Intel Arc GPUs: A Journey Towards Stability and Usability
The Long Road to Driver Perfection
As we revisit the Intel Arc GPU driver situation in 2025, it's evident that the company has made significant strides since its initial launch. However, the journey has been a rollercoaster, and we're here to explore the progress and the challenges that still lie ahead.
A Massive Improvement, But...
We've compiled an extensive spreadsheet, tracking 641 issues across Intel's Arc GPU driver software over the past 10 months. Our comprehensive testing involved clicking every button and exploring every feature. The good news? We encountered only one catastrophic crash, a vast improvement from the early days of Arc. But here's where it gets controversial: is this enough to win over users, especially those outside the enthusiast base?
The Arc Timeline: Ups and Downs
Intel Arc GPUs have been with us for over three years, from the Alchemist A380 in 2022 to the B580 and B570, and now. It's been a ride, with its fair share of highs and lows. In this review, we're focusing on Intel's driver updates, patch cadence, and overall usability. This is our second revisit, and we're eager to see how Arc has evolved.
Driver Update Cadence and Bug Fixes
Our overview consists of two key sections: Intel's driver update timeline and its bug-fix consistency. We're also delving into the positive features, bugs, issues, and usability annoyances within Intel's current graphics software. This is our third article in the series, and we're excited to share our findings.
Outstanding Issues: A Recap
Let's start with a recap of the broken features, bugs, and shortcomings we highlighted in our previous reviews. We want to see if Intel has addressed these issues, especially the ones mentioned as unfixed or semi-fixed in our 'One Year Later' piece. If these issues persist after two years, it's a cause for concern.
Crash that Broke the Driver: A Reluctant Improvement
When Arc first launched, driver crashes and corruption were common. While this has improved, it's not fully resolved. This time, we encountered a situation where the IGS (Intel Graphics Software) locked up and eventually crashed when we used the embedded link to the Windows display settings menu. After restarting IGS, the performance metrics were bizarrely broken, showing extremely high 'Raw' type numbers. A reboot didn't help, and the graphics drivers seemed non-functional. Reinstalling the drivers fixed the issue, but we couldn't replicate the problem. Happening once is still a problem, and Intel needs to address these high-severity issues to gain user trust.
Smooth Sync: A Controversial Feature
Smooth Sync is an interesting feature that adds a dithering effect to torn frames on screen, but it doesn't prevent tearing. In our original driver check-in, we found issues with visual corruption in games like Rainbow Six: Siege. Intel's 'fix' was to disable Smooth Sync in problematic titles. We tested Smooth Sync in Siege X, and to Intel's credit, it worked correctly. The dithering seems cleaner now, but we're not convinced it enhances the visual experience. This issue seems resolved, but is it truly an improvement?
Speed Sync: A Troubled Feature
Speed Sync allows uncapped game engine performance, but only the most recently completed frames are sent to the monitor. It's similar to NVIDIA's Fast Sync. During our revisit two years ago, we found Speed Sync to be absent, but it's back now. However, trying to use Speed Sync with Siege caused consistent game crashes on launch. This issue isn't mentioned in the Arc patch notes, but similar reports exist online. Intel still has work to do here.
Overlapping Apps and Settings: A Consolidated Approach
Intel used to have two separate applications, Arc Control and Graphics Command Center, both with overlapping features. It was a confusing mess. However, Intel has consolidated these into 'Intel Graphics Software,' a welcome improvement. This consolidation simplifies the user experience and removes the need to navigate between multiple apps.
VRR and DRR: A Confusing Landscape
One annoyance is the multiple locations to control Variable Refresh Rate. The Display tab of Intel Graphics Software has a toggle, and there's also a 'Variable Refresh Rate Mode' setting at the bottom of the Display tab. Additionally, Windows has its own 'Dynamic refresh rate' under the Advanced display menu, which isn't supported in this instance, despite the page claiming support for variable refresh rate. Each of these settings serves a different purpose, but the user experience could be improved by consolidating and clarifying these options.
Driver Support Assistant: A Forced Install No More
Intel originally required users to install its Driver Support Assistant when installing Arc Control software, despite a checkbox implying the ability to remove it. Thankfully, this is no longer a forced install, and users can freely choose any component or software. Intel has also improved its data collection program, allowing users to opt-out while still getting the software.
HDCP: A Capture Card Conundrum
We previously had issues using a capture card with HDCP on. This time, we didn't encounter this problem, and were able to capture without friction. However, we'd still like a manual toggle to control HDCP for more flexibility.
Notification Overload: A Much-Needed Improvement
Arc Control used to blast the desktop with toast notifications, and it was impossible to clear them manually. In our last revisit, the number of pop-up notifications was reduced, and now, with IGS, they're almost totally gone. This is a significant improvement and a welcome change for users.
Cut Features: A Simplification of Scope
Over time, Intel has dropped a couple of features from its graphics software. In our original review, we criticized Intel for trying to do too much, attempting to duplicate all the features of its competitors. Intel is now narrowing its scope, which is a good move. For example, Intel no longer bundles recording and streaming functionality, and this is fine by us. The previous overlays, like FPS counters and temperature monitors, have been removed, and this responsibility now sits with PresentMon, an independent utility. IGS has a metrics tab, but it's rough, and we'll discuss this further.
Intel Graphics Software: Features and Issues
Intel's software is broken down into multiple tabs: Home, Profiles, Graphics, Display, Performance, Video, Notifications, and Settings. We explored each tab, adjusting values and toggles, and generally testing its stability. Most things appeared to work correctly, like the extensive video adjustments panel, which can transform Cyberpunk into the image above if desired. However, the performance metrics monitoring built into IGS is unreliable, often incorrect, and has limited controls. It uses an internal version of PresentMon, but we couldn't find a way to target a specific application. The sampling window size and sampling period options affect the numbers shown in odd ways, and sometimes, IGS fails to show anything at all. This monitoring tab needs attention, and Intel should either improve it or remove it.
Video Capture: A Work in Progress
We briefly tested video capture with OBS on the B580. It's capable of 4K at OBS' non-lossless simple presets, but only if the GPU has headroom. If not, the encoder gets overwhelmed, similar to CPU encoding when the CPU is busy. NVIDIA has an advantage here with its NVENC solution, which handles capture more gracefully in heavily loaded scenarios. Intel needs to catch up in this area.
Smart VSync: Inconsistent Behavior
Intel's inconsistency is evident with Smart VSync, which is supposed to turn on when the game's frame rate exceeds the monitor's refresh rate. It worked reliably when changing the setting before launching the game, but only worked once when we changed it while the game was running. This contributes to the overall confusion caused by Intel's inconsistent driver behavior.
UI: Minor Bugs and Annoyances
We found a small UI bug under the Shared GPU Memory Override setting. The default setting was a memory limit of 57% or 36.1GB, but when we adjusted the slider, the value on the left reset to 36.1GB. This is a bug. Another annoyance is the UI for rearranging metrics on the Performance tab, which has aggressive edge scrolling, making it difficult to place metrics where desired. The VRAM Tuning tooltip also doesn't agree with the slider, which can be confusing for users.
Frame Cap Limitations: A Shortcoming
IGS has the ability to limit frame rates, but strangely, this is limited to DX9 and DX11 APIs. This limitation is unexplained from a consumer standpoint. NVIDIA and AMD make it easy to set global or per-game frame rate caps, regardless of the API. Intel should consider expanding this feature to cater to a wider range of users.
Game Ready: A Critical Area for Improvement
Optimized drivers coinciding with new game launches are crucial for the usability of any GPU for gaming. NVIDIA has made significant efforts to market its 'Game-Ready Drivers,' and this is an area where Intel needs to deliver. Since the B-Series launch, Intel has included 'game ready' support for 39 total games, with 34 supported on or before the game's release date. This is a good ratio, but there's room for improvement. Intel needs to ensure it's on top of new releases and provides explicit tuning for games.
Driver Timeline: A Commitment to Arc
We gathered driver release data from TechPowerUp and Intel, starting at the B-Series launch (version 6325, December 2024) until mid-September (version 7029). Over the last 10 months, Intel has released 13 validated WHQL drivers and 16 beta drivers. Intel's approach to driver releases is commendable, and it shows a commitment to Arc. However, there's still room for improvement, especially in terms of game support and performance improvements.
XeSS Support: AI Upscaling
Upscaling is an important feature, and AMD and NVIDIA have FSR and DLSS. Intel's XeSS support isn't as extensive, with 334 titles supporting it. AMD nearly doubles Intel's count with 624 games supporting FSR. NVIDIA holds a numerical victory with 649 titles supporting DLSS Super Resolution. NVIDIA's DLSS overrides mean most DLSS titles can be forced to run the latest models, and this is an advantage. Intel recently opened up the possibility for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs to officially support XeSS Super Resolution and Frame Generation, and this is a significant development. However, XeSS 2 is in a bad situation, with only 44 games officially supported.
Lossless Scaling: An Infinite Advantage?
Lossless Scaling's LS1 supports a near-infinite number of games, which is an advantage. However, image quality can suffer, and FSR1 can also have an infinite bar because Lossless Scaling can run FSR1. This is an interesting development, and we encourage readers to explore our deep dive on this topic.
Fixed and Known Issues: A Long List
Intel declares 81 total issues fixed since the B-series launch, with an average time to fix of 39.9 days. We noticed two issues that were 'fixed' twice for the same exact issue. This is a cause for concern, and Intel needs to address these recurring issues.
Conclusion: Gradual Improvement, But...
The usability and general annoyance level of Intel's Arc GPUs are significantly better than they were a year ago, and night-and-day from the original Alchemist launch. However, there are still issues to fix, like the broken built-in monitoring and unreliable frame sync settings. Intel needs to address these issues and upgrade features like frame rate caps and video capture while the GPU is fully loaded. The more aggressive Intel is with pushing fixes, the better off Arc will be. Overall, Intel's drivers have improved significantly, but we still wouldn't recommend Arc GPUs to those who aren't willing to do any troubleshooting. For most people, Arc is viable and worth considering, but only if they're prepared to address potential technical issues.
