The Intel driver development team released a new driver the other day, which has not yet received a WHQL signature, but it may still be worth trying with the desktop or mobile Arc series video card, or with the integrated graphics controller in the processor, built around the Xe-LPG architecture, since during DirectX 11 games, a considerable acceleration can be achieved with it. This is definitely good news, since based on the attached figure, the manufacturer pays a lot of attention not only to the optimization of modern games based on the DirectX 12 API, but also to older titles based on DirectX 11, which in this case is between 5% and 48% acceleration enables access.
The Arc 101.5444 driver can bring about a 5% acceleration in games such as VRChat, Unturned, or Days Gone during in-house tests. An acceleration of around 15% can be expected for the Dyson Sphere Program, Fortnite, Lethal Company, Mass Effect and many other titles, but the really significant acceleration is experienced during Astronner, Need for Speed Heat and Mass Effect, where it is possible to increase the speed between 30% and 48%, mainly for the Arc series integrated video controllers of the Core Ultra series processors.
Expected rate of acceleration for Intel Arc video cards
Astroneer* (DX11)
- Up to 30% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Ultra image quality setting
Days Gone* (DX11)
- Average FPS increase of up to 5% with 1080p resolution and Very High image quality setting
Dyson Sphere Program* (DX11)
- Up to 15% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Default image quality setting
Fortnite Performance Mode* (DX11)
- Up to 15% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Epic image quality setting
Lethal Company* (DX11)
- Up to 14% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Default image quality setting
Mass Effect Legendary Edition* (DX11)
- Up to 14% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Ultra image quality setting
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord* (DX11)
- Up to 8% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Very High image quality setting
Need for Speed: Heat* (DX11)
- Up to 36% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Ultra image quality setting
Unturned* (DX11)
- Up to 5% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Ultra image quality setting
VRChat* (DX11)
- Average FPS increase of up to 5% with 1080p resolution and High image quality setting
World of Warships* (DX11)
- Average FPS increase of up to 7% with 1080p resolution and Maximum image quality setting
Expected rate of acceleration for Core Ultra series processors
American Truck Simulator* (DX11)
- Up to 10% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Medium image quality setting
Dyson Sphere Program * (DX11)
- Up to 17% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Default image quality setting
Fortnite Performance Mode* (DX11)
- Up to 12% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Medium image quality setting
Grim Dawn* (DX11)
- Up to 11% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Medium image quality setting
Lethal Company* (DX11)
- Up to 24% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Default image quality setting
Mass Effect Legendary Edition* (DX11)
- Up to 48% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Medium image quality setting
Need for Speed: Heat* (DX11)
- Up to 19% average FPS increase with 1080p resolution and Medium image quality setting
*The above values refer to optimal cases, the real rate of acceleration can often be lower than this.
The driver fixes some bugs, for example No Rest for the Wicked no longer has an application crash at start time, while a task switching bug in Assetto Corsa that affected full screen mode has been banished. At the same time, the driver also offers a cure for the Halo Infinite Ray Tracing error and the problem occurring during Diablo 4.
However, it is important to mention that there are still a lot of known errors in everyday life, they affect a wide variety of games, as can be seen from this description, but the members of the development team naturally do everything in order to reduce the number of errors as quickly as possible.
The new driver supports the integrated video controller of all newer models from the 11th generation Intel Core series processors and up, and can also be used for desktop and mobile Intel Arc series video cards. In terms of operating system, the Windows 10 22H2 update package and all editions of Windows 11 are supported.
The new driver can be downloaded here, while those interested can find its detailed description here.
