Intel declares that the upcoming Arc Series graphics cards will not be limited in terms of cryptomining performance
According to Yahoo! Finance, Roger Chandler of Intel has explicitly stated that cryptominers were not a priority in the design of the Arc GPUs. Rather, Intel has maintained that the Arc line-up of graphics processors will mainly focus on gaming. Similarly, PC Gamer has reported that Intel emphasised that the company does not wish to deter cryptominers with any driver or hardware-level locks in an interview detailing its Alchemist graphics cards.
In contrast, NVIDIA attempted to alleviate the drastic ongoing graphics card mining crisis by implementing hashrate limiters on its high-end GPUs. However, it can be noted that applications such as T-Rex bypassed the locks on mining performance. Instead, NVIDIA developed Cryptocurrency Mining Processors (CMPs) to target Ethereum mining. Currently, Ethereum is one of the most profitable coins; and thus, the graphics card supply crisis is expected to continue. Therefore, gamers may be concerned that the reserve of upcoming Intel Arc GPUs may be severely depleted by cryptominers.
The concern about the lack of GPU supply for gamers is valid and should be carefully considered by Intel as the company enters the discrete graphics card foray. In the past, Intel predominantly concentrated on integrated graphics; and if Team Blue hopes to sway gamers with its upcoming Arc Alchemist GPUs, then Intel must ensure that there is an ample supply of its cards for gamers to purchase.
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