Intel is talking up its incoming Arc graphics cards, and that\u2019s hopefully a good sign for the imminent launch.<\/b>
\nIntel will be working hard towards the goal of getting \u2018millions\u2019 of its incoming Arc graphics cards to PC gamers every year, according to a tweet from an exec. Raja Koduri, who is chief architect of the graphics arm at Intel, made the comment in a tweet replying to a PC Gamer article which was an open letter to the chip giant. The letter pointed out the reality of the sky-high pricing of GPUs in the current duopoly, with the hope being that Intel can bring some much-needed competitiveness to the scene. As Dave James of PC Gamer put it: \u201cYou don\u2019t need to have the most powerful new GPU to release the best graphics card of 2022, you just need it to perform competitively and be priced at a level that doesn\u2019t make us wish you\u2019d at least bought us dinner first.\u201d As you can see, Koduri acknowledged that this is a \u201chuge issue for PC gamers\u201d, which it most certainly is \u2013 and one we\u2019ve been banging on about ourselves for a good long while \u2013 and that Team Blue wants to work towards getting \u201cmillions of Arc GPUs into the hands of PC gamers every year.\u201d That sounds like a big promise, and it\u2019s talk we\u2019re glad to hear \u2013 but at the moment it\u2019s just that: talk. How many graphics cards Intel can bring to the table when Arc Alchemist cards first hit the market \u2013 maybe in March or April this year, or so the rumor mill is guessing \u2013 is the key question, as Intel, too, will need to contend with chip shortages and everything else plaguing the existing GPU production from AMD and Nvidia. The mention of \u2018every year\u2019 in Koduri\u2019s statement hints at this being a longer-term ambition, so in the near future \u2013 what with every supply crisis prediction we hear seeming to only consider recovery as coming in the second half of 2022 \u2013 we don\u2019t know if there\u2019s much cause for optimism in terms of Intel helping to push a meaningful swing towards a more normal state of stock levels in the graphics card arena. Still, that said, there are signs that the GPU recovery could start to see some progress from March onwards \u2013 with better availability of ABF substrates (read up more on that here) \u2013 and graphics card prices are at least now heading downwards (even if they\u2019re still well above recommended price tags). So, Intel may be able to make more of an impact than we imagine, and whatever the case, any new supply will be very welcome \u2013 particularly if Intel can attempt to hit AMD and Nvidia by undercutting on pricing. Team Blue does have an opportunity to carve into the market here, it\u2019s clear, and making a good initial impression with value proposition would be a great way to do that \u2013 as well as ensuring graphics drivers are up to scratch as well as the hardware. Any delay is understandable in maximizing the quality of the software, of course, and we hope that if the launch timeframe does slip as the grapevine seems to suggest, it\u2019s due to that, rather than shakiness around potential stock levels at release.<\/p>\n