After years of development, Intel is finally giving us a look at its first gaming graphics card in over two decades. The teaser video it released Wednesday focuses on the “A-series” Arc desktop GPUs, which are slated to launch in Q2 2022.
The one-minute clip uses computer-generated animation to show the graphics card materializing out of thin air, starting with the internal GPU chip. The rest of the components—including the memory, chassis, and fans—then come together, giving us a full look at the final product.
The result is a beefy PCIe desktop graphics card seemingly outfitted with four HDMI DisplayPort slots. It also features two cooling fans, which suggests the product is at least a mid-tier GPU.
The teaser arrived at the end of a Wednesday event officially launching the first Intel Arc GPUs for laptops. Unfortunately, the company didn’t provide more details about the desktop Arc graphics card. But the clip does mention the product will arrive in the summer.
The GPU itself is also labeled with the words “Limited Edition.” So interested buyers will probably need to buy them on launch day.
Intel’s entry into discrete graphics occurs as the market is still recovering from a GPU shortage, which has caused inflated pricing for desktop graphics cards. The good news is that supplies are improving and pricing is starting to come down.
Intel’s expansion into desktop GPUs could shake things up even more, and help combat the shortage. But pricing has not been revealed, and it remains to be seen if they can compete with rival GPUs from Nvidia and AMD. For now, all we know is that Intel is tapping TSMC’s “N6 process” to manufacture the GPU. In addition, the company has been developing ray-tracing and resolution boosting tech for the Arc products.
