UPDATE 7/15: Intel today offered a preview of the company's next Arc graphics card, the A750, a midrange product that seems poised to compete with Nvidia’s RTX 3060.
Original Story:Intel is forcing US consumers to wait even longer for the company’s Arc desktop graphics cards.
The products were originally supposed to arrive later this quarter. But on Monday, Intel said the first Arc desktop GPUs will only be available in China in Q2. Meanwhile, a global launch won’t occur later in the summer, which would be Q3.
The company is also implying the GPUs will first arrive inside desktop systems before becoming available as standalone graphics cards through retail channels.
“Roll-out of Intel Arc A5 and A7 desktop cards will start worldwide with OEMs and system integrators later this summer, followed by component sales in worldwide channels,” Intel VP Lisa Pearce wrote in a blog post.
“Proximity to board components and strong demand for entry-level discrete products (in China) makes this a natural place to start,” she added. "Our next step will be to scale these products globally."
The news will disappoint US consumers hoping to own the upcoming product. The Intel Arc series represents the company’s first stab at a desktop gaming graphics card in over 20 years.
The staggered release also doesn’t bode well for the products. Ideally, Intel should have launched the Arc series last year when graphics cards were in short supply. But now the inventories have improved significantly, making it easier for consumers to obtain one, although the pricing can still stink.
Intel’s rivals in the space, Nvidia and AMD, will also likely launch their next-gen GPUs around September. As a result, the Arc desktop graphics cards may get quickly overshadowed by the competition.
However, Pearce said it was necessary for Intel to roll out the GPUs gradually. “This staggered approach gives us confidence at each step that we can effectively serve our customer base,” she wrote.
The laptop-based Arc GPUs are also facing a rough start. Intel held a launch for the products back on March 30th. But notebooks carrying the Arc GPUs have yet to hit the market in most countries.
In her blog post, Pearce said: “We planned to have broader OEM availability at this point; however, we have had some software readiness delays and, together with COVID lock downs impacting global supply chains, OEM designs are only this month becoming more widely available.”
Still, don’t expect much variety in which laptop-based Arc GPUs you can buy. Pearce added: “Despite the constraints, our OEM partners have announced laptops with Intel Arc 3 graphics —including Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, HP, and Asus— and we are working with our partners to help them get these products into market ASAP. Laptops with Intel Arc 5 and Arc 7 graphics will start becoming available in early summer.”