Raja Koduri, a prominent figure in the PC hardware industry, has had an illustrious career, having developed cutting-edge graphics processing architectures for companies like AMD and Apple. In 2017, he joined Intel to spearhead the creation of the Visual Computing Group and currently serves as the Executive Vice President and GM of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group. Since then, Koduri has led the development of Xe, a new scalable architecture that powers a range of products offering impressive graphics and parallel compute capabilities. Xe can be found in diverse applications, from the upcoming Aurora supercomputer to the recently launched Arc GPUs.
Gadgets 360 had the opportunity to chat with Raja Koduri during Intel’s ConnectiON conference in India, where he shared his insights on Arc’s presence in the Indian market and more. Let’s dive into his thoughts.
Q: Arc had a relatively low-key launch in India. Can you discuss the adoption you’ve witnessed and any specific challenges you’ve faced in the Indian market?
Raja Koduri: I believe we will change the perception of Arc’s launch in India starting today. We have numerous plans, taking a measured approach by targeting different regions. The interest level has been extremely high, and we are focused on establishing more partnerships in India to ensure wider availability and competitive pricing. So, 2023 will witness a significant increase in Arc’s presence with various variations. This being the first discrete GPU launch in the ecosystem, we want to proceed step by step. Personally, I am excited to interact with the gaming community and hear their perspectives while exploring the state of PC gaming in India.
Q: When you mention more is coming in 2023 and additional board partners, does that imply the arrival of the next generation?
Raja Koduri: I won’t delve much into Battlemage, but Arc itself has considerable potential for expansion. You can expect updates and variations, as we aim to set the right price point for the Indian market. Although we believe we have achieved a good price point globally, we want to accurately cater to India’s needs. We also want to enhance the presence of Arc in pre-built systems, which have the highest demand. The Indian market will witness the launch of more flavors of Arc, rather than an entirely new major generation.
Q: Is the focus primarily on retail consumers building their own PCs or on OEMs and prebuilt PCs?
Raja Koduri: Both segments are important, but we engage with OEMs a bit earlier. However, retail DIY consumers are close to my heart, and I am eager to introduce exciting features for Arc in the retail sector over the next few months in India.
Q: Will you adhere to the roadmap for Battlemage and Celestial?
Raja Koduri: Absolutely, we are committed to following the roadmap for Battlemage and Celestial.
Q: Are GPU design cycles similar to CPUs, taking around 24 to 30 months?
Raja Koduri: GPU architecture development is a complex process. Creating a new architecture typically takes around 3-4 years. Nevertheless, once we establish a baseline, iterating on it becomes much faster. Considering our starting point, we aim to iterate quickly to catch up with the competition in every market segment.
Q: Arc GPUs have recently become available in laptops and high-end discrete graphics cards. You mentioned challenges with games that generate excessive draw calls and stated that driver updates could address them. When can we expect these updates, and is the performance meeting your expectations?
Raja Koduri: Absolutely, the updates for DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 are in the pipeline. The DX9 update will be released soon, followed by the DX11 update shortly after. We have some exciting announcements in store. These updates will make a significant impact, improving performance not just by a small margin but in some cases, by a substantial margin.
Q: Intel has mentioned the optimization of the top 100 games that still use DX11 and DX9. Is progress being made, and when can we expect these optimizations to be rolled out?
Raja Koduri: You can anticipate a major update before Christmas.
Editor’s note: Intel released a driver update a few days after this statement, promising up to 79 percent better performance in CS:GO at 1080p, along with specific support for multiple DX9 and DX11 games.
Q: What are the major challenges you face in developing and popularizing Arc?
Raja Koduri: One of the biggest challenges lies in catering to the vast library of old games. DirectX 9, an API introduced in 2002, remains popular even after two decades. Some of these games haven’t received updates in years and may have bugs. The responsibility falls on us to make them work seamlessly with our drivers. Although the users don’t concern themselves with APIs, they expect the games to run smoothly when using an Arc card. Hence, we prioritized making sure these games are compatible throughout the entire stack of properties. We have addressed around 95-96 percent of these issues in our journey leading up to the launch, and we are currently focused on resolving the remaining 1-3 percent.
As we enter 2023, I am optimistic that compatibility challenges faced during Arc’s launch will be largely resolved, allowing users to fully appreciate its remarkable benefits. We offer excellent gaming performance, impressive AV1 encode/decode capabilities, and transcoding performance that surpasses even expensive GPUs in the $1,000 – $1,900 range. Additionally, our advancements in ray tracing and XeSS technology leave us well ahead.
We aimed beyond mere price or performance-per-dollar competitiveness with AMD and Nvidia. Our objective was to enable users to enjoy the perks of AI, media, and gaming without having to invest in expensive hardware. Stable Diffusion, for example, showcases the democratization of AI. Users can download the entire model and create stunning artwork on their PCs, eliminating the need for a costly $2,000 Nvidia GPU. We are excited about these AI applications and believe they will revolutionize workflows for gamers and PC enthusiasts.
Q: Could you elaborate on the role of AI in the PC context?
Raja Koduri: AI has incredible potential, as evident in applications like Stable Diffusion. Users can achieve remarkable artistic creations by leveraging the power of AI on their PCs. With an Arc card, there is no need to invest in a costly $2,000 Nvidia GPU. This exemplifies the democratization of AI, media, and gaming. I have personally explored and enjoyed these AI applications, and I’m excited about the opportunities they bring.
AI holds various applications, and its significance has been a buzzword for the past five years. From a gaming standpoint, running games at 1080p with all features enabled, including ray tracing, used to require purchasing top-tier GPUs. This often resulted in a premium product. However, with our advancements in AI, media, and gaming, we have made these experiences more accessible and affordable to all gamers and PC enthusiasts. The recent release of Stable Diffusion coinciding with Arc’s launch perfectly showcases the connection between AI and gaming, and I’m thrilled to witness this democratic transformation.
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
