THE NEWS
Intel’s mainstream Alchemist
Decent 1080p gaming for $179
THERE WAS
a frisson of excitement when Intel started making discrete graphics cards. At last, there would be a third player, and the possibility of a market shake-up. Maybe it would even help keep the price of high-end cards down. Intel, however, had other ideas. It started slowly, at the bottom of the market. The drivers proved under-developed, and the range started well away from the big players, whose monster cards have remained expensive. But, slowly and steadily, Intel has been building on its start. First, we got the Arc Alchemist A770, A750, and A380. Its latest offering is the Arc Alchemist A580, the first ‘5’ series card, which has been delayed after being announced over a year ago.