Intel teases first Arc A-series desktop GPU ahead of summer launch
Intel has only just detailed its first Arc laptop GPUs, but it’s already teasing its desktop plans. The company has offered a peek at an Arc A-series Limited Edition video card arriving sometime this summer — yes, that’s another delay. There are no specs or prices, unfortunately, but the double-height design and twin-fan cooling make clear this is aimed directly at gamers who’d normally buy AMD or NVIDIA boards.
Early Arc desktop GPUs are expected to support a raft of modern features, including hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and AI-based supersampling. Intel is already developing second-generation GPUs, nicknamed Battlemage, and expects the third-gen Celestial hardware to target the “ultra-enthusiast” camp.
It’s still too soon to say if Arc desktop models will offer truly competitive performance. This latest delay doesn’t help, though. NVIDIA is poised to deliver its first Ampere Next-based GPUs (likely the RTX 40 series) later this year, and AMD will follow suit with the Radeon RX 7000 series. Intel is aiming at a moving target, and there are no guarantees a card released this summer will hold its own against the absolute latest the competition has to offer.
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