Intel® Core™ Processors
Intel’s new performance hybrid architecture is a significant shift in the x86 architecture, featuring two new microarchitectures supported by intelligence built directly into the hardware. This allows gamers the flexibility of high-performance processing for games and efficient processing options for multitasking.
The Intel® Smart Cache Technology is a shared Last Level Cache (LLC) that adapts based on the needs of each CPU core. It’s smaller, faster memory that’s located close to the processor cores for fast read and writes for gaming assets.
Intel® Adaptive Boost Technology opportunistically increases all-core turbo frequency when current, power, and thermal headroom exist. It works below a temperature limit of 100°C, enabling your processor to always perform at its best.
Intel® Dynamic Tuning Technology is a system software driver configured by the system manufacturer (also known as OEM) to dynamically optimize the system for performance, battery life, and thermals. It directly affects the gaming performance of CPUs and GPUs and enables manufacturers to make changes as needed.
Intel® Application Optimization determines and directs resources in real time. This policy optimizes thread scheduling along with application threading for selected software titles and may improve performance for supported applications. System responsiveness may vary based on configuration and graphics card capabilities. Users can turn off Intel® Application Optimization through this software for all applications or on a per-application basis if results are not as expected.
Intel® Application Optimization is an optional part of the optimization technology that allows users to see what games are optimized and to turn off optimizations they do not want. Users may turn off the entire application or turn off specific games under the “Enable/Disable Individual Applications” tab. The list will vary from user to user, depending on the games detected and optimized by Intel.
Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost allows the processor core to opportunistically increase the Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 frequency speed bins whenever the processor temperature and voltage allow. The Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost feature is designed to improve the performance of both multi-and–single-threaded workloads.
*(1)Built into the hardware, Intel® Thread Director is provided only in performance hybrid architecture configurations of 12th gen or newer Intel® Core™ processors; OS enablement is required. Available features and functionality vary by OS.
Intel® Arc™ Graphics
Intel® Xe Super Sampling (XeSS) uses machine learning to synthesize images that are very close to the quality of native ultra-high-res rendering by reconstructing subpixel details from neighboring pixels and motion-compensated previous frames. Each frame is rendered at a lower resolution and then intelligently upscaled to a target resolution, resulting in higher resolution visuals with a lower GPU workload. This reconstruction is performed by a neural network trained to deliver high performance and exceptional quality.
XeSS brings your gaming experience into a new age with AI-enhanced upscaling, enabling more performance with high image fidelity. Revel in ultra-high-definition visuals with high performance powered by hardware acceleration and an AI-based algorithm. Designed with all gamers in mind, XeSS is unlocked to work on widely available hardware.
Microsoft’s DirectX 12 Ultimate is the industry standard for graphics and gaming. It enables a full suite of PC capabilities to enhance gaming experiences and acts as an API and platform to enable hardware-accelerated applications.
DirectX 12 Ultimate takes games to new heights of realism with the latest graphics technologies, including DirectX Raytracing, variable rate shading, mesh shading, and sampler feedback. A DirectX 12 Ultimate-capable graphics card means being equipped for the gold standard of games supporting DXR, VRS, mesh shading and sampler feedback technologies. With full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate on all Intel® Arc™ graphics, you’re ready to power the future of next-gen gaming.
Ray tracing is a rendering technique that can produce incredibly realistic lighting effects. It’s an algorithm for traceing the path of light and then simulating how the light interacts with the virtual objects it ultimately hits in the computer-generated world.
Ray tracing enables exceptional realism across a wide range of game visuals. Using true-to-life real-time calculations, ray tracing is today’s most physically accurate simulation of light. With hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities built into every Xe HPG-based GPU, you’ll get the best lighting, shadows, and reflections for ultra-realistic gaming.
DirectStorage is an API that allows game developers to unlock the full potential of high-speed NVME drives for loading assets.
It enables high-speed NVME drives to load gaming files and assets quickly for gaming performance. DirectStorage redefines how we view asset streaming and opens up a new world of exciting advances for the next generation of games.
Variable rate shading is the ability to specify the pixel shader invocation rate separately from the render target resolution and rasterization rate. It’s an important member of a class of rendering techniques that seeks to deliver high-quality visuals by giving more control over where the shading rate can be reduced while maintaining the visual fidelity of a scene.
Intel® Arc™ control puts you in command of your graphics experience. Tune your graphics performance, manage driver updates, and stream like a pro with a built-in studio that lets you broadcast your gameplay, create virtual backgrounds, auto-generate highlight reels, and more.
With Intel® Arc™ control, you can automatically download and install Game On Drivers, turn on endurance gaming mode for extended gaming sessions with balanced FPS, and enjoy smoother streaming with real-time virtual camera filters and an easy-to-use software interface.
Intel® Arc™ GPUs are the world’s first GPUs with hardware-accelerated encoding for AV1, the next-gen and royalty-free video codec. With the largest online video platforms adopting AV1 as the future of video, be ready to create, stream, share, and consume high quality AV1 content, up to 8K resolution, with new levels of performance and efficiency.
AV1 allows for faster hardware encoding with Intel® Arc™ Graphics compared to software encoding, unlocking more efficient game streaming for a smoother experience.