The release of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ last week in the United States marked the first commercially available handheld fitted with one of Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme processors, which is specifically designed for handhelds (the OneXPlayer 3 is another upcoming example). However, gamers are still waiting for the non-extreme chip to be made available – and Intel just listed support in its latest driver.

Unless a surprise release comes along, the Acer Predator Atlas 8 will be the first handheld fitted with a non-extreme chip. Acer unveiled four models along with their price tags yesterday. Two non-extreme and two extreme models will be coming this October, with varying amounts of memory and storage space fitted. The latest driver brings support well in advance of the handheld’s launch.

Intel Arc G3 Processor is officially supported in the latest graphics driver

For the first time, Intel has listed the Arc G3 Processor by name under the supported products section in its latest graphics driver – the beta (non-WHQL) version of 32.0.101.8864, which serves as an optional update for now. Previous driver releases have referred to the graphics in Panther Lake processors with the Arc B390 and Arc B370 iGPUs, but now the G3 is officially listed.

Along with support for the new Intel Arc G3 processor, the 32.0.101.8864 beta patch also came with a long list of fixes (see below), many centered around Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which was released earlier this month. The full patch notes also include known issues, largely relating to game crashes and other issues within DirectX12 (DX12).

Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs:

• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.

Intel® Arc™ B-Series Graphics Products:

• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.

Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight (DX12) may exhibit corruption during cutscenes.

Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 1 with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs:

• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight (DX12) may exhibit corruption during cutscenes.

Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs:

• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX12) may experience a crash when upgrading driver if the shaders have been compiled with the previous driver. Mitigation is to clear all cached shader files.
• LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight (DX12) may exhibit corruption during cutscenes.

Intel Arc Graphics 32.0.101.8864 Non-WHQL, source: Intel

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.