This year is shaping up to be a busy one for the graphics card market. With Nvidia looking to launch its beefy RTX 3090 Ti, despite some delays, and AMD allegedly getting ready to drop some refresh cards, there's going to be a lot for consumers to choose from as things move closer to the next generation of GPU technology. On top of that, Intel has been looking to launch its first graphics card, the Arc "Alchemist," and it's possible that the company may be able to deliver it towards the second half of 2022.
According to one of the hosts of the tech YouTube channel Moore's Law Is Dead, Intel may be able to launch its upcoming GPU by Q2 instead of Q1, according to their sources. Though there has been no official word about when the exact date would be, there is a chance that this could lead to an April or May launch, with the company hopefully making a "decent amount" of cards. However, the dates are just speculation at this stage.
The Arc Alchemist seemed to have missed its Q1 window recently, after sources noted that small details on the website had been changed very quietly. The subtle change removed the "Q1" from the online promotional images and simply said that the GPU was "coming 2022" leading many to suspect that there had been a delay. There has been no announcement from Intel saying that there was indeed a delay, but the majority feel that a Q1 launch is unlikely to happen, especially given that January is almost over at this point.
Currently, it remains to be seen how well the card will perform and how much it will push against Nvidia and AMD. A recent benchmark test suggests the Arc Alchemist could best the RTX 3070 Ti, which is something that has been whispered about for some time. There's a chance that "team blue" could give the veteran GPU manufacturers a run for their money, but until reviewers and consumers get their hands on one, it's not easy to say.
Of course, one of the big issues will be overall availability. While Nvidia says the shortages will ease sometime this year, there's still no certainty about how the market will look by the time new products hit the shelves. All Intel, as well as the other two companies, can do is hope that they can get enough supplies to retailers and that enough people can purchase their latest hardware.