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New Intel Arrow Lake iGPU leak reveals a surprising difference between desktop and laptop

Integrated graphics have come a long way
Last Updated on April 15, 2024
Intel Meteor Lake
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The latest iGPUs for Intel’s Arrow Lake-H laptop and Arrow Lake-S desktop processors have allegedly been tested in a new leak spotted by credible sources.

As reported by Wccftech, two new iGPUs have allegedly been spotted which are baked onto both Arrow Lake’s laptop and desktop line of processors built on existing Xe-LPG Intel Arc Alchemist hardware. It is set to feature up to 128 EUs (execution units). They have been spotted in an open benchmark through SiSoftware which goes into the full statistics.

Starting with the Arrow Lake-H iGPU leak, it looks like it features eight Xe cores with 128 EUs and a clock speed of up to 2.0 GHz with 8MB of L3 cache. That’s consistent with what we’re currently seeing from existing Meteor Lake iGPU, meaning a similar level of performance to what’s available in AI-powered laptops. Far from gaming powerhouses, but enough to aid certain GPU-intensive tasks.

Screenshot of the sisoftware official benchmark error page, displaying various system and Intel Arrow Lake information along with error details.
Leaked screenshot from SiSoftware benchmark ranker showcasing new alleged iGPUs (Source: SiSoftware / Wccftech)

In contrast, the Arrow Lake-S desktop iGPU is considerably weaker with a reported four Xe cores and 64 EUs, for half the theoretical performance of the laptop iGPU model. There’s just 4MB of L3 cache, however, the same 2.0 GHz clock speed is enforced. What we can gauge from this is that the desktop’s integrated graphics may just be used for AI-accelerated tasks as you’ll need one of the best graphics cards with little chance of strong performance when solely relying on this iGPU.

This desktop iGPU will be the first of its kind for consumers as it will be baked onto the new Arrow Lake hardware which is rumored to launch at the end of the year. Curiously, it appears as though to be built on older Alchemist hardware instead of utilizing the heavily rumored Battlemage technology which would have seen a considerable lead in terms of performance. Exactly how this tech will be utilized remains to be seen, but we think it could be to bolster the new NPU.

In contrast, Intel Lunar Lake leaks appear to boast sweeping improvements over the existing Meteor Lake hardware. Arrow Lake, by comparison, seems to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary which doesn’t push the needle but brings the tech over to desktop users. Laptop users will benefit most from the implementation here, with roughly 50% stronger performance according to the leaked benchmarks.

Aleksha McLoughlin is Hardware and News Editor for PC Guide and she oversees buying guides, reviews, news, and features on site. She was previously Hardware and Affiliates Editor at VideoGamer.