Summary

Intel Arc GPU users can expect up to 149% improved performance in Starfield thanks to the latest driver update, addressing previous performance issues.
The driver update also adds support for Intel Arc A580 GPU, which will compete with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and AMD Radeon RX 6600.
The PNY GeForce RTX 3050 and ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition are mid-range options for gamers, while the XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 and Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G offer entry-to-mid-level performance.

Intel Arc GPU users can now expect up to 149% improved performance in Starfield thanks to the latest driver update. Available now, the update promises a significant performance boost at 1080p and 1440p with DirectX 12 which is great news since the game performed poorly on Arc GPUs at launch. Over the past few weeks, Intel has released multiple driver updates to address performance issues related to Starfield and other games, along with general bug fixes.

Starfield launched on September 6, and it is the latest Bethesda AAA title that has been developed in partnership with AMD. Naturally, the game uses several AMD graphical technologies and is optimized for Team Red GPUs and CPUs. At launch, Intel Arc GPU owners saw terrible performance, and Intel quickly got to work on releasing driver updates. The first one did not really address the issues with the game, but the following update did bring some performance improvements and optimizations.

Now, with Arc & Iris Graphics driver version 31.0.101.4887, Intel says Arc GPU users can get up to 117% uplift in performance at 1080p with ultra settings and up to 149% uplift at 1440p with high settings. These are huge claims, but it should be noted that Starfield is not part of Intel’s “Game On” titles that have been fully optimized for Arc graphics cards. This suggests that even more performance improvements could be made down the line till the game is fully optimized if Intel chooses to do so.

Along with improvements to Starfield, the latest graphics driver adds Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Beta, Total War: Pharaoh, and Lords of the Fallen to the Game On driver support list. The latest Forza Motorsport gets an 8% uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings. F1 23 players can expect up to 12% uplift at 1440p with ultra settings and up to 136% uplift at 2160p with high settings. Real-world performance improvements for Arc GPU owners should appear online soon.

Interestingly, the driver update adds support for Intel Arc A580 GPU which was first teased in March 2022. Then, following the announcement in September 2022, the Arc A770/A750 and A380 cards made their way to the market, but the A580 was nowhere to be seen. Recently, two custom models of the Arc A580 GPU were spotted with key specifications. It suggested only ASRock and Sparkle will be making Arc A580 GPUs. Furthermore, it was reported that the TDP for the GPU was increased by 10W compared to the initial reveal.

Intel has not shared a release date for the Arc A580 which will be a mid-tier offering sitting between the A300 series and A700 series of GPUs. It will go against the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and AMD Radeon RX 6600. Pricing for the A580 is unknown at this point. However, its competition - the RTX 3050 - is available for as low as $200, and the RX 6600 can be bought for $210 (at the time of writing).

Image

PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB GPU

Display card main info widget

Display card main info widget end

The PNY GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is a graphics card built on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. It features a core clock speed of 1552MHz and a boost clock speed of 1777MHz, enabling it to handle demanding games. This card is equipped with 8GB GDDR6 (128-bit) on-board memory, 2560 CUDA processing cores, and up to 224 GB/sec memory bandwidth.

The card utilizes a PCI Express 4.0 interface for compatibility with various systems and includes DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 outputs for enhanced connectivity options.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

See at Amazon

Expand Collapse
Image

ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge GPU

Display card main info widget

Memory Clock Speed

1750 MHz

Graphics RAM Size

8 GB

Architecture

Ampere

Shader Units

2560

Ray Accelerators/Cores

20

Base Clock Speed

1552 MHz

Display card main info widget end

This Zotac GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC is a mid-range graphics card that features 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit interface and 14 Gbps speed. The GPU has Zotac's IceStorm 2.0 cooling solution that supports Freeze Fan Stop and Active Fan Control.

The card is based on the Nvidia RTX 3050, which has 2nd generation RT cores for better ray-tracing support and 3rd generation Tensor cores. The GPU supports up to 8K resolution and a maximum of four displays.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

See at Amazon $269 at Walmart $328 at Newegg

Expand Collapse
Image

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition GPU

Display card main info widget

Display card main info widget end

The Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition is a mid-tier gaming GPU with Nvidia Ampere Streaming processors that deliver twice the FP32 throughput and improved efficiency. The GPU features updated 2nd generation RT cores with better ray-tracing performance and 3rd generation Tensor cores for an increase in in-game performance and AI capabilities.

With OC mode, the GPU has a boost clock of 1875 MHz, and with Gaming Mode 1845 MHz. The
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition supports up to four displays with a maximum resolution of 8K.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

See at Amazon

Expand Collapse
Image

XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 GPU

Display card main info widget

Display card main info widget end

The XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 is an entry-to-mid-level GPU with eight gigabytes of GDDR6 memory with speeds of up to 14 Gbps. This GPU is based on the AMD RX 6600 chipset and AMD's RDNA 2 architecture with 32 compute units. The boost clock speed of the graphics card is up to 2491 MHz.

The GPU has XFX Speedster SWFT210 Dual Fan cooling system. The minimum power supply requirement for the card is 550 watts.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

See at Amazon

Expand Collapse
Image

Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G Graphics Card

Display card main info widget

Brand

Gigabyte

Cooling Method

Tri-Fan Air-Cooled

GPU Speed

1626 MHz

Interface

PCI-E 4.0

Memory

8GB GDDR6

Power

132 W

Display card main info widget end

Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8G is the company's mid-range graphics card from the most popular Radeon RX 6000 series. It is built with the AMD RDNA 2 architecture and provides a 128-bit memory interface with 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 memory. It is installed with Gigabyte's Windforce 3X cooling solution, which means that it sports three alternate spinning fans for optimal airflow. The GPU supports multiple high-resolution monitors simultaneously with two DisplayPort connectors and two HDMIs.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

See at Amazon $210 at Newegg $210 at Walmart

Expand Collapse