Intel Arc will be the company’s first high-end gaming GPU. Will it succeed against the formidable competition from Nvidia and AMD? Let’s start the discussion with these basic elements for success that Intel should follow. Let’s start with a good name.
Get a better name
You need a good name to win. Intel has already branded the GPU and the software around its consumer GPU the official brand “Arc”.
This is much better than the Arc codename “DG2Xe-HPG”. This, frankly, looks like a cat crossing my keyboard. Ark is easy to remember. Even better, it only requires 3 letters, so there’s room to discuss it on Twitter.
Fixed boring codenames
With a GPU, you can’t do anything without a cool codename. With Alchemist (Xe-HPG), Battle Mage, Celestial, and Druid, Intel is finally playing it right.
Intel has a sad history with a name. Its CPU, chipset, etc. typically uses a randomly selected lake, river, or geographic location near the team that developed it. Believe it or not, they are usually chosen as deliberately bland and mysterious.
When using a GPU, it’s chic to give it cool codenames like Navi, Polaris, Ampere, Pascal. Intel raises it one more notch with what looks like a game character class. There is no such thing as “druid” as a GPU codename, not only nerds but also hips, right? It’s certainly better than the “Sacramento River” (still open, Intel).
No need to worry about performance
Invasion of graphic games has long been dangerous due to the relentless onslaught from Nvidia and AMD. Shipping a GPU that doesn’t match these two means you’re a loser from day one
Using the first Arc GPU, Alchemist, it is suggested that the performance is about “20x” that of the original Intel CrystalWell graphics. According to our estimates, it could fall within the GeForce RTX 3070 range.
This is far below the best or second best of Nvidia and AMD. But this time around, it couldn’t be a problem if Intel’s best discrete GPUs contend with Nvidia’s 5th tier GPUs and AMD’s 3rd tier GPUs. For the first time in the history of PC games, speeding up isn’t the only thing that matters to GPUs. It also means that you can buy it.
Just ship, baby
The most important thing for gamers right now is to be able to buy a GPU, not the speed of a new GPU. In a world where people pay their suggested retail prices for used graphics cards five years ago, buying an Arc GPU can be a huge success. Yes, Intel, ship it and ship it on time to win.
In fact, it’s sad that Arc doesn’t ship this holiday. We have to wait until the first quarter of 2022. By then, GPU supply doesn’t seem to improve, but six months is a long time.
God forbids Ark to be delayed any further, giving Nvidia and AMD more time to stack up supplies. By March, if you can choose between AMD, Intel, or Nvidia GPUs, the conversation will return to performance, performance, and performance, not just the pulse.
Become a destroyer
The fact that people pay for used graphics cards in excess of the suggested retail price may tempt Intel to set a “market-bearing” price. If the GPU drought is still severe in early 2022, that’s right. If you charge the first Arc for the price of the GeForce RTX 3070, the card is still sold and may be sold out. But it doesn’t build brand loyalty or excitement.
Intel had to deal with Nvidia and AMD messing up their major businesses for a long time, so take a moment to give a little reward and eventually ruin their game. Isn’t it? This means reducing the slight loss or profit of the card to win the optical war where Intel GPUs appear to be PC gamers’ best friends.
Resist the bundle
Intel has long adopted a one-stop shop approach to business, allowing companies to buy CPUs, chipsets, and Wi-Fi controllers in bulk. Hey, why not buy a GPU as well? This makes a lot of sense for the business, and PC makers are happy to get a GPU supply.
Unfortunately, hungry PC gamers will only be furious at such moves. With as many GPUs in the hands of gamers as possible, Intel can become a hero for everyone and in the long run you can benefit from believing people.
Correct the driver
Intel actually has a long history of drivers with gamers. It has never been a good history. Having a reputation for reliable, high-performance drivers that fix bugs right away, not three months from now, is just as important as the hardware itself.
Execute
If the alchemist ships as a victory story early next year, don’t get off the gas. Nvidia and AMD will run on the new, reliable GPU. Casio G-Shock Sports watch. If there are new competitors, both have the potential to further enhance them.
Originally published at Illinois news today