Intel Investigates Performance Issues of Arc GPUs with Older Processors

Finally, Intel is addressing the performance issues plaguing their Arc GPUs when paired with older CPUs, and has launched an investigation to tackle this problem head-on.

Taking a Closer Look: Intel’s Arc GPUs and Older Processors

When Intel released their Arc B580 and B570 GPUs, they initially seemed promising, boasting more VRAM than their competition. However, they quickly faded into the background. One major factor contributing to their lukewarm reception was their subpar optimization.

The problem wasn’t just with the drivers for Intel’s GPUs—it was a broader issue affecting the Arc Battlemage GPUs, leaving them trailing behind. Those who follow tech closely might recall that Hardware Unboxed highlighted the less-than-stellar performance of the Arc B580 when used with older processor models like the Ryzen 2000 series and 9th generation Intel Core CPUs.

For some time, Intel failed to publicly acknowledge these concerns. However, they’ve now broken their silence, addressing the issue in a public forum. Here’s what they had to say:

"Thank you for your patience. We are aware of reports of performance sensitivity in some games when paired with older generation processors.

We have increased our platform coverage to include more configurations in our validation process, and we are continuing to investigate optimizations."

The message from Intel suggests that they’ve been aware of the problems but hadn’t prioritized performance optimization. Now, they plan to expand their focus to include more diverse configurations in their efforts to fix the situation. Still, they haven’t committed to a specific timeline for rolling out these updates.

The real work lies in enhancing their driver support, as the current hardware can compete with previous-gen NVIDIA and AMD models in cutting-edge titles. Interestingly, these performance issues don’t seem to manifest when pairing the Arc B580 or B570 with new Intel and AMD CPUs, making the poor performance with earlier Intel processors all the more perplexing.

Ideally, the upcoming patches will allow Intel to better match up against AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. However, this won’t guarantee Intel’s rise in the GPU market. At present, the Arc Battlemage GPUs are hardly visible out there. Their scarcity has effectively pushed Intel out of the running in the budget GPU market.

For now, let’s stay tuned to see when and how Intel plans to make its next move.