Intel’s desktop GPUs are off to a rough start in new Arc A380 benchmarks

We all knew that Intel’s ARC GPUs weren’t going to be as strong as Nvidia and AMD’s heaviest hitters. Especially when it comes to the lower-end A380. However, the first Arc A380 benchmarks have now surfaced, and it looks like performance is even worse than expected in some cases.

Arc A380 benchmarks leave something to be desired

Back in May, rumors said that Intel would launch the first of its desktop Arc GPUs starting in the second quarter of 2022. Now, the major tech company has finally started shipping the first of its desktop GPUs, but only in China. And, if the Arc A380 benchmarks we’re seeing so far are anything to go off of, it probably won’t get a wider release.

To test out the Arc A380, and see how it fairs performance-wise, YouTuber Gamers Nexus put the card through the works. The folks behind the channel ran the new desktop GPU through an absolute gauntlet of tests and benchmarks to see where it falls. So far, based on the first A380 benchmarks, the card falls exactly where we expected it to, right alongside the Radeon RX 6400 and the GeForce GTX 1630.

Both of those cards are extremely low-end, as such, you aren’t going to get that much performance from them. We already knew this is where the A380 was intended to fall into place but seeing the first Arc A380 benchmarks really confirms that.

Strange design choices

Image source: Intel / YouTube

One of the most interesting things we learned from Gamers Nexus’ video on the Arc A380 benchmarks, though, is how the card uses ReBAR. ReBAR, or PCIe Resizable BAR, I meant to boost graphics card performance. So far, those boosts have been almost unnoticeable on Nvidia and AMD cards. That isn’t the case here.

Gamers Nexus says that it boosted performance by almost a third in some games, including Horizon Zero Dawn. So, that’s an interesting development to see noted in the A380 benchmarks. However, the YouTuber also noted that it only worked in a few select games. So, it isn’t a widespread performance gain you can really rely on.

Another interesting thing about this Intel GPU is that it requires an AMD Ryzen 3000 or a 10th Gen Intel CPU to work. That means that it doesn’t support older systems running older CPUs. That’s an interesting choice, especially considering where the Arc A380 benchmarks put this card.

Support for older CPUs could have actually made this card more viable. As it stands, though, so far, Intel’s attempts at breaching into the desktop GPU market seem to be a bit of a bust.