Intel’s long-awaited entry into the discrete consumer GPU market is finally here with the launch of its first Arc graphics cards. While the basic specs and performance of Arc have gotten plenty of attention, there are several lesser-known features that help set it apart. Let’s take a deeper look at 11 exciting Intel Arc GPU features you may not have heard about.

1. XeSS Upscaling

Similar to Nvidia’s DLSS, Intel has its own AI-powered upscaling technique called XeSS (Xe Super Sampling). XeSS uses a temporal neural network to reconstruct frames and boost framerates. It works across DirectX, Vulkan, and OpenGL APIs on Windows and Linux. Early results show it delivers sharp, glitch-free upscaling comparable to DLSS. XeSS will be supported in over 30 games at launch and can help Intel Arc GPUs stretch their performance further.

2. Multiframe Rendered Effects

Intel’s multiframe sampled effects are an innovative new rendering technique exclusive to Arc GPUs. Traditional game engines do post-processing visual effects like depth of field, motion blur, and anti-aliasing after the frame has been fully rendered. This introduces latency, as the resulting image isn’t displayed until after effects are applied.

With multiframe sampled effects, some of this post-processing work can instead be done concurrently with frame rendering. The Arc Intel GPU is able to sample and incorporate data from previous rendered frames during the current frame rendering pass. This allows effects like depth of field to be partially applied earlier in the pipeline for faster feedback to the player.

Developers praise this innovation for making fast-paced games feel even more responsive. Minor lag or latency in effects might go unnoticed, but it can negatively impact the player’s ability to precisely time actions. Intel’s multiframe technique eliminates these subtle frustrations. Visual fidelity is also improved as more sophisticated post-processing can be employed without the traditional performance penalties. This sets a new standard for seamlessly immersive, real-time rendered experiences.

3. VRS and Xe Variable Shading

Variable Rate Shading (VRS) is a technology that renders different regions of the screen at different quality levels. This lets developers prioritize focusing rendering power where it matters most to the viewer. Intel Arc takes it a step further with Xe Variable Shading, allowing even finer-grained quality control on a per-tile basis. Combined with VRS, this allows dramatic performance gains without loss of visible quality.

4. Adaptive Sync

One of the most impactful features for gamers is adaptive sync, which helps minimize stuttering and tearing. Both AMD and Nvidia support adaptive sync via FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible, respectively. However, Intel’s implementation has a few advantages. Intel Arc GPUs can support Adaptive Sync over both DisplayPort and HDMI, allowing for wider compatibility with older displays that may only have HDMI. They also have an “extended” adaptive synchronization range of 30-480Hz, providing smoother gameplay at higher refresh rates.

5. Resizable Bar Support

Resizable BAR, also called Resizable Aperture, is a technology supported by modern PCIe specifications. It allows the CPU to access the entire pool of system memory through the GPU, rather than just a small, pre-defined portion. This eliminates a bottleneck that has existed for decades in the PC architecture.

Traditionally, the GPU could only address a limited 256MB block of memory at a time. Any assets needed beyond this had to go through extra data copies and trips across the PCIe bus, creating significant overhead. With Resizable BAR, the graphics card can instead view the entire physically installed RAM as a single large buffer.

6. Real-Time Ray Tracing Acceleration

While ray tracing can deliver stunning lighting effects, it’s also quite taxing to render in real-time. Intel Arc GPUs include dedicated hardware ray tracing units on certain SKUs to accelerate this workload. This allows ray tracing to be employed without as much of a performance hit compared to traditional rasterization. Developers are also supported by the Ray Tracing Accelerate Motion Vector and Ray Query libraries to simplify the integration of ray traced effects.

7. DirectStorage Support

DirectStorage is a Windows API that allows games to more efficiently stream game assets from storage to VRAM. This reduces stuttering caused by storage bottlenecks. Intel has worked closely with Microsoft to support DirectStorage 1.1 features on Arc, like decompression in hardware and multi-threaded I/O. Games optimized for DirectStorage can see a big boost in smoothness on systems with Arc GPUs.

8. Xe-HPG Graphics Architecture

At the heart of Intel’s Arc benchmark is the new Xe-HPG architecture. Unlike previous Intel GPU designs focused on productivity, Xe-HPG is a fully fledged hardware-accelerated gaming architecture. It includes dedicated ray tracing units, high-bandwidth cache controllers, variable rate shaders, and other innovations to bring console-like performance and features to PCs.

9. Content Creation Support

While gaming will be a major focus, the released Arc GPUs also strongly support creative workloads. They fully support APIs like OpenCL, CUDA, and OneAPI to accelerate video editing, 3D rendering, AI workloads, and more. The hardware includes dedicated INT8 and FP16 compute units for neural network inferencing. Intel also provides OpenCL, OpenFX, and other software development kits to simplify integration.

10. Platform Security Features

No modern GPU would be complete without industry-leading security features. Intel Arc delivers technologies like Secure Boot, run-time application attestation, and isolated execution environments. System integrators can shield sensitive user and platform data using protections built into the GPU hardware. Intel worked closely with Microsoft on security features like Windows Hello and encrypted virtual channels (EVC) support as well.

11. AV1 Hardware Decoding

Arc GPUs include dedicated hardware acceleration for decoding AV1 video streams. AV1 is the next-gen open video format that offers significantly higher compression over codecs like H.264 and H.265. Hardware-based AV1 decoding allows smooth, power-efficient playback of high-quality 4K and even 8K video. As more video services adopt AV1, Intel Arc GPUs will ensure glitch-free consumption of this future-proof format.

Conclusion

In summary, Intel’s Arc graphics promise to shake up the industry with disruptive performance powered by innovative new features. Gamers and creators both stand to benefit from faster frame rates, lifelike visuals, and seamless workflows. With strong support for the latest standards and close cooperation on features with Microsoft, Arc GPUs look well equipped for the demands of modern multi-tasking. As drivers mature and more titles are optimized, Intel Arc could emerge as a powerful contender in the discrete graphics space.

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