How did we get here?
It started when I thought it would be a good idea to buy the Intel Arc GPU to test. I picked up the A750 for a reasonable price, (which is about to drop), and went to work. Testing did have it’s issues and there were some bumps in the road, but I got results that were helpful. I then turned my attention to building and testing a rig with both Intel CPU and GPU in it, and that wasn’t so easy.
There were issues recognizing the GPU and an NVMe drive, but the primary problem was acting like something altogether different. After realizing a BIOS update was necessary, I was back on track, but nowhere near as excited. Links to the BLOG and VIDEO, in case you are interested. It was some work, but it did work.
I wasn’t able to complete benchmarks because of issues with time, but I needed to post the video. So, I went back to work on the same rig after posting, and ran into more issues. I was already aware that some games were not going to run properly, so I left them off the list. I was also aware that one game just takes forever to benchmark, so I left it off as well. Bad choice. Benchmarking on that is going on as I write this.
Issues
One of my biggest issues was that the game with the Vulkan graphics API won’t select that protocol, forcing me to stick with DX11, a known shortcoming. In fact I had problems with another title that has DX 11, Borderlands 3. It’s a game I have thought about dropping, but now I may actually have to.
I was testing on DX11 and DX12, and it just quit. Period. Won’t run. It shows the splash screen then shuts down completely and won’t start up. I have a similar problem trying to run this game on my editing rig, but Borderlands3 now defaults to DX12 and I have several games with that setting. It’s great to benchmark, but it may be time to retire it.
Other issues included World War Z where it caps the framerate and I get horrible artifacting, and Horizon Zero Dawn has the same framerates no matter the actual resolution. The latter of the two was confusing during my tests with the Ryzen CPU, so I was expecting it, but it shows Intel still has some work to do on their drivers.
What’s next for the Arc GPU?
I’m not done with this one yet, though I decided that CoolBlue (intel test rig) needs some changes. Instead of just changing a fan and getting an Intel NVMe to bring this closer to a true DeepCool/Intel build, I ordered a new platform. For the first time in over ten years, I am probably going to make my main rig an Intel.
I will be changing the GPU, mind you, but I will test this A750 with a 12700KF in a brand new B760 motherboard. The choice wasn’t made lightly. I was going to go with AM5, but recent problems with motherboards overvolting these CPUs had me turn to something already proven for my new build. But that’s another story…..