Intel introduced its new high-performance graphics brand today, Intel Arc. Covering hardware, software, and services, the brand will debut with the first generation of graphics products based on the Xe HPG microarchitecture. These products are code named Alchemist and will launch in the first quarter of 2022.
Intel confirmed in its press release and a complementary video that Alchemist GPUs will feature hardware-based ray tracing and full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, but that’s not all. Alchemist products will also benefit from a novel, artificial intelligence-driven super sampling method that allows for higher-quality visuals at lower hardware costs similar to NVIDIA and AMD’s DLSS and FidelityFX Super Resolution technologies.
It’s unclear at this point how well Intel’s method might compare to NVIDIA and AMD’s options, but Anton Kaplanyan, VP of Graphics Research at Intel, has promised that official details regarding Intel’s new super-sampling method will be released later this week. Kaplanyan has suggested that it’s going to be a pretty big deal over on Twitter, tweeting that the high-quality neural supersampling technology deserved its own, separate announcement.
Intel will presumably reveal the official name of its upscaling technology very soon. Rumors from earlier this year suggest that it is being referred to internally as XeSS.
In case you were curious, Intel Arc GPUs will come with full DX12U support, including mesh shading, and high-performance ray tracing. Bonus, high-quality neural supersampling deserves a separate announcement. https://t.co/HIBJ8tWhwr
— Anton Kaplanyan (@Kaplanyan) August 16, 2021
This is our novel image supersampling method that delivers high quality visuals at lower cost
— Anton Kaplanyan (@Kaplanyan) August 16, 2021
More information is coming later this week
— Anton Kaplanyan (@Kaplanyan) August 16, 2021
Upcoming Intel Arc graphics products are based on the Xe HPG microarchitecture, a convergence of Intel’s Xe LP, HP and HPC microarchitectures, that will deliver scalability and compute efficiency with advanced graphics features. 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.
Source: Anton Kaplanyan