Intel Arc driver offers 30% boosts for DX11 games, sparking excitement for Battlemage GPUs

Intel has a new graphics driver incoming and it's going to be another in a line of releases that seriously bolster the frame rate shifting power of Team Blue's Arc Alchemist graphics cards.

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VideoCardz reported that Intel has sent out a note to some press outlets about the imminent new driver - which might be coming as soon as later today - enthusing about the performance boosts it contains.

We are talking about an average of 30% faster frames rates - yes, that's the average gain, not a best-case 'up to' percentage - for DX11 games.

There's a similar increase promised in 99th percentile frame rates (the lowest dips experienced) which will also mean much smoother feeling gameplay.

We're told the full list of games to benefit hasn't been confirmed by Intel, but VideoCardz mentioned some of the titles due for optimization in this new driver.

They include Apex Legends, Civilization 6, It Takes Two, Just Cause 4 (and 3), Sons of the Forest, Star Wars Squadrons, The Hunt: Showdown, Titanfall 2, XCOM 2, and Warframe.

We'll be keenly looking forward to some boosts in the order of 50% to 60%, or maybe even more, as we have witnessed those kinds of jumps from Intel with past drivers.

The improvements keep on coming, and this has got a number of PC gamers excited about possibly adopting Intel Arc when next-gen Battlemage graphics cards arrive.

If Intel keeps making progress, and Battlemage shapes up as it's promising, Team Blue could finally become a genuine alternative to AMD or NVIDIA later this year in the GPU sphere.

We can but hope, as we certainly need some more competition to help drive down pricing, and we especially want a better selection at the budget end of the graphics card spectrum.