Intel's Arc A380 graphics card is now the only entry-level AV1 solution that retails close to $100 US and packs 6 GB memory.

Intel's Arc A380 6 GB Graphics Card Matches The RX 6400 While Offering 6 GB Memory, AV1 Support & A $30 US Cheaper Price

The Intel Arc A380 graphics card utilizes the ACM-G11 "Alchemist" GPU with 1024 cores and 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and support for Intel's AV1 hardware acceleration which has become a standard for video codecs. While the graphics card launched at 1149 RMB in China ($165 US) and $149 US in the states, the GUNNIR custom variant can now be bought for just 799 RMB at JD.com ($115) which is $35 US worth of savings versus the US MSRP and $50 US lower than the Chinese MSRP.

The $115 US pricing makes the GUNNIR Intel Arc A380 Index graphics card the most affordable AV1 solution with the graphics power to match AMD's Radeon RX 6400 graphics card while saving you $20-$30 US. The cheapest RX 6400 in the US costs around $140 US whereas Chinese retailers have the single-slot Yeston variant listed at around 929 RMB or $130 US. If you are in the US, you can get the ASRock Challenger Arc A380 graphics card for $120 US which is still more affordable than AMD Radeon RX 6400 cards.

The GUNNIR Intel Arc A380 Index G6 graphics card is seeing its second price drop since its release and is only available to JD.com's Plus subscription service subscribers. The graphics card includes eight Xe HPG graphics cores with 2000 MHz graphics frequency. The GPU offers 6 GB of GDDR6 memory onboard with a 96-bit memory bus. The graphics card from GUNNIR measures 221 mm x 120 mm x 42 mm and recommends a power supply of 300 watts or higher. The GPU chip is based on the 6nm process technology from Intel.

For connectivity, the GUNNIR Intel Arc A380 Index G6 graphics card offers three DisplayPort ports and one HDMI port for up to 8K resolution and HDR support. The graphics card provides a dual fan design to assist with keeping the temperatures low with use and has a TBP of 75W without an external power supply.

The GUNNIR Intel Arc A380 Index G6 graphics card supports AV1 hardware acceleration. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, allowing for hardware-supported ray-tracing above 1080p at 60fps, especially in games such as League of Legends, Eternal Tribulation, and PUBG. This model requires the user to activate the "Resizable Bar Above 4G Decoding" mode to utilize the graphics card. It will help increase the memory efficiency of the GPU transmitting to the PCIe 4.0 bus. The card also supports Windows 10 and 11 21H2 (64-bit) operating systems and is compatible with the Intel 400 series or higher motherboards.

The Intel Arc A380 graphics card was close to the competition in early performance previews compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 cards. However, the graphics architecture has seen various performance optimizations and compatibility updates that would lead to a far better gaming experience than what users saw at launch.

News Sources: IT Home, JD.com