Review of the Asrock Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB Overclocked Graphics Card.

Cons

• Uninspired performance in our gaming test suite
• Not stable in some games we tried
• Some DirectX 11 games will present challenges to launch and run

Asrock Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC Specs

Almost 25 years ago, Intel embarked on a mission to transform the computer graphics industry with the launch of its inaugural graphics accelerator, the i740. However, the outcome did not align with expectations, leading the company to concentrate on developing integrated graphics solutions over the years. A few years ago, Intel declared its intention to venture into the discrete graphics market, introducing the Arc product family. The fall of 2022 marks the debut of the first retail products stemming from this initiative.

Although a limited number of sporadic graphics cards, such as the Intel DG1, were observed in select OEM systems, it is only in 2022 that the initial Arc cards have begun to surface as tangible discrete products available for purchase in certain regions. It is important to note that these cards are not widely available: Gunnir has released an Arc A380 card in China, and just a few weeks ago, Asrock dispatched its inaugural Arc card to Newegg.com, marking the first appearance of Arc in the United States. We acquired one of these cards, and consequently, our initial review sample of the Arc series is Asrock’s Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC.

From a technological standpoint, Intel’s return to the graphics card market represents a significant shift for both the company and the broader industry. Historically, the graphics card sector was characterized by intense competition among various firms; however, this landscape has largely narrowed over the past twenty years to primarily include ATI (now integrated into AMD) and Nvidia, with no other contenders emerging as credible competitors. Entering the graphics card market at this juncture entails challenging two formidable giants.

Considering our extensive experience with Intel’s reliable integrated graphics technology found in its CPUs, the initial Arc graphics cards are among the most eagerly awaited PC components of this decade, in our opinion. Regrettably, Intel’s endeavors with the Arc series have largely fallen short, based on our experience with the A380 model. Without significant improvements to the graphics drivers, the Arc A380, specifically the Asrock Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC that we evaluated, cannot be endorsed by us.

Currently, this statement applies to all Intel Arc A380 graphics cards. However, should Intel continue to invest significant effort into improving the drivers, there is potential for these cards to become valuable purchases in the future. At this moment, that is not the case.

The Components: What is Fueling Intel’s Arc A380?

Entering the graphics card industry as a new company without prior experience in computer graphics presents a significant challenge. The number of firms equipped with contemporary computer graphics technology capable of successfully penetrating the graphics card market is quite limited, with Intel undoubtedly leading the pack. In my assessment, Apple and ARM are the only other two contenders that might have the potential to achieve this.

Although Intel exited the discrete graphics card market some time ago, the company has consistently focused on enhancing its integrated graphics technology, yielding notable advancements in this field. While it is common for many to regard Intel’s integrated graphics processors (IGPs) as inadequate for gaming purposes, I can attest to having had numerous enjoyable gaming experiences on an Intel HD 4000 Graphics IGP in the past, particularly with simpler, older games.

Having established a foundation of effective graphics technology, Intel’s primary task was to develop it into a more proficient standalone solution. This is fundamentally what the company has accomplished. It is evident that there exists a direct connection between Intel’s most recent integrated graphics processors and the new Intel Arc graphics cards from its inaugural “Alchemist” series, such as the A380.

Directly comparing the fundamental components of the Arc A380 to those of its competitors proves challenging, as Intel has designated them in a manner that lacks clear equivalents. It is conceivable that the company has intentionally chosen these names to create a degree of ambiguity in this regard. Rather than utilizing Execution Units as seen in Intel’s integrated graphics processors, Streaming Processors in AMD GPUs, or CUDA cores in Nvidia GPUs, the Arc Alchemist A380 features what is referred to as a Vector Engine. Additionally, instead of traditional texture mapping units, it incorporates a component known as a “Sampler,” and Arc GPUs are equipped with “XMX” cores designed for artificial intelligence tasks.

The essential component of an Arc GPU is the Render Slice, which bears resemblance to an AMD Compute Unit. Each Render Slice is equipped with four samplers, four Ray Tracking Units (as opposed to Ray Tracing Units), and four Xe-cores. Each Xe-core comprises 16 Vector Engines and 16 XMX cores, culminating in a total of 128 for each type. Intel utilized TSMC’s N6 process to manufacture the GPU core. These cores function at a base frequency of 2,000MHz, while in our testing, Asrock increased this frequency to 2,250MHz.

The Arc 380 features memory support comprising 6GB of GDDR6 RAM, which interfaces with the GPU core via a 96-bit memory bus. This RAM operates at a speed of 15.5Gbps and is capable of achieving a bandwidth of up to 186GBps. The overall power consumption of the board is relatively low, rated at 75 watts, indicating that it should not necessitate a PCI Express power connector for its operation. Nevertheless, Asrock has equipped its version of this card with an eight-pin power connector, allowing for a total power availability of 225 watts. While this may be excessive, it ensures that power will not be a constraint for those looking to overclock their A380.

The integration of Ray-Tracing hardware and AI technologies positions Arc GPUs as superior to Intel’s integrated graphics products. Intel has also created software designed to leverage these advanced features. Among these tools are specialized applications for media transcoding utilizing Arc GPUs. In a manner akin to AMD’s FSR and Nvidia’s DLSS, Intel offers a technology known as XeSS, which employs AI for game upscaling and performance enhancement. Currently, however, there are no commercially available games that support the XeSS feature, necessitating that we move forward without conducting tests on it.

The Asrock model in question is designed specifically for contemporary Mini-ITX PCs. The term “contemporary” is used here because earlier Mini-ITX systems typically accommodated only half-height add-on cards, whereas this particular card does not conform to that specification. It features a dual-slot thermal solution, equipped with an aluminum heatsink and a sizable single fan for effective cooling. Additionally, its compact length of 7.4 inches ensures compatibility with the majority of cases.

Evaluating the Intel Arc A380: A Journey Marked by Challenges

It is important to address certain aspects regarding the competition. Some graphics cards have not undergone testing with specific benchmarks. If a card does not have a test result or is absent from a particular game, it may be due to the card’s inability to complete the test or the absence of a feature like ray tracing. While tests that incorporate ray tracing, such as F1 22, can be conducted with this feature turned off, doing so would unfairly benefit those cards. Consequently, we decided to exclude these tests for the affected cards.

Artificial Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are the area in which the Arc A380 excels significantly. While this is encouraging, it is important to note that gamers primarily engage with real games.

The 3DMark test results indicate that it surpasses the well-established AMD Radeon RX 570 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. Its performance in Furmark was even more impressive, exceeding all other graphics cards on our list, and it also achieved commendable results in Luxmark. However, the situation was less favorable in Superposition, where the Arc A380 ranked near the lower end of the spectrum, a trend that is likely to be observed frequently.

AAA Game Performance Metrics

A limited number of the graphics cards we selected for testing alongside the Arc A380 are equipped with ray tracing, DLSS, or FSR capabilities. This situation provides the Arc A380 with a distinct advantage, as it possesses features that are absent in some rival cards. Furthermore, it is not the least performant card we have encountered with these functionalities, at least not across all evaluations.

In both F1 22 and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the Arc A380 demonstrated a significant advantage over the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT. Although enabling FSR reduces the performance disparity between the two graphics cards, the Arc A380 ultimately maintains its superior performance.

It is important to note that in F1 22, we activated FSR for the Arc A380, as it is compatible with this software. However, we did not utilize it with the Arc A380 in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy because the option was unavailable for activation, which is the reason we excluded that chart.

Undoubtedly, the performance outcomes of the Arc A380 were, at best, underwhelming. It is not unusual for a previous generation’s high-end graphics card to outperform a newer low-end or midrange model. Generally, it takes time for lower-tier cards to exceed the capabilities of older high-end counterparts. For instance, in certain benchmarks, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 continues to compete with the GeForce RTX 3050, despite the latter being two generations ahead.

In the evaluation of the Arc A380, it consistently underperforms in comparison to midrange graphics cards launched in 2016 and 2017. While the Arc A380 does earn some recognition for successfully running the Red Dead Redemption 2 tests—an achievement that the GeForce GTX 1650, Radeon RX 570, and Radeon RX 6500 XT could not accomplish at different resolutions—the data clearly indicates that acquiring an older GeForce GTX 1060 would be a more advantageous choice than opting for the Arc A380.

The results from the Rainbow Six: Siege testing warrant further examination, as we conducted this evaluation using the Arc A380 with both DirectX 11 and Vulkan. In contrast, all other graphics cards were assessed solely with DirectX 11, which serves as our benchmark for testing. However, Intel’s graphics cards encounter difficulties when executing DirectX 11 games. Even in instances where they successfully run a DirectX 11 game, the performance has, to date, been subpar.

The Arc A380 demonstrated significantly improved performance in Rainbow Six: Siege when utilizing Vulkan, which may provide a clearer indication of its actual processing capabilities. However, this score should be interpreted cautiously, as numerous other graphics cards would probably also gain advantages from employing Vulkan, although quantifying the extent of these benefits remains challenging.\

Challenges Related to Legacy Games and API Functionality

The Arc A380 encounters significant difficulties when handling older or legacy games. In our evaluation, we tested three such titles: Bioshock: Infinite, Hitman: Absolution, and Sleeping Dogs. Among these, only Hitman: Absolution was consistently playable on the A380. In contrast, Bioshock: Infinite repeatedly led to system crashes, necessitating a forced shutdown by disconnecting the power cable. Although Sleeping Dogs performed somewhat better, it still experienced frequent crashes to the desktop during our testing process.

The benchmarks for Hitman: Absolution appeared to function without any significant problems; however, the overall performance is notably subpar. In fact, it is quite disappointing, as the game failed to achieve playable frame rates, even at a resolution of 1080p.

It is important to acknowledge that Intel is not the sole entity at fault in this situation. One could contend that both AMD and Nvidia share similar shortcomings. The GeForce GTX 1650 frequently outperforms the GeForce GTX 1060 in contemporary gaming scenarios, which is understandable given its superior hardware capabilities. However, in the case of Hitman: Absolution, the GTX 1060 manages to outperform its counterpart. This is particularly noteworthy when considering the subpar performance exhibited by the AMD graphics cards tested, many of which had difficulty achieving playable frame rates in this 2012 title.

It is essential to engage in a discussion regarding Intel’s Arc GPUs and their support for APIs. Intel strongly advises users to utilize the latest API available when playing games with its graphics cards. The company is evidently prioritizing the enhancement of its drivers for newer DirectX 12 titles, which may result in a delay before older games receive adequate support.

A representative from Intel, with whom we had a conversation, officially acknowledged, “We (Intel) are aware of these issues and are investigating them.” This statement raises hopes for more favorable outcomes in the future, potentially leading to a reduction in crashes.

An Examination of the Power Consumption of the Arc A380.

We have recently initiated testing of graphics cards to assess their power consumption and temperature readings. Regrettably, we encountered challenges in this area as well. Our methodology involves using Furmark to obtain temperature readings, as it applies a stable and consistent load on the graphics card, allowing us to monitor peak temperatures and power consumption over several minutes. However, in this instance, we were only able to obtain the power readings, as the software failed to display the temperature charts for the Arc A380.

We successfully obtained the power readings, which present a somewhat varied picture. The chart illustrates the overall power consumption of the system rather than focusing solely on the graphics card’s power usage. Nevertheless, the Arc A380 recorded the lowest active power readings among all the cards we have evaluated. Interestingly, its idle power consumption was notably higher; however, during gameplay, its power draw remains relatively low.

The Conclusion: Is Intel’s Arc Poised for Viability?

My passion for technology has been a constant in my life for as long as I can recall, and this assertion is not merely a result of a faulty memory. My father was deeply involved in the tech field, and I distinctly remember my desire to understand computers from the tender age of four or five. This inherent curiosity drives my appreciation for innovative and novel tech products, even if they do not achieve immediate success. Consequently, I find myself inclined to support Intel’s Arc A380 and hope for the success of its future iterations.

The Arc A380 signifies not only a resurgence in budget graphics cards, a segment that has seen limited activity in recent years, but it also represents the first occasion in almost two decades where there are more than two genuinely competitive choices available in the GPU market. This development is both novel and thrilling, and I am eager to witness further advancements in this area.

In conclusion, unless you are an exceptionally inquisitive early adopter, it is advisable to refrain from purchasing one of these cards at this time. The synthetic test results for the Arc A380 suggest that there may be unexploited potential within this card. However, its current gaming performance is subpar and lacks competitiveness. It has shown only marginal competitiveness in the latest advanced games, and its performance is insufficient to deliver enjoyable frame rates in these titles.