Arc Alchemist GPU Beats RTX 4060 in SA Benchmarks

For years, the GPU market in South Africa has been a two-horse race. But now, a third challenger is landing serious punches. Intel’s Arc Alchemist GPUs, once considered the underdog, are now trading blows with NVIDIA’s popular RTX 4060, especially on price-to-performance. With massive driver improvements and aggressive pricing, Intel is shaking up the mid-range market. Is it time for local gamers to look beyond the usual suspects for their next big upgrade? Let’s find out. 🥊

Q&A: Intel Arc vs. Team Green

Q: Which Intel Arc GPU is competing with the RTX 4060? A: The main contenders are the Intel Arc A770 and A750. While the A770 is the top-tier Alchemist card, recent benchmarks show both it and the slightly more affordable A750 delivering performance that is highly competitive with the RTX 4060, particularly in modern games that use DirectX 12. For 1080p and even 1440p gaming, it’s a surprisingly even fight.

Q: Is it true that Arc GPUs beat the RTX 4060 in some games? A: Yes, in certain scenarios. Thanks to a series of powerful driver updates, Intel Arc graphics cards often pull ahead in titles built on modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan. In games with well-optimised Ray Tracing implementations, the Arc architecture can also show impressive strength, sometimes outperforming the RTX 4060 frame-for-frame.

Q: What about older games? Is driver support still a problem? A: This was Arc's biggest hurdle at launch, but the situation has improved dramatically through 2024 and 2025. Intel has released dozens of driver updates, massively boosting performance in older DirectX 9 and 11 titles. While there might still be the odd older game that runs better on NVIDIA, the list is shrinking fast. For most gamers, the driver experience is now very solid.

Q: Do I need a special setup to get the best performance from an Arc GPU? A: Yes, this is critical. To unlock the full potential of an Arc GPU, you absolutely must have Resizable BAR (ReBAR) enabled in your motherboard’s BIOS. Without it, performance can be significantly lower. It's a simple switch in your BIOS settings, but it's non-negotiable for getting the performance you paid for.

Q: How does Arc stack up on price in South Africa? A: This is where Intel really wins. Arc GPUs are often priced much more aggressively than their NVIDIA counterparts. It's not uncommon to find an Arc A770 or A750 for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Rand less than an RTX 4060. If you're building a new rig, checking out graphics cards under R7000 will show you just how competitive Arc's pricing is.

Q: What is Intel XeSS and how does it compare to NVIDIA's DLSS? A: XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) is Intel's AI-powered upscaling technology, similar to NVIDIA's DLSS. It renders your game at a lower resolution and then uses AI to intelligently upscale it to your monitor's native resolution, boosting frame rates significantly. The quality is excellent and very comparable to DLSS. A huge advantage is that XeSS is open-source, so it works on a wide range of graphics cards, not just Intel's.

Q: Is now a good time to buy an Arc GPU in SA? A: It’s arguably the best time ever. The drivers are mature, the performance is competitive, and the value for money is outstanding. For gamers looking for maximum 1080p or 1440p performance without emptying their wallets, taking a look at the Arc GPUs currently in stock with Evetech is a very smart move.

Key Takeaways

• Competitive Performance: The Arc A770 and A750 now trade blows with the RTX 4060, especially in modern DirectX 12 games.
• Price is King: Intel is offering incredible value, with Arc cards often being significantly cheaper in ZAR than their direct NVIDIA competitors.
• Drivers Have Matured: Early driver issues with older games have been largely fixed, making Arc a reliable choice for a wide library of titles.
• ReBAR is Mandatory: You MUST enable Resizable BAR in your BIOS to get the expected performance from any Arc GPU.
• Excellent Features: With strong Ray Tracing capabilities and the impressive, open-source XeSS upscaling tech, Arc is a feature-complete modern GPU.