After a period of quiet, Intel seems to be back at work on its Intel Arc series of graphics cards. The latest example might be geared more towards industrial and AI workloads, but Steve Burke of GamersNexus hoped that some of its design ideas would be incorporated into consumer models.

Burke, host of the popular tech YouTube channel GamersNexus, was offered the opportunity to perform a teardown of one of the new Intel Arc Pro B60 graphics cards. The card was provided by Intel board partner MaxSun, with MaxSun engineers occasionally assisting with the disassembly when needed. Specifically, the model is called the Intel Arc Pro B60 Dual Turbo.

GamersNexus tears down Intel Arc Pro B60 Dual-GPU

The teardown began with a mention of some of the specifications of the Arc Pro B60 Dual Turbo, a dual-GPU graphics card with a whopping 48 GB of VRAM. “Suck it, Nvidia,” Steve joked after he detailed the VRAM amount. Of course, this isn’t a gaming-focused card, but Nvidia’s new RTX 5060 is still 8GB, falling below the entry-level Arc B570 with 10GB of VRAM.

Though Steve found the process very interesting on a technical level, he did note that GamersNexus rarely discusses AI-focused technology, as it isn't really in the scope of what his channel talks about. He was amused to discover a ‘free screw' stuck to a thermal pad during the disassembly, and a bodge wire soldered between a chip and another component. This suggests the card Steve was examining was a prototype or an engineering sample.

“Intel says – and this should prove – that it’s allowing its partners more customization and freedom than competitors, from what we’ve seen. We want to see more of that. Nvidia has really clamped down on it over the years, it’s sad, so hopefully Intel can keep that openness for the partners”

Steve Burke, GamersNexus

By giving partners more freedom to create interesting SKUs, such as this MaxSun Dual-GPU, Intel can help engineers get a little more creative with their designs and potentially innovate. The Intel Arc Pro B60 comes in a range of models from GPU partners such as ASRock, Sparkle, and Gunnir, but the dual-GPU is unique within the line-up. Intel has also revealed Pro B50 cards.

In particular, Steve was interested in the dual-GPU chip set-up. This is a configuration that is rarely seen, and Steve noted he hadn't examined one personally since the GTX 690, a card that was released in 2012. “I'd love to see the dual-GPUs in the consumer market again,” he said, “But the drivers are too much of a problem for gaming.”

Though the Intel Arc Pro B60 is not intended for the consumer market, Steve noted that it is likely to have an MSRP of less than $1,000, making it considerably cheaper than Nvidia's high-end GPUs. This might attract modders and tinkerers who want to get the best performance without spending a fortune.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.