Intel Launches its Arc B-Series GPUs

Intel is launching today new Arc B-Series desktop GPUs that use the company’s latest Xe2 architecture previously seen on its Lunar Lake laptop chips. Compared to its previous A-Series Arc GPUs, Intel says that the new models offer 70% better performance per Xe-core and 50% more performance per watt.

“The new Intel Arc B-Series GPUs are the perfect upgrades for gamers,” said Vivian Lien, Intel vice president and general manager of Client Graphics. “They deliver leading performance-per-dollar and great 1440p gaming experiences with XeSS 2, second-generation ray tracing engines and XMX AI engines.”

The Intel Arc B-Series GPUs include two models, the Arc B580 and Arc B570 with 12GB and 10GB of dedicated GPU memory, respectively. The first one will be available starting December 13 from $249, and the second one starting January 16 from $219.

Intel’s new desktop GPUs introduce a second-generation XeSS technology with three new AI-powered features: XeSS Super Resolution, XeSS Frame Generation, and Xe Low Latency. While Intel’s first-gen XeSS super sampling technology is currently available in over 150 PC games, support for these three new XeSS 2 features will come to select PC games including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Robocop: Rogue City, Dying Light 2, F1 24, and Marvel Rivals.

Intel’s affordable desktop GPUs aren’t just for gamers, they should also meet the needs of content creators with expansive hardware encode and decode codec support. With AI Playground, developers will also get access to a free solution for running generative AI workloads locally.

While Intel promises the “best-in-class performance-per-dollar” with its Arc B-Series GPUs, the future of Intel desktop GPUs remains up in the air after CEO Pat Gelsinger just retired from the company. During Intel’s Q3 2024 earnings call, the same Gelsinger explained that the chip maker needed to simplify its product lineup to focus on its integrated graphics capabilities, adding that the company had “less need for discrete graphics in the market going forward.”