Key Points
- Intel’s new Core Ultra X9 chip can play Battlefield 6 at 190 fps without a dedicated GPU.
- The high frame rates are achieved using Intel’s XeSS3 AI upscaling technology.
- Intel claims the new GPU is 80% faster than AMD’s competing integrated graphics.
- The performance is comparable to a mobile Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card.
Intel’s built-in graphics have come a very long way. At a recent demo, I played the demanding new game Battlefield 6 at up to 190 frames per second on a Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 laptop. The surprising part? The laptop didn’t have a dedicated graphics card. All of that power was coming from the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H’s built-in Arc B390 GPU.
Now, there is a bit of a trick to this. The game ran so well because of Intel’s XeSS3 AI upscaling technology, which uses AI to boost frame rates. But even with that in mind, the performance was impressive. I was playing on a TV with a controller, and the gameplay felt incredibly smooth. I didn’t notice any of the lag that has plagued earlier versions of this kind of “frame generation” technology.
The game’s visuals, including shadows, lighting, and explosions, all looked flawless. If you didn’t know better, you would think the game was running on a PlayStation 5 or a dedicated gaming PC.
However, this kind of performance won’t be available on all of Intel’s new chips. Only the high-end X7 and X9 models include the Arc B390 graphics. The rest of the new Core Ultra 3 lineup will have the more standard, less powerful Intel graphics.
Intel claims the new B390 is about 80% faster than the graphics built into AMD’s latest Ryzen chips and offers performance comparable to a mobile Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU. If these claims hold up in real-world testing, it could be a game-changer for casual gamers who want to play the latest titles without shelling out for an expensive, bulky gaming laptop.
