Intel announced earlier this week that they will introduce a new line of high-performance graphic products under the 'Arc' branding.
The tech giant, most commonly known for its computer chips that have become the industry standard on most consumer PCs and laptops, is knowing expanding into graphic cards.
Targeted at consumers, the Arc brand will cover hardware, software, and services, and will span across hardware generations- the first-gen graphics cards will go under the 'Alchemist' brand name.
Intel also revealed the code names of future generations under the Arc brand: Battlemage, Celestial and Druid.
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“Today marks a key moment in the graphics journey we started just a few years ago," said Roger Chandler, Intel vice president and general manager of Client Graphics Products and Solutions.
"The launch of the Intel Arc brand and the reveal of future hardware generations signifies Intel’s deep and continued commitment to gamers and creators everywhere.
"We have teams doing incredible work to ensure we deliver first-class and frictionless experiences when these products are available early next year."
Why does the new line of products matter?
The new products, based on Intel's explanation of the microarchitecture (how a processor is assembled), should deliver exceptional graphic performance and functionality for consumers.
Alchemist, the first generation of Intel Arc products, will feature hardware-based ray tracing and artificial intelligence-driven super sampling, and offer full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate.
This will compete with other GPUs currently on the market targeted at gamers looking for the highest graphic performance in their PCs such as the Nvidia RTX 3000 series and AMD Radeon 6000 series.
Intel said in its press release: "Intel’s long-term vision is to bring frictionless gaming and content creation experiences to gamers and creators worldwide, giving them innovation and choice in hardware coupled with open and accessible software tools."
Alchemist products will arrive in the first quarter of 2022, according to Intel.
