore, AMD’s driver and software stack, while not as deep as NVIDIA’s, is still miles ahead of Intel’s graphics software. Pair that with over a decade of user feedback, experience, and an aggressive roadmap, and the situation is way more favorable for AMD than its blue rival.
