Our friends in Taiwan told us that Intel called some supply chain members a week ago and revealed some final details about the upcoming ARC. Three years ago, it was wishful thinking to see two become three in the discrete GPU world, but it is now a reality.
Initial lineup of Intel ARC GPUs leaked: A750, A580 and A380 MSRP and positioning details
We have details on all the SKUs that are launching in the near future. Intel will roll out in stages. The first salvo will consist of 3 GPUs, two of which will be released together and one in a few weeks. Initial launches will include the A750 and A580, with the A380 coming in a few weeks. The A780 flagship will not launch in the first salvo. Interestingly, this time, instead of revealing a specific sales embargo date to partners, Intel has revealed a range – the exact embargo date for each SKU is communicated individually after launch. Without further ado, here are the details:
graphics processor | Comparable GPU | Suggested retail price | Expected release date |
---|---|---|---|
A750 | RTX 3060 | $350 | End of May – beginning of June |
A580 | RTX 3050 | $280 | End of May – beginning of June |
A380 | GTX 1650 | $150 | Tentatively scheduled for July |
Sales embargo on ARC for Desktop | May 15 to June 30 |
The Intel mid-range performance card is an Intel ARC A750 graphics card that will rival the RTX 3060 in performance. Intel also told its partners that drivers are improving rapidly and they should expect to see continued performance improvements post-release (AMD FineWine anyone?). The suggested retail price of the A750 is $350. NVIDIA’s RTX 3060 has a suggested retail price of $330, but is currently retailing for between $479 and $599 on Newegg. If Intel can enforce that MSRP, that would be a very good deal!
This is followed by a budget entry for Intel’s ARC A580 GPU, which performs roughly on par with the RTX 3050. The same driver/performance advisory applies. The suggested retail price of the A580 is $280. Likewise, NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 has an MSRP of $250, but it’s $329 on Newegg.
Finally, we have the entry-level Intel ARC A380 GPU, which is roughly on par with the GTX 1650, and has an MSRP of just $150. The NVIDIA GTX 1650 has a suggested retail price of $150, but is currently retailing for about $220 on Newegg.
If Intel can enforce these MSRPs with rebates and marketing assistance, coupled with Intel’s amazing XeSS implementation (and extensive gaming support), the company will have a very good start in the market. Predatory pricing that further slashes MSRP shouldn’t be a matter of building initial market share either. However, if they can’t enforce these MSRPs, it may be difficult to gain traction to build initial market share.