A leaked photo has shed further light on Intel’s Arc Alchemist graphics cards, and specifically the memory configuration of one of these incoming GPUs.
The image, shared on Twitter by Kuna – not a source we’re familiar with, so be cautious around this – shows what appears to be the second-fastest Alchemist GPU, the model with 384 EUs (the flagship will run with 512 EUs, as you may recall).
via：tieba，千里吟游人 pic.twitter.com/3SUzanAmznJanuary 24, 2022
We can see that these are Samsung K4ZAF325BM-HC16 memory chips, as VideoCardz points out with a bit of judicious zooming, and looking up that product code shows that these are 2GB memory modules with a 16Gbps bandwidth.
This is in line with previous rumors which claimed that all the VRAM used with these Intel graphics cards would be 16Gbps, with the exception of the lower-tier budget offerings which are purportedly 14Gbps.
As there are six memory chips here, at 2GB apiece, we can deduce that the total VRAM is 12GB, and that aligns with the rumored loadout of the 384 EUs card (there will be slightly more – 16GB – on the flagship 512 EUs model).
Analysis: Evidence continues to mount as launch is hopefully near
As the Arc Alchemist launch nears – it should happen within the next few months, quite possibly in March if Intel stays on its intended schedule, though we don’t know if that will happen – it’s not surprising we’re seeing more leaks around these GPUs. And as you might expect, as is the case here, they reinforce the existing evidence that the VRAM used with be 16Gbps memory from Samsung, and that the loadout of the second-best GPU will be 12GB.
If the rumor mill is right on the broad expectations of the performance Alchemist will deliver, the flagship graphics card should weigh in at around the same level as Nvidia’s RTX 3070, although more recent speculation (based on a leaked benchmark) has suggested it could match the 3070 Ti.
It’ll be great to have another alternative option when it comes to choosing a powerful modern GPU, naturally, and we can but hope that Intel moves to make the Alchemist range attractive on the pricing front to help break into the market (currently dominated by Nvidia, in desktop PCs that is).
The other crucial element, however, is getting the graphics driver right, and Intel can’t fall at this hurdle – any delay might well be wrapped up in refining the driver. Either that, or perhaps marshaling enough production resources to ensure there is at least some vaguely decent level of GPU supply to begin with, which is very likely to be an uphill battle given the current state of the industry and component shortages.
As ever, time will tell, but at the moment we’re not even sure which GPUs Intel will push out first; laptop or desktop.
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