Thema "Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver" in Intel® Arc™ Discrete Graphics

Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:54:21 GMT

Having the same problem as many other people here with the ground (especially the sand) gets a lot of artifacts which is extremely distracting and, in my opinion, game-breaking.

It pops in for a split second, then goes away. Sometimes they stay for a little longer, flickering.

* Doesn't matter what I change in the settings, default settings, or change to XeSS, XeSS FG, no lumen, etc.

* I have not seen this behaviour in any other game.

* I have not overclocked anything on my PC except enabling XMP for RAM and Precision Boost Overdrive for CPU.

* I have verified files on Steam, run DDU and did a fresh install of 32.0.101.8626 Intel drivers.

*V-Sync on and FG on

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

Seliente — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:37:59 GMT

Having the same EXACT issue.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-Arc-Discrete-Graphics/Dune-Awakening-Ground-Texture-errors/td-p/1740573

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 11:03:35 GMT

Ok so I tried going back to driver 8509, still get a lot of artifacts and flicker (like the whole dune and other places as well).

I even bought a new SSD and a fresh install of Windows a couple of days ago, so I know it is a driver issue.

It's a known issue, but I would also like a response from Intel saying that a fix is being looked at, and when the driver might be released, because this is extremely distracting.

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

VonM_Intel — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:56:18 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,
Thank you for posting in our Community. It does appear this behavior is related to the graphics driver, given that you’ve observed it across multiple driver versions and with a fresh Windows installation. To help me further check this internally and track it properly, I would like to confirm a few details:

How often do the artifacts appear every few seconds, only during certain camera angles, or randomly?
If you temporarily disable V-Sync or XeSS/FidelityFX options, does the artifact change or disappear?
Have you observed any difference in artifact frequency or severity between drivers 8509 and 8626?
Does this artifact appear in all maps/areas of Dune Awakening, or only in certain locations like the sand dunes?

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.
Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:35:14 GMT

* How often do the artifacts appear every few seconds, only during certain camera angles, or randomly?

It feels like both random and certain camera angles.

* If you temporarily disable V-Sync or XeSS/FidelityFX options, does the artifact change or disappear?

No, nothing happens.

* Have you observed any difference in artifact frequency or severity between drivers 8509 and 8626?

No it feels the same. I've currently gone back to 8136 which removes the artifacts and flickering, but like the latest driver, getting a lot of stuttering and my 0.01% goes down to like below 30 fps, close to like 10-15fps, especially when there is a lot of artifacts on the screen.

* Does this artifact appear in all maps/areas of Dune Awakening, or only in certain locations like the sand dunes?

Mostly the dunes, sometimes the artifacts spread up to the rocks and mountains closest to the dunes.
In caves and other indoor areas it is completely fine.

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

VonM_Intel — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:35:33 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for providing such detailed information. Based on what you've shared, I will need to conduct further research and coordinate internally to better assess the artifacts, flickering, and performance inconsistencies across the different driver versions.

Once I have more information and a clearer direction, I will update you right here on this thread with the next steps or recommendations.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Von M.
Intel Customer Support Technician

Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

JohnM_Intel — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:38:38 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for patiently waiting, I would like to gather a screenshot of the game for replication purposes as this will help with resolving the issue.

Thanks.

Best regards,

John M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 21:32:57 GMT

Went back to the latest driver from 8136 to get these screenshots. Like I said in a previous reply, the artifact flickering is really making the game stutter like mad. And even going back to 8136, it removes the artifacts and the flickering, but still stutters a lot (playable though, which 8626 really isn't.

Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

JohnM_Intel — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:26:57 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for responding, apologize if I did not include this on my last post as I also need a screenshot of the full game settings as I need to have that information for replication.

Thanks.

Best regards,

John M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:41:50 GMT

Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

JohnM_Intel — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:53:47 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for providing the requested information. Once replication is completed on our end, I will provide you with an update so we can further isolate the issue with the game.

Thanks.

Best regards,

John M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

VonM_Intel — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:37:12 GMT

Hello AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for your patience. I would like to let you know that we are currently working on this matter and will provide you with an update as soon as more information becomes available. I truly appreciate your understanding while I investigate this further. In the meantime, could you please update your system to the latest Intel Arc graphics driver version 32.0.101.8629?

Installing the latest driver will help ensure your system is running with the most recent fixes and optimizations while we continue our review.

Once you’ve completed the update, please let us know the result so we can further assist you if needed. Thank you again for your cooperation and patience

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

JohnM_Intel — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:09:54 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for your patience while I worked on this.

I tried to replicate the issue on my end, but I wasn’t able to encounter the same problem you’re experiencing. To help isolate the issue further, could you please try performing a clean installation of your operating system? This will help ensure that there are no corrupted or missing system files causing the behavior.

If possible, you may also share a short video of the issue. That would really help me better understand what’s happening on your end.

I’ll be here to assist you once you’ve had a chance to try these steps.

Thanks.

Best regards,

John M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:54:15 GMT

I have already done a fresh install of Windows since I bought a new 2 TB SSD like 2 weeks ago.

Uploading a video as we speak. Will post shortly.

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:54:58 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmoqZ8xg7Nc

Re:Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

JohnM_Intel — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:13:12 GMT

Hi AbsoluteUnit,

Thank you for providing the video of the issue. Please allow me some time to investigate this internally so I can properly replicate the issue on my end.

Thanks.

Best regards,

John M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

George_Intel — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:25:48 GMT

Hello @AbsoluteUnit ,

I will be providing support for this issue moving forward, and have been able to replicate the issue.

It has been escalated to determine the root cause, I will keep you posted on any updates.

Best Regards,

George

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

George_Intel — Mon, 04 May 2026 19:54:05 GMT

Hello @AbsoluteUnit ,

Just letting you know that there are currently no updates, as a solution is being investigated.

I will keep you posted here if anything changes. Appreciate your patience

Best Regards,

George

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

AbsoluteUnit — Tue, 05 May 2026 05:16:57 GMT

Sounds good! Atleast it's being looked at and not dismissed.

Re: Dune Awakening - Ground Artifacts. 8626 Driver

livix — Wed, 06 May 2026 05:17:21 GMT

But it takes rally long time. More than 1 month. I hope they can fix it dude.