Are Intel Arc GPUs good for gaming?

Picture of Intel Arc A750 GPU
Intel Arc A750 GPU (Image via The Tech Tank/YouTube)

Intel Arc GPUs had a very rocky start when they first launched, as the drivers were not working as intended. Newer DX12 games would often crash, while older DX11 and DX9 titles performed even worse. However, Intel took the issue as a challenge and turned things around. The company's drivers are a lot better now, and games are running quite well.

However, are these Intel Arc GPUs good for gaming? Yes, and they are getting even better. This article explains how well they perform in the latest games.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.


List of all Intel Arc GPUs

Intel has four GPUs: Arc A380, A580, A750, and A770. Check out how all the Intel Arc GPUs perform:

Is the Intel Arc A380 good for gamers?

Intel Arc A380 running Apex Legends (Image via Christo Gevedjov/YouTube)
Intel Arc A380 running Apex Legends (Image via Christo Gevedjov/YouTube)

The Intel Arc A380 is an entry-level model which is Intel's cheapest graphics card. It starts at just $109.99 and yet supports all of the latest technologies that Intel presented, including XESS upscaling and raytracing. Here are the full specs of the Intel Arc A380:

SpecificationsDetails
Shader cores1024
RT cores8
TMUs64
ROPs32
Base clocks2000 MHz
Boost clocks2050 MHz
VRAM size6GB
VRAM bus width96-bit
VRAM bandwidth186GB/s
Manufacturing node 6nm
Thermal design power 75W
Price $109.99

Since the Arc A380 is an entry-level gaming GPU, it is mainly designed for competitive esports titles like CS2, Apex Legends, COD: Warzone, etc. It won't perform very well on other graphically intensive games at 1080p. You may need to turn down the resolution to 720p to achieve smooth 60 FPS in those games.

Here's how the Arc A380 performs in popular games, as per Christo Gevedjov's channel on YouTube:

Note: These tests were conducted on driver version 4887, released in September 2023.

GamesPerformance
Apex Legends91 FPS
Assasin's Creed Mirage57 FPS
COD: Warzone60 FPS
Counter-Strike 2138 FPS
DOTA 2133 FPS
GTA V90 FPS
Spider-Man Remastered58 FPS
Mortal Kombat 159 FPS
Overwatch 2117 FPS
Rainbow Six Siege127 FPS

As you can see, the Intel Arc A380 is superb in competitive games, generating over 60 FPS and even 100+ FPS in some titles. Other popular games like Assassin's Creed Mirage and GTA V can also be played generally well with over 50+ FPS at 1080p. As an entry-level card, it's a fine GPU.


Is the Intel Arc A580 good for gamers?

Intel Arc AA580 running Ghost Runner 2 (Image via Tech Closet/YouTube)
Intel Arc AA580 running Ghost Runner 2 (Image via Tech Closet/YouTube)

The Intel Arc A580 serves as a great entry point for 1080p gaming, with a budget price tag of just $164.99 making it incredible value for money. It has all the specifications needed to support the full DirectX 12 Ultimate suite. The Intel Arc GPUs are known for their value, and that hasn't changed here. Here's the full specs list for Arc A580:

SpecificationsDetails
Shader cores3072
RT cores24
TMUs192
ROPs96
Base clocks1700 MHz
Boost clocks2000 MHz
VRAM size8GB
VRAM bus width256-bit
VRAM bandwidth512GB/s
Manufacturing node 6nm
Thermal design power 175W
Price $164.99

As you can see, the Arc A580 is outfitted with a decent number of shader cores and its accompanying specifications needed to deliver a solid gaming experience. Check out how it performs in popular game titles released in the last few years. All the FPS numbers here are from the Tech Closet channel on YouTube.

Note: These tests were conducted on driver version 4887, released in September 2023.

GamesPerformance
Valorant230 FPS
Counter-Strike 2143 FPS
Apex Legends100 FPS
COD: Warzone78 FPS
Fortnite77 FPS
Cyberpunk 207764 FPS
Elden Ring60 FPS
God of War76 FPS
Starfield45 FPS
Ghost Runner 2103 FPS

The Intel Arc A580 delivers 60+ FPS even in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077. However, it suffers from the same driver issues as other Intel Arc GPUs. The drivers used here are not optimized for Starfield, so the game suffers on this card. However, new drivers have significantly improved performance and may continue to do so with future driver updates.


Is the Intel Arc A750 a good gaming GPU in 2024?

Last of Us: Part 1 running at 76 FPS average (Image via Benchmark Ben/YouTube)
Last of Us: Part 1 running at 76 FPS average (Image via Benchmark Ben/YouTube)

The Arc A750 is a mainstream GPU and the most popular among gamers. The specifications of the Arc A750 are better than other GPUs around the $200 price point. It can even play ray-traced games and supports Intel XESS upscaling technology. Here's the full specs list:

SpecificationsDetails
Shader cores3580
RT cores28
TMUs224
ROPs112
Base clocks2050 MHz
Boost clocks2400 MHz
VRAM size8GB
VRAM bus width256-bit
VRAM bandwidth512GB/s
Manufacturing node6nm
Thermal design power225W
Price$199.99

With the specs out of the way, it's time to check out just how good the Intel Arc A750 performs in modern games. The following stats are from the Benchmark Ben channel on YouTube.

Note: These tests were conducted on driver version 5330, released on 8th February 2024.

GamesPerformance
Dying Light 291 FPS
Alan Wake 243 FPS
Palworld63 FPS
Cyberpunk 207787 FPS
Starfield51 FPS
The Last of Us: Part 176 FPS
Forza Horizon 5124 FPS
Forza Horizon Unbound79 FPS

All these games were tested at 1080p resolution with High/Very High settings. The drivers for Intel Arc GPUs are not optimized for Alan Wake 2 and Starfield, so both games underperformed with the Arc A750 GPU. However, other games performed smoothly with 60+ FPS all the time. It can also provide 60+ FPS in the same games at 1440P as well.


Is the Intel Arc A770 good for gamers?

Forza Horizon 5 running at Arc A770 at 1440p with ray tracing (Image via Dannys Gaming Channel/YouTube)
Forza Horizon 5 running at Arc A770 at 1440p with ray tracing (Image via Dannys Gaming Channel/YouTube)

This is Intel's flagship GPU designed to provide competitive performance in 1440p gaming. It has 16GB of VRAM, so it has no trouble running games like Last of Us: Part 1, which is usually heavy on 8GB VRAM GPUs. Here's the full specs list of the Arc A770 GPU:

SpecificationsDetails
Shader cores4096
RT cores32
TMUs256
ROPs128
Base clocks2100 MHz
Boost clocks2400 MHz
VRAM size16GB
VRAM bus width256-bit
VRAM bandwidth512GB/s
Manufacturing node6nm
Thermal design power 225W
Price $279.99

It has great specs, but let's check out some real gaming performance at 1440p resolution. All the FPS numbers you are about to see are from Dannys Tech Channel on YouTube.

Note: These tests were conducted on driver version 5186, released on January 24, 2024.

GamesPerformance
Forza Horizon 5 with ray tracing
78.6FPS
Apex Legends143 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077
61 FPS
Fortnite
73.3 FPS

Even with ray tracing enabled, the Arc A770 can easily deliver 60+ FPS even at 1440p. Other games also performed well, including Cyberpunk 2077 at 61 FPS.

However, these FPS numbers may change in the future as Intel keeps improving its performance with driver updates. In fact, they improved the performance of all Intel Arc GPUs with a new driver update. Check out how much of a difference a driver update can make below.


Intel Arc GPUs: Driver improvements

Detroit: Become Human is now playable with the new driver (Image via Intel Arc Testing/YouTube)
Detroit: Become Human is now playable with the new driver (Image via Intel Arc Testing/YouTube)

Here's a performance comparison between two drivers, V5330 and V5379, with Intel Arc A750 in six games. All the numbers here are from the Intel Arc Testing channel on YouTube.

GamesIntel driver version 5330Intel driver version 5379
Granblue Fantasy: Relink43 FPS116 FPS
Detroit: Become Human21 FPS57 FPS
God of War55 FPS63 FPS
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey55 FPS57 FPS
Assassins's Creed; Origins33 FPS46 FPS
Horizon Forbidden West51 FPS58 FPS

Almost every game on this list has seen performance improvements with the new driver update. However, Detroit: Become Human saw the biggest difference with the new driver update. It went from unplayable at 21 FPS to smooth gameplay at 57 average FPS. This improvement in performance is expected for all Intel Arc GPUs.

This is the kind of performance improvement Intel promises to bring to many other games that are not optimized for Intel GPUs yet. Two new Intel Arc driver updates have been released since then. Intel's current driver version is 5444, which brought up to 48% FPS improvements in some games.

Also, check out the best budget RTX 4060 laptops in 2024.


Are Intel Arc GPUs good for gaming?

The Intel Arc GPUs deliver excellent performance in their respective categories. The Arc A380 did very well in competitive gaming as it was intended. The Arc A580 provided solid 1080p gaming performance, while the Arc A750 excelled at 1080p gaming and even at 1440p in some games.

The Intel Arc A770, on the other hand, performed exceptionally well at 1440p with high graphical settings as it should. On top of that, the performance of all four cards is expected to improve further as Intel continues to deliver more performance with their new driver updates.

Knowing all that, are Intel Arc GPUs good for gaming? Yes, absolutely, and they are available at incredible prices, which makes these GPUs even better.

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