Intel on Thursday posted an article that dives deep into the ray tracing architecture of its Arc "Alchemist" GPUs, which are particularly relevant with performance-segment parts such as the Arc A770, which competes with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. In the article, Intel posted ray tracing performance numbers that put it at-par with, or faster than the RTX 3060, which which it has traditional raster performance parity. In theory, this would make Intel's ray tracing tech superior to that of AMD RDNA2, because while the AMD chips have raster performance parity, their ray tracing performance do not tend to be at par with NVIDIA parts at a price-segment level.

The Arc "Alchemist" GPUs meet the DirectX 12 Ultimate feature-set, and its ray tracing engine supports DXR 1.0, DXR 1.1, and Vulkan RT APIs. The Xe Core is the indivisible subunit of the GPU, and packs its main number-crunching machinery. Each Xe Core features a Thread Sorting Unit (TSU), and a Ray Tracing Unit (RTU). The TSU is responsible for scheduling work among the Xe Core and RTU, and is the core of Intel's "secret sauce." Each RTU has two ray traversal pipelines (fixed function hardware tasked with calculating ray intersections with intersections/BVH. The RTU can calculate 12 box intersections per cycle, 1 triangle intersection per cycle, and features a dedicated cache for BVH data.

ASRock's Arc A380 "Alchemist" graphics card is now available for purchase on US retailer Newegg for USD $139.99. The card is sold and shipped by Newegg from the US-based warehouses, and isn't a marketplace listing that imports them from foreign retailers. The ASRock A380 Challenger is a close-to-reference card that runs the A380 at slightly overclocked speeds, draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, and uses a simple aluminium monoblock fan-heatsink to cool the GPU. Based on the Xe-HPG graphics architecture, the Arc A380 features 1,024 unified shaders, meets DirectX 12 Ultimate API specs (which includes ray tracing), and comes with readiness for the XeSS performance enhancement. The card has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 96-bit memory bus.

Intel officially launched the Arc A380 "Alchemist" entry-mainstream desktop graphics card in China, priced at RMB ¥1,030, including VAT, which roughly converts to USD $153. The Arc A380 "Alchemist" is based on the Xe-HPG graphics architecture, and the smaller DG2-128 (ACM-G11) silicon, which is built on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) silicon fabrication process.

The A380 desktop GPU is endowed with 8 Xe Cores, or 128 EU (execution units), which work out to 1,024 unified shaders. The chip features a 96-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, running 6 GB of memory. Despite these hardware specs, you get full DirectX 12 Ultimate capability, including ray tracing, and the XeSS performance enhancement. There are also several content-creation accelerators, including Intel XMX, and AV1 hardware-encode capabilities.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced GIGABYTE provides a variety of options to meet the needs of more customers. The AORUS series is recommended for enthusiasts who want the ultimate performance and a colorful RGB appearance. The GAMING OC series is the best choice of performance-minded gamers. The EAGLE series is the best choice for those who desire a unique design.

the breakthrough AMD RDNA2 gaming architecture, include process optimizations and software and firmware enhancements, and offer high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache memory technology and ultra-fast 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), the forthcoming AMD FSR 2.0 and AMD Radeon Super Resolution upscaling technologies, as well as other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphic cards since 1997, is announcing today new additions to its AMD Graphics card lineup. With higher GPU clocks and faster memory, the latest AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT graphics cards will give gamers the extra edge on their favorite game titles.

The new graphics cards leverage the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, include process optimizations and software and firmware enhancements, and offer high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache memory technology and ultra-fast 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), the forthcoming AMD FSR 2.01 and AMD Radeon Super Resolution upscaling technologies, as well as other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6400 EAGLE 4G and Radeon RX 6400 D6 Low Profile 4G graphics cards, equipped with the excellent GIGABYTE cooling system and engineered to deliver great 1080p gaming performance with remarkable efficiency. Blaze a trail into tomorrow and enjoy vivid virtual worlds and elevated experiences with the power of next-generation graphics.

Built on the high-performance, energy efficient AMD RDNA gaming architecture, the new graphics cards feature high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache memory technology and high-speed GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) upscaling technologies, AMD Smart Access Memory technology, as well as other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

Some interesting technical specifications of the elusive two GPUs behind the Intel Arc "Alchemist" series surfaced. The larger DG2-512 silicon in particular, which forms the base for the Arc 5 and Arc 7 series, is interesting, in that it is larger in every way than the performance-segment ASICs from both NVIDIA and AMD. The table below compares the physical specs of the DG2-512, with the NVIDIA GA104, and the AMD Navi 22. This segment of GPUs has fairly powerful use-cases, including native 1440p gameplay, or playing at 4K with a performance enhancement—something Intel has, in the form of the XeSS.

The DG2-512 is built on the 6 nm TSMC N6 foundry node, the most advanced node among the three GPUs in this class. It has the highest transistor density of 53.4 mTr/mm², and the largest die-area of 406 mm², and the highest transistor-count of 21.7 billion. The Xe-HPG graphics architecture is designed for full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature support, and the DG2-512 dedicated hardware for ray tracing, as well as AI acceleration. The Arc A770M is the fastest product based on this silicon, however, it is a mobile GPU with aggressive power-management characteristic to the form-factor it serves. Here, the DG2-512 has an FP32 throughput of 13.5 TFLOPs, compared to 13.2 TFLOPs of the Navi 22 on the Radeon RX 6700 XT desktop graphics card, and the 21.7 TFLOPs of the GA104 that's maxed out on the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti desktop graphics card.

XeSS is arguably the most boasted-about new graphics technology by Intel. A performance enhancement that is functionally similar to AMD FSR or NVIDIA DLSS, XeSS will instrumental in making Arc "Alchemist" GPUs offer high performance with minimal loss to image quality, especially given that Intel's first crack at premium gaming GPUs also happens to include real-time ray tracing support, to meet DirectX 12 Ultimate specs.

Intel announced that XeSS won't be debuting with the Arc 3 series mobile GPUs that launched yesterday (March 30), but instead alongside the Arc 5 and Arc 7 series slated for early-Summer (late-May to early-June). At launch, several AAA titles will be optimized for XeSS, including "Ghostwire: Tokyo," "Death Stranding," "Anvil," "Hitman III," "GRID Legends," etc.

For decades, Intel has been a champion for PC platform innovation. We have delivered generations of CPUs that provide the computing horsepower for billions of people. We advanced connectivity through features like USB, Thunderbolt and Wi-Fi. And in partnership with the PC ecosystem, we developed the ground-breaking PCI architecture and the Intel Evo platform, pushing the boundary for what mobile products can do. Intel is uniquely positioned to deliver PC platform innovations that meet the ever-increasing computing demands of professionals, consumers, gamers and creators around the world. Now, we take the next big step.

Today, we are officially launching our Intel Arc graphics family for laptops, completing the Intel platform. These are the first discrete GPUs from our Intel Arc A-Series graphics portfolio for laptops, with our desktop and workstation products coming later this year. You can visit our Newsroom for our launch video, product details and technical demos, but I will summarize the highlights of how our Intel Arc platform and A-Series mobile GPU family will deliver hardware, software, services and - ultimately - high-performance graphics experiences.

Intel is preparing to debut the Arc "Alchemist" line of graphics processors with a mobile-first approach, where the company leverages its bulletproof relations with notebook manufacturers to use its discrete mobile GPUs to go with their 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors. These will be launch in two tranches, with the first round expected as early as today (March 30), according to a VideoCardz report citing a leaked company slide. The series will debut with the Arc 3 series of entry-level discrete GPUs, before moving onto the mid-range Arc 5 and premium Arc 7 series "early summer" (we read that as May-June, 2022).

The entire lineup of Arc "Alchemist" is based on two ASICs, the smaller one is the ACM-G11, or DG2-128; while the larger one is the ACM-G10, or DG2-512. The former comes with 128 execution units (EU), while the larger one has 512 EU. The Arc 3 series, consisting of the A350M and A370M, come with 96 and 128 EU (768 and 1,024 unified shaders), respectively, The mid-range Arc A550M is based on the lowest trim of the DG2-512, with half its EU count disabled (256 EU, or 2,048 shaders). The Arc A730M has three-fourths of the EU count enabled, while the A770M maxes it out.

GIGABYTE Technology, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announced the all-new 2022 BRIX Extreme mini-PC series, which adopts the latest 12th Gen Intel Core Mobile Processors with Intel's most scalable client architecture that delivers superior computing performance. Benefiting from a new Intel Core design for leadership performance, these processors boost the performance significantly in the all-new performance hybrid design for superior single-threaded & multi-threaded performance. Enhanced by GIGABYTE's exclusive design, the new 2022 BRIX Extreme design integrates four display outputs, including HDMI 2.1, USB4, 2.5G Ethernet, plus the latest WiFi 6E configuration, creating the most powerful multitasking mini-PC with astounding performance and responsiveness for either gaming or content creation.

The latest 12th Gen Intel Core Mobile Processors highlight 10 nm technology, and when compared to the previous generation, these new processors feature a 10% increase in GPU performance, 24% increase in multi-threaded performance, and do so with higher clock frequencies up to 4.70 GHz. The powerful performance in these new processors sets a milestone for the mobile platform. When it comes to benchmark testing, it is inspiring to see that SYSMark 25 Performance scores improve by 14% compared to 11th Gen processors and by 28% on CrossMark too. No more needing to compromise between productivity, performance, and gaming/video performance.

UL Benchmarks is ready with a new graphics benchmark for enthusiast-segment graphics cards, to show you whether your present hardware can deal with games coming out several years from now. The new "Speed Way" benchmark utilizes all of the features that make up the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, which include real-time ray tracing, mesh shaders, variable-rate shading, and sampler feedback. It uses ray tracing for reflections, lighting, and global-illumination.

Until now, the various DirectX 12 Ultimate features were only part of 3DMark as API feature-tests. The older "Port Royal" benchmark, which released around the time of NVIDIA "Turing," is the company's first benchmark with real-time ray tracing, although it doesn't use all DirectX 12 Ultimate features. With each new benchmark, the makers of 3DMark collaborate with a new gaming brand sponsor. For Speed Way, it's Legion, a brand of pre-built gaming notebooks and desktops by Lenovo. UL Benchmarks didn't reveal an exact release date except "later this year."

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphic cards since 1997, today announced its Radeon RX 6500 XT line up. The latest graphics cards are built on AMD RDNA2 gaming architecture and designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and esports titles accessible to more gamers.

Every gamer has different needs and PowerColor is offering its Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics cards in two- and single-fan configurations for those looking to build a small form factor gaming PC. With high-efficient cooling and PowerColor's Mute Fan Technology, PowerColor Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics cards are cool and quiet, ideal for anyone looking to game without distractions.

Corsair is readying a gaming device it calls "Xenomorph." At this point we don't know its exact form-factor, but given its display resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, and the fact that desktop monitors with it are hard to come by; this is very likely a 16-inch gaming notebook with a 16:10 display with that resolution. A UserBenchmark submission sheds light on the hardware specs of the device, which includes an AMD Ryzen 6000 series "Rembrandt" mobile processor. Built on the 6 nm node, "Rembrandt" combines an 8-core/16-thread "Zen 3+" CPU with an iGPU based on the latest RDNA2 graphics architecture. The iGPU features 768 stream processors, full DirectX 12 Ultimate support, including ray tracing; and the ability to share rendering workloads with an RDNA2-based discrete GPU, such as the Radeon RX 6800M.

The name "Xenomorph" sparks a lot of speculation, mainly around the form-factor. Could this be a gaming notebook with a killer hardware feature such as an integrated touchscreen? Something with a foldable screen? A convertible that turns into a tablet? Another possibility is a device that looks otherworldly enough to be a tribute to HR Giger, the artist who created the Xenomorph alien. We don't know if Xenomorph is an internal codename, or an actual product name, as that might require some legal understanding with 20th Century Fox.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today introduced the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card. The new BIOSTAR Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card is built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA2 gaming architecture, engineered to deliver incredible gaming performance with remarkable efficiency.

The BIOSTAR Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card is designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and esports titles accessible to more gamers. It offers high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache and high-speed 4 GB GDDR6 memory, as well as support for AMD Smart Access Memory technology, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) and other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

MSI, a leading brand in True Gaming hardware, is proud to officially announce the MSI AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT MECH 2X graphics cards. The new graphics cards are designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and e-sports titles accessible to more gamers than ever. Built upon the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics cards are engineered to deliver great gaming performance with remarkable efficiency. They offer high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache and high-speed GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology and other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

The MECH series makes its return with the MSI Radeon RX 6500 XT MECH 2X graphics card, now enhanced with the acclaimed MSI TORX FAN 3.0. The performance-focused MECH design provides the essentials to accomplish any task, whether it's for work or play. A powerful cooling system, a reinforcing backplate with a brushed finish, and a rigid industrial design make the MECH card suitable for any PC build.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today announced the new Phantom Gaming and Challenger series graphics cards based on AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT GPUs.

Built on the 6 nm manufacturing process and the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, the new ASRock graphics cards are designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and e-sports titles accessible to more gamers. They offer high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache and high-speed 4 GB GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD Smart Access Memory technology, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology and other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

AMD is planning to crash Intel's big 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-P" mobile processor launch with its own next-gen launch, the Ryzen 6000 mobile processor series. These chips are the company's first built on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) silicon fabrication process, and combine up to 8 "Zen 3+" CPU cores, with a next-generation iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. The company has given the Media CoreNext and Video CoreNext engines incremental updates, according to a leaked slide scored by VideoCardz.

Ryzen 6000 "Rembrandt" processors come with hardware-accelerated decode of the AV1 video format. The Display CoreNext (display I/O engine) now supports DisplayPort 2.0, complete with DSC, UHBR10, HDR10+, and variable refresh-rate. The HDR pipeline has awareness for the various display panel types, including OLED and mini-LED. The iGPU on "Rembrandt" features up to 12 compute units (768 stream processors). It remains to be seen if Ray Accelerators are featured, as that would make this the first iGPU (on the PC platform) with DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

Palit Microsystems Ltd, the biggest add-in-board partner of NVIDIA, today launched the GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB Dual Series graphics cards, accelerated by NVIDIA's revolutionary Turing architecture. The GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB is a premium version of it's predecessor- the RTX 2060 6 GB. Upgraded with doubled memory capacity and intensified CUDA cores, the new 12 GB variant equips you with ample horsepower to take on the latest games that are graphically demanding. You will also have complete access to the game-changing technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, real-time ray tracing and more.

The Palit GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB comes in the classic dual fan design featuring two 90 mm smart fans and optimized thermal solution to enhance the airflow and heat dissipation efficiency. The model offers cool temperature, minimum noise and maximum stability for gamers and creators to enjoy competitive performance.

ZOTAC today joined several other NVIDIA GeForce board partners in launching its RTX 2060 12 GB graphics card. NVIDIA pulled the RTX 2060 out of retirement, gave it a few more CUDA cores, and doubled its memory to re-launch it, as a possible answer to AMD's recent Radeon RX 6600. The "Turing" graphics architecture can still be considered contemporary, as it offers full DirectX 12 Ultimate support. The chip features 2,176 CUDA cores, 34 RT cores, 272 Tensor cores, and a 192-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, holding 12 GB of memory. ZOTAC's board design is a cost-effective fare, with a simple aluminium fin-stack heatsink ventilated by a pair of fans. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. NVIDIA hasn't released an MSRP for the RTX 2060 12 GB, so this card could cost anything.

INNO3D, a leading manufacturer of pioneering high-end multimedia components and innovations today announces the upgraded INNO3D NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 TWIN X2 OC now with 12 GB. Improving performance and power efficiency over previous models of the RTX 2060 family, the INNO3D GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB lets the gamer now enjoy faster, smoother gameplay, supporting the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate that features in both classic and latest game titles. The new GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB brings the incredible performance and power of real-time ray tracing and AI to the latest games—and every gamer.

Founded in 1998 with the vision of developing pioneering computer hardware products on a global scale. Fast forward to the present day, INNO3D is now well-established in the gaming community known for our innovative and daring approach to design and technology. We are Brutal by Nature in everything we do and are 201% committed to you for the best gaming experience in the world.

NVIDIA's surprise launch of the GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB graphics card could stir things up in the 1080p mainstream graphics segment. Apparently, there's more to this card than just a doubling in memory amount. Specifications put out by NVIDIA point to the card featuring 2,176 CUDA cores, compared to 1,920 on the original RTX 2060 (6 GB). 2,176 is the same number of CUDA cores that the RTX 2060 SUPER was endowed with. What sets the two cards apart is the memory configuration.

While the RTX 2060 maxed out the "TU106" silicon, the RTX 2060 12 GB is likely based on the larger "TU104," in order to achieve its CUDA core count. The RTX 2060 SUPER features 8 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide memory bus, however, the RTX 2060 12 GB uses a narrower 192-bit wide bus, disabling 1/4th of the bus width of the "TU104." The memory data-rate on both SKUs is the same—14 Gbps. The segmentation between the two in the area of GPU clock speeds appears negligible. The original RTX 2060 ticks at 1680 MHz boost, while the new RTX 2060 12 GB does 1650 MHz boost. The typical board power is increased to 185 W compared to 160 W of the original RTX 2060, and 175 W of the RTX 2060 SUPER.

Update 15:32 UTC: NVIDIA has updated their website to remove the "Founders Edition" part from their specs page (3rd screenshot below). We confirmed with NVIDIA that there will be no RTX 2060 12 GB Founders Edition, only custom designs by their various board partners.

AMD is preparing to wrap up its Radeon RX 6000 series desktop discrete graphics card family with two new SKUs, the RX 6500 XT and the RX 6400. The two debut the company's smallest piece of silicon based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture, codenamed "Navi 24," to the desktop space. The RX 6500 XT maxes out this silicon, enabling all 16 compute units physically present, working out to 1,024 stream processors. The RX 6400 is significantly cut down, featuring 12 out of 16 CUs, which means 768 stream processors.

The Navi 24 silicon features a 64-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, which is paired with 4 GB of discrete memory on both SKUs. This memory operates at 14 Gbps data-rate, which works out to 112 GB/s memory bandwidth. Interestingly, the Infinity Cache makes a comeback, in the form of a tiny 16 MB on-die cache that cushions the memory sub-system. The RX 6500 XT could have just enough muscle for e-sports gaming at 1080p, while the RX 6400 seems more like a card you'd buy just because your processor lacks integrated graphics (eg: if you're using a Ryzen 5000X processor and just need a graphics solution that meets the latest display I/O and media-acceleration standards). At this point we don't know if the Navi 24 is DirectX 12 Ultimate compliant, i.e., featuring Ray Accelerators on its compute units. Both cards are expected to launch in Q1, 2022.

AMD announced the AMD Radeon PRO V620 GPU, built with the latest AMD RDNA 2 architecture which delivers high-performance GPU acceleration for today's demanding cloud workloads including immersive AAA game experiences, intensive 3D workloads and modern office productivity applications at scale in the cloud.

With its innovative GPU-partitioning capabilities, multi-stream hardware accelerated encoders and 32 GB GDDR6 memory, the AMD Radeon PRO V620 offers dedicated GPU resources that scale to multiple graphics users, helping ensure cost-effective graphics acceleration for a range of workloads. Built using the same GPU architecture that powers the latest generation game consoles and PC game experiences, the AMD Radeon PRO V620 GPU is also designed to develop and deliver immersive AAA game experiences.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched new Challenger series products based on AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPUs. Built on the 7 nm manufacturing process, the new ASRock graphics cards offer support for the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, HDMI 2.1, PCI Express 4.0, and the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system. With a wealth of exclusive features, the new graphics cards are designed to provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate 1080p gaming experiences to the midrange market.

The new graphics cards are built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal balance of performance and power efficiency. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory and other advanced features, the new graphics cards are designed to bring next-generation desktop gaming experiences to the midrange market. They also support the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, which is designed to increase framerates while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.