Intel appears to be open to the use of its Arc gaming GPUs in data centers and servers, something CEO Kissinger noted in a recent interview with ServerTheHome. While Intel’s Arc-branded GPUs are designed primarily for the gaming space, the company will also offer its FLEX-branded GPUs intended for the workstation space.
Despite their primary focus on gaming, Intel has indicated that they are open to using Arc GPUs in data centers and servers, as confirmed by Patrick Kennedy of ServerTheHome.
At the event, I also confirmed a key detail that Intel doesn’t plan to limit its desktop cards to desktops only, and unlike Nvidia’s CUDA license, the company says it doesn’t plan to ban their use in servers.
This is welcome news. Interestingly, not only is Intel open to using Arc gaming GPUs in the server and data center markets, but the company will license it for this specific purpose, with a more open and user-friendly model like AMD’s now, while Not like NVIDIA. AMD is open to using its Radeon GPUs in data centers and servers, while NVIDIA typically restricts GeForce and Titan-like offerings. But at the same time, NVIDIA has in turn used RTX graphics cards to power its own GeForce Now servers.
Considering Intel is new to the discrete GPU space, they want to get every bit of market share and adoption possible. Whether that comes from the Arc gaming GPUs that power servers, data centers, or other applications, letting users experience first-gen Intel GPUs makes it all worth it. At the same time, Intel also allows full blockchain support on their Arc GPUs and basically every other Alchemist chip, but whether you get huge performance out of it is a whole different matter. Intel AXG has their dedicated blockchain ASICs and they work better.
Intel’s first Arc A770 and Arc A750 high-end gaming graphics cards are scheduled to launch on October 12, starting at $329 and $289, respectively. Expect more news in the coming week.
