New Intel Arc GPU driver boosts frame rates in 20 DX11 and DX12 games by up to 119%

An Intel Arc A770 Limited Edition graphics card from various angles

(Image credit: Future)

Intel has unleashed yet another new driver for its Arc gaming GPUs claiming major performance boosts. There are 20 DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games are on the list, with performance increased by up to 119%.

The big winner from driver version 31.0.101.4885 is Deus Ex: Human Revolution running DX11 mode and 1080p High settings, which gets that headline-grabbing 119% claimed boost.

However, it's not the only game to get a huge boost.

Here's the full list of games:

Forza Motorsport (DX12) - 19% uplift at 1440p High
Resident Evil 4 (DXR) - 27% uplift at 1080p High Ray Tracing
The Last of Us Part 1 (DX12) - 12% uplift at 1080p Ultra
War Thunder (DX11) - 9% uplift at 1080p Maximum
Payday 3 (DX11) - 37% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Naraka: Bladepoint (DX11) - 5% uplift at 1080p Highest
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX11) - 32% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Final Fantasy XIV Online (DX11) - 7% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition (DX11) - 42% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (DX11) - 88% uplift at 1080p High
Total War: Warhammer 2 (DX11) - 10% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Tomb Raider (DX11) - 10% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Mad Max (DX11) - 6% uplift at 1080p Very High
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (DX11) - 14% uplift at 1080p Ultra
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (DX11) - 90% uplift at 1080p Extra
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DX11) - 119% uplift at 1080p High
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (DX11) - 8% uplift at 1080p Very High
BeamNG.drive (DX11) - 10% uplift at 1080p High
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (DX11) - 22% uplift at 1080p Ultra High
Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced (DX11) - 9% uplift at 1080p Ultra

Intel doesn't provide actual frame rates. What's more, Intel's test rigs use 32GB of RAM and a 13500F CPU for the DX12 games and a 13900K for the DX11 games. Make of that what you will. But your CPU, memory and other factors may dictate whether you actually see the performance boosts claimed.

Oh and for the record, Intel has listed a new fix for Starfield, resolving "sporadic instability in some areas of the game". However, it drivers notes say that "corruption when using Dynamic Resolution Scaling" and "texture corruptions on certain objects and light sources" remain ongoing issues with the game.

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But the main take away here is that Intel continues to optimise its drivers and provide substantial gains with iterative driver releases. Arguably, this matters more for future GPU releases than the existing Arc A750 and A770 GPUs.

Fair to say those graphics cards haven't been a huge success. So, what we really want to see is Intel carrying over these driver improvements to its next-gen GPUs, codenamed Battlemage and due out next year.

If that happens, there's much more chance of Intel hitting the ground running with truly competitive GPUs and actually giving Nvidia and AMD a run for their money in the gaming graphics market.

Anyway, if you are one of those brave souls running an Intel A750 or A770, you can download the driver here.

Jeremy has been writing about technology and PCs since the 90nm Netburst era (Google it!) and enjoys nothing more than a serious dissertation on the finer points of monitor input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of advanced lithography. Or maybe he just likes machines that go “ping!” He also has a thing for tennis and cars.