According to Videocardz, Intel has altered the setup of the prize pool for victors of the previous year’s Xe-HPG Scavenger Hunt. Intel has added an alternative prize pool, comprising a Core i7-12700K for Arc A770 grand prize winners and a Core i5-12600K for Arc A750 first prize winners, in instead of merely offering brand-new Arc A770 and Arc A750 graphics cards as the prize. Alternate Alder Lake CPU rewards are also equal in value to the initial Arc GPU prizes.
All winners have the choice to wait till the Arc A7-series GPU launch or keep their original GPU reward. Each winner, however, has the option to exchange the GPU prize for the alternative CPU prize and receive their award right away. The late hours of August 19 (PDT) are the deadline for winners to decide. Otherwise, the reward will be instantly changed to the other CPU award and mailed right away.
The letter states in one place that the alternative prize package’s overall total worth, which includes hardware cost and non-hardware pricing, will be equal to that of the initial prize package. It suggests that the Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700K could have the same MSRP as the Arc A750 and Arc A770, respectively.
For comparison, the Intel Core i5-12600K debuted at $299, while the Core i7-12700K cost $419 at launch.
If we take into account the benchmarks and leaks, the speculative Arc pricing doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. According to Intel’s benchmarks, the Arc A750’s performance is comparable to that of the GeForce RTX 3060. Recall that the Ampere-powered product from Nvidia debuted at $329.
The prize pool adjustments could pose serious scheduling problems for Intel and its anticipated global introduction of the Arc GPU in 2022. To commemorate Intel’s entry into the discrete GPU market, for instance, a GPU-specific scavenger hunt called the Xe HPG Scavenger Hunt was developed. Unfortunately, it gives the other reward selections a very strange feeling and seems to be Intel’s last-minute plan.
The ability of Intel to provide desktop Arc Alchemist GPUs this summer doesn’t seem to be a strong point. We cannot, however, claim to be shocked given the ongoing problems Intel has had with the Arc GPUs. The faults in the drivers and problems with performance optimization using the said drivers are a couple of the most bothersome problems.
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