Intel Arc Alchemist 256 EU Mobile GPU Shows RX 580-Like Performance

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A quick look into Arc Alchemist with 256 EUs

Intel
Intel (Image credit: Intel)

Hardware detective Benchleaks discovered two new Geekbench 5 benchmarks showcasing a mysterious Alder Lake notebook packing a Core i5-12500H CPU and a dedicated Intel Arc Alchemist Xe GPU equipped with 256 EUs and 6GB of VRAM. According to the OpenCL scores, performance appears to be in the ballpark of AMD's Radeon RX 580 or Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1650 Super.

This GPU appears to be part of Intel's new DG2 mobile lineup, as shared in this leak here. One of the leading GPU configurations shown in the leak (SKU 3) reportedly has 256 EUs, and a memory capacity anywhere between 4 to 8GB of VRAM, the same configuration shown in these Geekbench benchmarks.

Furthermore, the DG2 leak showed five GPU configurations, the top trim featuring 512 EUs, the second configuration with 384 EUs, a third SKU with 256 EUs, followed by models with 128 EUs, and 96 EUs. So it appears the 256 EU version will be one of Intel's mid-range GPUs for the mobile market.

Benchleaks shared two OpenCL Geekbench benchmarks featuring the same notebook; the first showcases 46,540 points, while the second result shows slightly diminished results featuring 45,483 points.

For comparison, several AMD and Nvidia's older GPUs fill in the same performance ballpark in Geekbench 5's OpenCL browser, including the Radeon RX 480, RX 580, and RX 5600M as well as the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti and GTX 1080 Max-Q. So from a compute perspective, it appears Intel's Arc Alchemist mobile GPU with 256 EUs isn't that powerful by modern-day standards.

But keep in mind, this is Geekbench 5 and a non-gaming test, so take these results with a grain of salt as Geekbench 5 is famous for having wildly inaccurate real-world performance results.

But if we only take Geekbench 5 into account, Intel could be in the wrong spot, as its mid-range mobile GPUs behave more like entry-level GPUs of the modern era. However, we should wait for a full review to pass judgment. It's essential to see which market segment Intel will be targeting with its DG2 lineup. If it turns out that Intel's "top of the line" 512 EU variant isn't competing with the likes of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3070 mobile or RTX 3080 mobile and is instead only competing with mid-range chips like the RTX 3060. Intel's "mid-range" 256 EU trim could perform well as an authentic entry-level product.

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Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • InvalidError
    Great, more hints that ~$200 budget GPU performance from 4-5 years ago will be new again for about the same price.
    Reply
  • Exploding PSU
    InvalidError said:
    Great, more hints that ~$200 budget GPU performance from 4-5 years ago will be new again for about the same price.

    Feels like we're entering a slump period when it comes to performance
    And downright regression when it comes to pricing
    Reply
  • spentshells
    Well if a 580 level of performance while not very exciting for the same price as it was 5 years ago, isn't great, bit id admit it will be enough for me.
    Reply
  • little_me
    while all above are correct, no one seems to point out that there is still a gap between MOBILE gpu (this intels new one) and desktop.

    As such, I don't see this as absolutely horrible development, if nothing else, it means that intel could become 3rd somewhat serious mobile GPU competitor.

    Edit: Of course there are RX 580 Mobile and desktop cards with same name so... which was meant? then again, laptop is just odd 15% slower than desktop.
    I would still count this as good option for discrete laptop GPU alternative, unless you need a serious gaming/CAD use laptop.
    Reply