Latest Intel Arc GPU Drivers Boost DX9 Game Performance By Up To 2.3 Times, Promises Even More Optimizations Ahead

The most recent drivers that Intel has released for their Arc graphics cards offer significant improvements to the GPU’s performance, mainly when playing games that use the DX9 API.

The most recent GPU drivers from Intel bring a performance boost to Arc DX9 games of up to 2.3 times, and there is more to come.

Intel has provided us with a performance comparison between its most recent Arc driver suite (v3959) and how it compares with the previous driver suite that was released in October. This information was provided in Intel’s most recent blog post (v3490). The testing was done on Intel’s top graphics card, the Arc A770, based on the Alchemist GPU architecture. The results of the tests are outstanding.

Today’s driver release brings a new DX9 implementation to Intel Arc graphics products, including the A770, A750, A380 and our family of mobile Arc GPUs. We use a hybrid approach, i.e., a combination of API techniques, to take advantage of translation layers when a better experience can be delivered using one of our more modern API implementations.

These improvements will be delivered transparently to the end user through our normal driver distribution process. The details of this implementation may change over time as our DX9 driver evolves.

According to Intel, the most recent drivers have been developed with the express purpose of improving performance in DirectX 9 (DX9) games. The corporation used a variety of well-known plays, most of which are still popular among eSports competitors. The most noticeable performance improvement can be seen in CS: GO, which sees a boost of 80% while playing at a resolution of HD (1080p) with High settings and an increase of 77% when playing at 1440P with Ultra settings. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the performance boost can go as high as 2.3x when looking at the data for the 99th percentile, as stated by Ryan Shrout of Intel.

Very proud of the engineering teams getting some dramatic DX9 performance improvements for Intel Arc graphics in a very short timeline. 1.8x avg FPS increase and 2.3x 99tha percentile FPS increase in CS:GO!!! https://t.co/oTJj31odV9

— Ryan Shrout (@ryanshrout) December 7, 2022

In addition to providing such a significant boost in performance, Intel’s most recent Arc GPU drivers are also ready for the most recent games, including but not limited to:

• World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
• Warhammer 40K: Darktide
• Marvel’s Midnight Suns
• The Callisto Protocol
• Fortnite (Chapter 4/UE5.1)

Additionally, DX12 and DX11 titles are not excluded, and a number of titles, including the ones mentioned below, will receive a variety of improvements to their overall performance.

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (DX12)
• Far Cry New Dawn (DX11)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DX11)
• DOTA 2 (DX11)
• Dying Light 2 (DX12)

As promised..even more ahead https://t.co/zSBRbq2dya

— Raja Koduri (Bali Makaradhwaja) (@RajaXg) December 7, 2022

However, this is not the end of the story because Intel has already stated that it is dedicated to its Arc GPU roadmap and to provide gamers with an experience that has been tuned. These types of performance improvements are just the beginning of Arc’s quest toward being a fine-wine producer since Raja Koduri stated in a tweet that there is “much more ahead.” When other Arc performance improvements become available in the next months, be assured that we will keep you informed of them.