Intel’s ARC Alchemist Gaming GPU has been further elaborated, and it seems that gamers and workstation users on desktops and laptops will have many SKUs.

We mentioned that workstations and games are put together because the underlying architecture of the Intel ARC Alchemist series is mainly designed for games, so the naming scheme is Xe-HPG (High Performance Games). The latest information from the dead of Moore's Law not only provides us with information on the graphics lineup, but also provides a close-up of the first chip of the two DG2 SKUs, which will be used in Intel's first ARC graphics card.

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Intel’s ARC Alchemist series will have two GPU chips, each with multiple configurations ready to be launched in the first quarter of 2022. These include three configurations based on the top DG2-512 EU (DG2-SOC1) chip and three configurations based on the DG2- 128 EU (DG2-SOC2) chip.

Intel ARC Alchemist (Xe-HPG DG2) graphics lineup details (picture source: Moore's Law is dead):

Although we have seen more GPU configurations in the leak, it looks like these configurations may be used in future products or early SKUs for verification and testing. So let's start with the top mold first.

Intel Xe-HPG 512 EU GPU powered ARC Alchemist gaming graphics card lineup

Intel ARC Alchemist GPU chip size measurement, flagship DG2-512 is the same size as NVIDIA's GA104 and DG2-128, almost half the size of GA106

It is said that the top Alchemist 512 EU (32 Xe core) variant has at least three configurations. The complete chip has 4096 cores, a 256-bit bus interface and up to 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 16 Gbps clock, but 18 Gbps cannot be ruled out according to rumors. The following are all ARC 512 EU variants based on DG2-SOC1 that we can expect:

The size of the Alchemist 512 EU chip is expected to be approximately 396 square millimeters, which makes it larger than AMD RDNA 2 and NVIDIA Ampere products. The Alchemist-512 GPU will be packaged in BGA-2660, with a size of 37.5mm x 43mm. The size of NVIDIA's Ampere GA104 is 392mm2, which means that the size of the flagship Alchemist chip is equivalent, while the size of the Navi 22 GPU is 336mm2 or about 60mm2. This is not the final die size of the chip, but it should be very close.

NVIDIA includes tensor cores and larger RT/FP32 cores in its chips, while AMD RDNA 2 chips include a light accelerator unit in each CU and infinite cache. Intel will also equip its Alchemist GPU with dedicated hardware for ray tracing and artificial intelligence-assisted super sampling technology.

It is recommended that the Xe-HPG Alchemist 512 EU chip has a clock of approximately 2.2-2.5 GHz, although we do not know whether these are average clocks or maximum boost clocks. Let us assume that this is the maximum clock speed, in this case the card will provide up to 18.5 TFLOPs FP32 calculations, which is 40% higher than the RX 6700 XT but 9% lower than the NVIDIA RTX 3070.

In terms of performance positioning, it is said that the first 512 EU variants compete with RTX 3070 / RTX 3070 Ti, and the 384 EU variants compete with RTX 3060 / RTX 3060 Ti on the desktop. In terms of laptops, 512 EU may be as fast as RTX 3080, 384 EU variants are around the RTX 3070 level, and 256 EU will eventually compete with RTX 3060.

In addition, it is said that Intel’s original TDP target was 225-250W, but it has now been increased to around 275W. If Intel wants to push its clock further, we can also look forward to the 300W variant with dual 8-pin connectors. In either case, we can expect that the final model will use an 8+6 pin connector configuration, and the reference model will also be very similar to the drone marketing lens that Intel launched during the ARC brand display.

As for the release, the SOC1 variant is scheduled to be released in mid-February, and AIB is waiting for the final chip to test its custom PCB design. The desktop variant may be released first, then laptops, and then workstations by the end of 2022.

Intel Xe-HPG 128 EU GPU powered ARC Alchemist gaming graphics card lineup

Finally, we have Intel Xe-HPG Alchemist 128 EU (8 Xe cores) components. There are two configurations of full fat SKU with 1024 cores, 96-bit and 64-bit variants with 6 GB and 4 GB memory capacity respectively.

The lite version will be equipped with 96 EU or 768 cores, and a 4 GB GDDR6 memory with a 64-bit bus interface. The chip will also have a clock speed of approximately 2.2-2.5 GHz and a power consumption of less than 75W, which means that we will be looking for a connectorless graphics card for the entry-level market.

Here are all the ARC 128 EU variants that we can expect based on DG2-SOC2:

Performance is expected to be between GeForce GTX 1650 and GTX 1650 SUPER, but with ray tracing capabilities. One of Intel's advantages over AMD and Intel is that with these cards, they may enter the US market for less than $250, which has been completely abandoned in the current generation of cards. The GeForce RTX 3050 series has only released laptops so far. The RTX 3060 serves the entry-level ampere segment at a price of US$329, while the RX 6600 is expected to become AMD’s entry-level solution at a price of approximately US$300.

The GPU will be very similar to the discrete SDV board based on the DG1 GPU, but Alchemist will have a more improved architecture design and definitely have more performance improvements than the first-generation Xe GPU architecture. The lineup will definitely target the discrete market for entry-level desktops based on specifications.

Intel Xe-HPG powered ARC Alchemist workstation lineup

Not only will there be game graphics cards that use Xe-HPG DG2 GPU, but ARC will also land on workstations. It is said that the workstation chip powered by ARC Alchemist will provide 10% higher performance than NVIDIA's RTX workstation solution at a 10% lower price.

The lineup will target the mainstream and entry-level workstation segments. The top 512 EU (16 GB) variant will compete with the A4500 at the price of the A4000, and the 384 EU (12 GB) variant will handle the A4000 with similar performance, but at a cost reduction of 33% , And the 256 EU (8 GB) variant will provide more memory than the A2000 at the same price. It is also mentioned that a complete 32 GB variant based on the 512 EU chip is also planned, but a new circuit board design is required.

According to the schedule, the Xe-HPG Alchemist series will compete with NVIDIA's Ampere and AMD RDNA 2 GPUs, as neither company is expected to launch its next-generation components before the end of 2022. NVIDIA and AMD are expected to release updates in early 2022, which may bring some competition to Intel's new lineup, but based on current performance expectations, the refresh may not bring huge performance differences to the lineup. Xe-HPG ARC GPU will also appear on mobile platforms and will appear in Alder Lake-P laptops. By 2023, Intel will have a suitable high-end graphics card lineup to compete with NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace and AMD RDNA 3 chips in the form of ARC Battlemage.

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