A new leak has appeared for the upcoming Intel Arc A370M laptop graphics card on the Bapco website for its CrossMark productivity benchmark, further confirming that we're one step closer to getting our hands on gaming laptops that are equipped with both Intel processors and discreet GPUs.
As reported by VideoCardz, the results were posted onto Twitter by established leaker TUM_Apisak . This has been a reliable source for leaked information within the computing industry prior, but as with any unverified information, don't take it as gospel.
The system contained a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-12800H, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD, and is listed as ‘Intel Corporation AlderLake-P DDR5 RVP' which likely means this is an engineering sample and isn't a laptop that will actually hit the shelves. Still, with Intel ARC hardware expected to hit the market by Q1 2022, it's only a matter of weeks until we can see what the real deal can achieve.
Intel Arc A370M Graphicshttps://t.co/YdvZMUWaiY pic.twitter.com/QM0bPphWo1January 28, 2022
Given this was a productivity benchmark rather than something intended for graphics, we don't get any additional information regarding the specification for the Intel Arc A370M GPU. That said, we can tell that this chip will be based on the smaller of the two Arc Alchemist GPUs, and is likely going to feature 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM, a memory bandwidth of 112 GB/s, and a 14 Gbps clock speed.
This would place it around the same performance as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and AMD Radeon RX 6400 laptops GPU series, so it's likely this will feature as much in productivity laptops and portable workstations as it will entry-level gaming laptops.
We've also seen that Acer has confirmed that the Intel Arc A370M will feature in an upcoming Swift X laptop, which adds more weight to our performance estimations given that rival offerings such as the Dell XPS line can currently be purchased with the RTX 3050 series.
Analysis: The current GPU market needs Intel
Intel's imminent arrival on the graphics card market can't come soon enough, looking at the state of things. We frequently report on the ups and downs of GPU stock availability and prices and the last 14 months since the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 series has been especially turbulent.
While it's very unlikely that Intel will sweep in and save the day, yesterday's launch of the RTX 3050 has shown that affordable GPUs are still in high demand, and there never appears to be enough to go around. Rather than focusing on incredibly beefy cards like the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti or the Radeon 6900 XT, Intel appears to be more focused on the lower end of things where the demand is highest, and with current economic constraints, that's probably a very wise move.
In fact, 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. Realistically, this is all you'll need to play most AAA titles at a decent framerate, even at 4K.
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.
If Intel can nail the pricing of its GPUs across both desktop and laptop models, it could steal some of AMD and Nvidia's hard-earned market share and we will finally have some much-needed variety. Only time will tell if Team Blue is ready to play on an equal footing with Team Green and Team Red.
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