Intel has announced new Intel ARC G-Series processors that are designed for “next-generation handheld gaming systems.”
Launching with the Intel Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme processors, this new series builds on the architecture of the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (aka Panther Lake) and brings optimized performance and power efficiency to the handheld market.
There aren’t many technical specs yet, but the new chips are set to feature two power cores, eight efficiency cores, and four low-power cores. Intel also noted that there will be support for Wi-Fi 7 R2, dual Bluetooth 6, and Intel Thunderbolt 4 with support for Thunderbolt Share with up to 40Gbps bandwidth.
Games will also launch faster thanks to Intel Precompiled Shaders, which brings in prebuilt shader files from the Intel cloud instead of rendering them on your device. However, this is only for select titles.
Good news is that the full-screen Xbox Mode is also featured on these chips, so it will make it way easier to navigate through your games instead of having to use the main Windows interface, which can be clunky on handhelds.
This announcement comes at the perfect time, as Valve nearly doubled the price of the Steam Deck with the latest restock, citing component costs and other logistical challenges for the sudden price bump.
More details will come out about the chip, but the press release does say that the chip will be used in Acer’s Predator Atlas 8, MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, and the OneXPlayer. Time will tell if other mainstream handhelds (Xbox ROG Ally, Steam Deck) will switch to the chip. With all that is going on, I imagine that it won’t take long.
Image credit: Intel
