Intel Arc driver 101.6972 Beta – a step forward with a built-in speed limit

With the current beta driver 101.6972, Intel has once again demonstrated that graphics development is more like a relay race with stumbling blocks than a sprint on the ideal line. The new version does bring a few targeted optimizations, but instead of enthusiasm, the feeling remains that they are trying, and not even unsuccessfully. To be found at the colleagues of TechPowerUP

More FPS, but with a magnifying glass

For users of the Arc B series, Intel promises up to 12 percent more performance in “Rematch” at 1440p with Ultra settings and up to 9 percent at 1080p. In view of the rather modest starting position, these values are like a plaster on a surgical wound – well meant, but far from healed. According to the driver logbook, “Killing Floor 3”, “Valorant” (after the UE5 update) and the somewhat obscure “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers” also receive a small dose of attention – after all.

Old bugs, new hope?

However, as is so often the case, the actual work is overshadowed by PR-speak. In the bugfix section, Intel is finally doing away with a few well-known annoyances. The annoying crash problem with “Returnal” as soon as ray tracing is activated seems to have been fixed for the time being. “Fragpunk” has been freed from its black texture corruptions, and the new Flight Simulator 2024 now also rarely loses its nerve in the air. With the integrated GPUs of the new Core Ultra Series 2, at least PugetBench for Photoshop has been addressed – previously there were reproducible error messages. Topaz Video AI should also no longer render in energy-saving mode, but finally deliver the promised performance.

Where there is light, there is much shadow

All of this sounds like progress, but the devil is in the detail – and this is where Intel traditionally has the most unfinished business. Anything that hasn’t been improved is immediately declared a “known issue”. “Fortnite”, for example, continues to crash consistently when the performance mode is selected. In “Broken Arrow” and “PEAK” there are still text flickering and performance drops. Popular titles such as “Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0” or “Black Ops 6” also continue to show visual corruptions – preferably in water scenarios. And while XeSS is impressive in theory, it reliably causes system crashes in “Naraka Bladepoint”. Even optimized benchmarking doesn’t help when it regularly crashes during gameplay.

The software is also weak

But it’s not just games that cause problems. Even applications such as Adobe Premiere Pro now stop working when trying to use audio features. Anyone who believes that at least Intel’s own software is exempt from such bugs will soon be proven wrong. The “Intel Graphics Software”, for example, sometimes provides incorrect hardware information and often crashes when settings are reset under Windows 10. The FPS limiter regularly refuses to work in conjunction with VSync and Low Latency Mode. The “Enhanced Power Savings” option does not appear at all on some systems. In short: it remains a grab bag with the occasional explosive device.

Between hope and hardware frustration

All in all, the beta driver 101.6972 is a classic Intel throw: ambitious, helpful in parts, but far from mature. Yes, you can see the movement in the development – above all because you could hardly have positioned yourself worse from the status quo of the last few months. The colleagues from TechPowerUp summarize it soberly: Progress is being delivered within the realms of the possible, but the road to a competitive GPU platform is still a long one. For Arc users, the motto remains: either stoic endurance or a firm belief in the big update miracle.

Source: TechPowerUP