First Intel Arc A350M GPU Benchmarks Published By Korean TechTubers, Shows Capable Entry-Level Graphics Performance In A 30W Design But Lots of Driver Work Required

The first tests of Intel’s Arc A350M GPU based on the Alchemist graphics architecture have been published by Korean TechTubers. Earlier, we had reported how the first Arc laptops were shipping first in South Korea with a gradual rollout in other regions expected in the coming weeks. The full Arc Alchemist mobility lineup is expected to roll out in various laptop designs by the end of second quarter.

Intel Arc A350M GPU Showcases Decent Performance of The Alchemist Graphics Architecture In An Entry-Level 30W Design

The Intel Arc A350M is the most entry-level graphics chip based on the Alchemist ACM-G11 GPU architecture. It is designed for the mobility segment and features 6 Xe cores (768 ALUs), 6 ray tracing units, an 1150 MHz graphics engine clock, a 4 GB 64-bit bus interface, and a TDP range of 25-35W which is going to aim the entry-level MX500 series options from NVIDIA.

The Arc A350M GPU was featured on the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro laptop ‘NT950XEV-G51A’. This specific variant features the Intel Core i5-1240P CPU with 12 cores and 16 threads, 16 GB LPDDR5 memory, a 15.6″ 1080p AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and weighs around 1 kg. It is a very basic entry-level solution and has heatsinks with dual fans that are featured over the PCB for dissipating heat. The Intel Core i5-1240P has a maximum turbo power rating of 64W while the Arc A350M used by the laptop is a 30W design so it looks like we are looking at an overall TDP that’s around 100 Watts.

Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro Teardown (Image Credits: Bullslab):

For testing, while the latest GPU drivers were used (30.0.101.1660), the process itself is quite tedious as explained by the tester. The Intel Arc Control Panel and the respective Windows OS encountered issues when identifying the specific branch of the GPU. And since the drivers are coherently shared between the integrated Iris Xe graphics and the Arc GPUs, there was some trouble running them. It looks like Intel will have to streamline its software and drivers a lot in the coming months to avoid such issues.

Intel Arc A350M GPU (Image Credits: Bullslab):

Intel Arc A350M GPU Graphics Performance

When it comes to performance, the Intel Arc A350M placed itself between the NVIDIA MX450 (25W) and the GeForce GTX 1650 (50W) Mobility GPUs. In synthetic workloads, the Arc A350M ended up a pretty good 30% ahead of the MX450 while having a 20% higher TDP (30W vs 25W). The NVIDIA GTX 1650 did end up faster but it was also running at a 67% higher TDP and still only managed a lead of 22%. This isn’t a fair comparison in any way and the right choice would’ve been the Max-Q variant which has a TDP rating of 35W (still 5W higher than the Arc A350M). It looks like the Arc A350M can end up very close to the GTX 1650 Max-Q plus the chip has modern features such as AV1 encoding, XeSS, and even Raytracing support.

Intel Arc A350M GPU Synthetic Performance (Image Credits: Bullslab):

Gaming performance was evaluated in several eSports titles such as PUBG, Overwatch, and League of Legends. While the GPU produced decent numbers, the performance wasn’t smooth for now & one noteworthy thing is that the GPU ended up with a clock of up to 2200 MHz while consuming up to 23 Watts of power (7W lower than its max TDP rating). There’s a vast difference between the advertised graphics engine clock and the peak speeds that the GPU hits within games. Intel has explained that there graphics engine clock is the worst case ‘boost’ clock that the GPU can hit in a very power and thermal constrained environment so that’s why the actual clocks are going to be much higher.

Intel Arc A350M GPU Gaming Performance (Image Credits: Bullslab):

There are still some stutters that can be seen in games and that’s mostly a driver issue but it is evident from the recent reports that Intel still needs a lot of work to be done in the driver field.

Intel Arc A350M Additional Synthetic Performance (Image Credits: 사도될까 / MYWATT):

The launch of the Intel Arc A-series lineup does seem a little rushed considering all the problems with drivers and availability. Intel is a big player in the tech industry and this is the first showcase of their entry into the graphics segment we would have loved to see it go smooth. However, being a first-timer with a launch as big as this, there’s bound to be issued but Intel could have managed it all so better. Here’s hoping the rest of the Arc launch goes smooth and the driver team works to address some of the major flaws and bugs that are being encountered before these laptops and GPUs end up in hands of reviewers and more importantly, consumers, in other regions.

Intel Arc A-Series Mobility GPU Lineup:

Graphics Card Variant	GPU Variant	GPU Die	Execution Units	Shading Units (Cores)	Memory Capacity	Memory Speed	Memory Bus	TGP
Arc A770M	Xe-HPG 512EU	Arc ACM-G10	512 EUs	4096	16 GB GDDR6	16 Gbps	256-bit	120-150W
Arc A730M	Xe-HPG 384EU	Arc ACM-G10	384 EUs	3072	12 GB GDDR6	14 Gbps	192-bit	80-120W
Arc A550M	Xe-HPG 256EU	Arc ACM-G10	256 EUs	2048	8 GB GDDR6	14 Gbps	128-bit	60-80W
Arc A370M	Xe-HPG 128EU	Arc ACM-G11	128 EUs	1024	4 GB GDDR6	14 Gbps	64-bit	35-50W
Arc A350M	Xe-HPG 96EU	Arc ACM-G11	96 EUs	768	4 GB GDDR6	14 Gbps	64-bit	25-35W

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