It seems that Intel Arc Alchemist dedicated graphics are determined to become the new (and one of the biggest considering the expectations generated) eternal promise of the world of technology. If the day before yesterday we began to see that its launch at the end of spring was beginning to falter, the new information suggests that they might not see the light until mid-summer.
Despite the fact that Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, reiterated at the end of April that the dedicated graphics were going to be launched at the end of the second quarter of 2022, now the new dates say that it is likely to have to wait until the end of August according to information. allegedly leaked by the German media Igor’s Lab. Of course, the possibility that they appear in early July is also on the table, a date that would not be a significant delay with respect to the one confirmed by Gelsginer recently, but the reasons for this alleged new delay does not point to optimism.
Apparently the reason for this new Intel Arc Alchemist delay would be the drivers, which may not be mature enough yet. The fact that the company is managing its dedicated graphics with such secrecy is arousing the suspicions of some, and seeing the apparent confidence shown by Pat Gelsinger last month, according to Igor’s Lab, theirs is to think that the problem has to have its origin in software, rather than hardware or firmware.
Igor’s Lab says that even product testers are not clear about which version of the driver offers the truest picture of graphics performance. It also cites other possible circumstances such as distribution, public acceptance, release through only select partners, lack of price guarantees from retailers, and returns. In other words, that from Igor’s Lab they point out, in addition to the issue of drivers, the current market situation and a probable lack of confidence of Intel in its own products.
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The issue of the immaturity of the drivers is not something unlikely, especially seeing that it is something that is happening in Linux with the Vulkan driver for that system, ANV, which is still very green compared to the RADV offered for Radeon and supplied by NVIDIA. Has Intel overestimated the status of its graphics drivers? The immaturity of the graphics drivers could not only be affecting Linux, but also Windows.
On the other hand, the current market situation might not be very conducive to the launch of Intel Arc Alchemist, and not so much because of the bubble that has been created with the second cryptocurrency mining crisis, but because consumers are apparently very comfortable with NVIDIA at the moment. The great pool of buyers is among gamers who use Windows as an operating system, a sector that does not seem very willing to move from the green giant’s solutions. What’s more, the users who can earn the most with Intel Arc Alchemist are Linux users, but these, taking the most optimistic data, only represent 4% of the total and 1% of Steam users.