Where are the ARC cards from Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and others?

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Intel has finally launched its ARC graphics cards. Despite promises to do something different, let’s be honest, the launch didn’t really go as well as hoped. However, after having wiped the slate clean in Asia, the ARC 770 and A750 are now here. You could see, through our full test here, that for a first attempt, Intel is doing pretty well with a lot of promises for the future. While inflation is affecting the whole consumer market, with a particularly noticeable drop in prices in our sector, the positioning of the newcomers is interesting and allows most people to have a competitive card without having to mortgage their home. However, apart from the “in-house” version from Intel, we have to admit that the other brands are totally absent from this launch. When the new RTX 4090 is available in all sorts of RGB colors and at stratospheric prices, we see NOTHING from the same Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and others to offer competitive and different ARC cards… So where are the ARC cards?

Où sont les cartes ARC

ARC cards: brands committed to Intel but absent from the market.

When an ARC card first appeared on the market in Asia, it was a product from MSI that we saw in a PC sold in China. But while the major graphics card brands are committed to Intel, we don’t see anything happening except for secondary players who are launching themselves (like Acer with its own card) or who have limited distribution like ASrock. At this stage, several hypotheses can explain this situation:

  • Assumption 1: Intel has limited GPU volume for its partners

This hypothesis finds its source in the first official communications around Intel graphics cards. At the time, the launch of ARC was voluntarily assumed to be “modest” with a gradual ramp-up. Only the launch was postponed for almost a full year for various reasons (mainly drivers) but at no time was the production of GPUs (outsourced to TSMC using the N6 process which was not really congested) stopped. Under these conditions, the GPU stocks cannot explain the situation. Then there is the possibility that these stocks have been massively routed to Asia… But again, as things stand, nothing seems to prove it. Finally, to finish with this hypothesis and with a touch of irony, we can note that in recent years, the lack of available GPUs has not prevented brands from launching and communicating on multiple versions of a GPU that was not available…

  • Hypothesis 2: brands are stuffed with RTX 3060

It is important to note that if Acer and to a lesser extent ASrock are unveiling and launching versions of the A750 and A770 all the other top brands are committed to AMD and especially Nvidia. For months, multiple sources have confirmed that Nvidia’s partners are “gorged” in stock and especially regarding the RTX 3060/3060Ti. Under these conditions and considering the strong slowdown of the market, it seems quite plausible that a launch of a competing product (and rather well positioned) causes some conscience to these companies.

  • Hypothesis 3: Pressure from Nvidia

It’s hard not to immediately think of this hypothesis when we remember the similar episodes that existed with AMD. Nvidia is now in a situation of ultimate market domination and for a manufacturer, any reduction in GPU allocations from the greens would be an economic disaster. We could see how gradually Nvidia has, over the years, reversed the pressure with the brands. We can consider that this situation has even created a kind of dependency. EVGA said stop considering that continuing in this logic would only serve Nvidia’s interests… Here again, it’s hard to believe that this question is not on the minds of the decision-makers within the card manufacturers.

ARC graphics cards: boycott or hard start?

Intel’s communication about its partners for this ARC Alchemist series has never been totally clear. While the brands mentioned above have all come up repeatedly in announcements or discussions, there was some confusion about the possibility of making a card or using the GPU in a laptop. We also note that at the last Intel event, no product of the said brands was present. A wait-and-see attitude is therefore also a possible hypothesis… Even if brands like MSI for example were involved in advance for the arrival of products in Asia. Où sont les cartes ARC It’s hard to commit to a challenger, even if it’s called Intel, when its hypothetically successful range could trigger the wrath of the undisputed market leader.

However, without these brands, it will be difficult for Intel to gain market share and above all to be visible to the end customer. If the positioning of the A750 and A770 boards is aggressive, brands with other industrial capacities could still improve the offer. But we will have to wait a little longer, probably because of a hint of hypothesis 1, added to a zest of hypothesis 2 and a pinch of hypothesis 3.