Finally, the Intel Arc A350M is tested
This article will provide information on the performance of the Intel Arc A350M and compare it to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. We will also look at the limitations of the SiSoft Sandra benchmarking software, as well as the AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) graphics chip. This article is a great reference for anyone interested in gaming GPUs. Please consider reading the rest of the article to make an informed decision on whether the Intel Arc GPU is worth your money.
Performance of Intel Arc A350M
The Intel Arc A350M is a new discrete graphics card for the Alchemist series. As the first discrete graphics card from Intel, the Arc A350M gets a performance boost when Dynamic Tuning Technology is disabled. The technology optimizes power distribution between the Intel discrete graphics card and processor to increase performance and extend battery life. This is Intel’s answer to NVIDIA Dynamic Boost and AMD SmartShift.
Though it’s a big player in the tech industry, Intel still has some major bugs and stuttering issues with the new Arc GPUs. These problems are mostly driver-related, but Intel is trying to fix them with every update. The list of problems is long, but the latest Arc driver update features seven game fixes and two software fixes. It will likely take some time for the company to fix all of the major problems.
Finally, the Intel Arc A350M is tested
The Arc A350M performed well in both default and performance mode. The scores in Fire Strike and Time Spy were similar. In performance mode, the GPU reaches 3,494 points. In comparison, the GTX 1650 scored 8,152 points in Fire Strike, whereas the Arc A350M had a 3,689-point score. Regardless of the results, this AMD GPU is good enough for non-gaming use.
In addition to the Intel Arc A350M’s performance, the video card is compatible with all other major brands of laptops. This card also offers DTT, a feature that will increase overall performance in low-power systems. When the DTT is turned off, the Arc A350M’s frame rate jumps from 68 to 148, showing a significant boost in performance. However, video game performance is still lacking.
Comparison with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
While the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 is the entry-level flagship of the Turing graphics card family, it’s still out of the price range for most budget PC gamers. The GTX 1650 is a more affordable option, starting at $149, and offers excellent performance despite its lower price. In addition to its affordable price, the NVIDIA xx50 series has always been defined by its high overclocking potential and budget-friendly prices.
In a recent benchmark, Hardware Unboxed combined 17 different games to compare performance and framerate. The resulting scores for each card were fairly similar. The RX 570 and GTX 1650 both scored well in the gaming benchmarks run by Hardware Unboxed. But in a more comprehensive test of their performance, the GTX 1650 super comes out as the clear winner. 1650 is capable of hitting 60 frames per second in 1080p, and it can be overclocked to near-GTX 1660 speeds.
3DMark benchmark scores are calculated using tens of thousands of results from users. However, real-world performance may vary based on notebook components, cooling, and other factors. Single-channel RAM, for example, will give slightly lower performance than dual-channel RAM, and the main processor speed will be slower than dual-channel RAM. Still, benchmark results are a good indication of the performance of a graphics processor.
Finally, the Intel Arc A350M is tested
A GeForce GTX 1650 Ti is an excellent budget option for midrange laptops. It’s also twice as fast as the GTX 950 and 50 percent faster than the GTX 1050. Both cards feature 2GB of VRAM and feature a boost clock over 1,600MHz. A factory-overclocked GTX 1650 Gaming X 4G has higher clock speeds but requires a 6-pin PCIe power connector.
Limitations of SiSoft Sandra
The Intel Arc A350M is a dedicated mobile graphics card with a Xe HPG microarchitecture. It utilizes an ACM-G11 chip with six Xe-cores and eight ray-tracing units. It has a total of 7.2 billion transistors, is 157 mm2 in size, and supports four 4k120 HDR video outputs.
The Arc A350M is built in a 6nm TSMC process and is fully supported by 12th generation Intel CPUs. It also supports Deep Link and dynamic power-sharing. However, it’s important to note that the SiSoft Sandra benchmarking software will not work with this processor unless you have the exact processor model. SiSoft Sandra will be able to perform benchmarking on such systems only if they support the latest versions of the major software tools.
Finally, the Intel Arc A350M is tested
The Arc Alchemist lineup is based on two different ASICs, the smaller one called ACM-G11 and the larger one, the DG2-512. The smaller one has 96 execution units (EU), while the larger one has 512 unified shaders (US). The mid-range Arc A350M has half of the DG2-512, while the top-end Arc A730M has three-fourths of the DG2-512.
However, the SiSoft Sandra databank mentions several models, indicating that the A380, A500, and A700 will all support SiSoft Sandra. The A350M and A380 will be the most basic models, while the Datacenter models will feature Dual FP32. These results are not yet publicly available but are expected in Q1 2022. So, while Intel has taken steps to improve its GPU performance, the results will be similar to those of Geforce RTX 3070/Ti.
AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) graphics chip
The newest GPU hardware vendor Intel has announced is capable of decoding a new video codec called AOMedia Video 1. AMD, Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia all offer AV1 decoding with their newest GPUs. Intel has announced that it’s Arc A350M GPU supports AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) hardware encoding. Streaming video with AV1 on a GPU can be as fast as 50 times faster than the software-only solution. It is even 20% more efficient than HEVC, which is one of the most common video formats.
AV1 technology is coming to Intel’s Arc GPUs, and it could make its graphics chips even more compelling to streamers. The new coding standard is designed to improve the quality of video streams over the internet. The AOMedia Video 1 standard was developed in 2011 to improve video quality on the web. Intel has now made the Arc A350M the first GPU to be benchmarked with AV1 video coding.
Finally, the Intel Arc A350M is tested
The AV1 codec is an open-source project that uses a dav1d decoder that has 16 times the computing power of a traditional GPU vector unit. It uses deep learning to synthesize images and is scheduled for release in the summer. All Arc A-Series graphics chips will support the new codec. You can read our review here.
The Arc A370M finally gets benchmarked with AOMedia Video 1 – but at what price? The Arc A370M is a full implementation of the DG2-128EU GPU and features 4GB of GDDR6 memory and a 64-bit bus. The Arc A370M should be an affordable discrete solution capable of twice the performance of the integrated Xe-LP GPU.
Price of Intel Arc A350M
The Arc A350M is the baby of the Arc mobile family, so its performance should be impressive enough to win the hearts of gamers. The benchmark scores, however, do not accurately reflect real-world performance. Regardless, the Arc A350M offers good performance for thin-and-light laptops and basic gameplay. Here are some things to keep in mind before buying. A low price will be an important factor in your decision.
The Arc A350M graphics card will start at $899 USD. The Arc A350M is available in a variety of configurations, and its price depends on the SKU. There are two versions of the Arc A350M, one with six Xe-cores and the other with eight. Both GPUs are compatible with a range of notebook models. They are not available separately, however.
The Arc A350M GPU will initially be used in laptops that are light and thin. It has six Xe cores running at a minimum 1,150MHz and ties a four-gigabyte GDDR6 memory to a 64-bit interface. It was designed for thin-and-light laptops and is expected to perform better with Intel’s latest Alder Lake CPUs.
The Arc Alchemist graphics card is rumored to come with a new Xe-HPG architecture, a competitor to Nvidia’s DLSS. It will balance quality and boost fps. It is the first GPU with a ray-tracing GPU. Until then, it is only expected to be used for games with high-end settings. The Arc Alchemist is expected to be released sometime in May or June of 2022.
