Intel ARC A770 doesn't perform in EGPU Configuration

[tagarista89]

Hi Team,

Yesterday i made a upgrade from Amd R9-290X to Intel Arc A770.

I'm using in External GPU using the thunderbolt4/usb4 connection.

The video card was successfully detected and the latest available driver installed (i used the ddu unistaller and after installed the new driver).

I'm playing Elden Ring at 1080p with the following configurations and making these fps:

1080p medium detail : 10fps max 34 fps - ARC A770

1080p medium detail : 27fps max 40fps - AMD R9-290X

1080p high detail : 10fps max 34 fps - ARC A770

1080p extreme detail : 10fps max 34 fps - ARC A770

The video card independent of the graphics configuration I play on seems to perform the same and during play it has drops in frame rate making the game unplayable.

I already know that ARC doesn't perform well without REBAR (and Dell will not activate the rebar option in my notebook) but the feeling I have is that the video card does not communicate well or that it is not optimized in the EGPU configuration and it is not possible that an R9-290X (released in 2013) performs better compared to an ARC A770 (even considering the REBAR is not active).

I noticed also that even loading games with the ARC A770 are slower compared to the old AMD R9-290X.

Attached the ssu.

Regards

[tagarista89]

The Memory Read is using full bandwith available in thunderbolt4 but the memory write has 1gbit/s drop performance.

With R9-290X
1. Memory Read  2607MB

2. Memory Write 2609MB

Why with Intel ARC A770 is much slower in memory write?

Regards

[tagarista89]

AMD Radeon R9-290X seems work better in memory Read and Memory write.

Why the Intel ARC is slower during the operation in memory read and write? also considered RebarOFF and Thunderbolt4 limit throughtput.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hi tagarista89!

Thank you for reaching out to us. We noticed that you are using an External GPU using the the thunderbolr4/usb connection. We have taken this feedback and we want to let you know, that Arc Alchemist graphics card was not intended to be used for eGPU configurations but was aimed for desktop applications. You may visit this article for reference Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics – Desktop Quick Start Guide.  Here is the link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000091128/graphics.html

However, we want to further check the slow performance of your Arc A770 and as such, we'll be discussing this further with our engineers. We'll give you an update on or before January 23, 2024. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[RamyerM_Intel]

Thank you for patiently waiting. Since the rebar is not enabled in the system, this could be one of the possible reasons why you are experiencing a low performance issue, however I still want to further check this for you. As such, please share the following information: 

1. Is the issue also present on other games? 
2. Please also send a screenshot of the current game settings 
3. Is the issue happening when playing Elden Ring offline and online?

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[tagarista89]

Hi Ramyer M,

i'll answer your question below:

1. Is the issue also present on other games? Yes also with fallguys (always compared with R9-290X)
2. Please also send a screenshot of the current game settings : i tried with three settings : 1080P LOW, 1080P Medium and 1080P high seems the drop framerate is not depending with the settings that i tried.
3. Is the issue happening when playing Elden Ring offline and online? Yes online and offline.

I think that the principal problem is the "memory write" is too slow, compared with amd R9-290X, and could be impact in the games.

My current configuration is : EGPU connected with  Thunderbolt 4 (theorically 40Gbit/s) with Intel reach only 1.7GB/s and AMD reach 2.9GB/s (you can see the screenshot posted in the old messages).

Probably the Intel driver is not optimized for EGPU configuration, another difference is the AMD driver can permit detach of video card without incurring a crash and intel don't permit the detach safety of video card.

Best Regards,

Nicola Battista

[RamyerM_Intel]

Thank you for your prompt response. For now, it is best if we continue investigating this further. As such kindly please give us until January 29, 2024 to further check into this concern. Thank you. 

[RamyerM_Intel]

We appreciate your patience and your cooperation. Our engineers have confirmed that the Intel® Arc™ A770 Graphics is optimized for desktop use and not for eGPU use. This explains why you may encounter some performance issues when using it as an eGPU component for some games.

To avoid these issues, we recommend that you use the arc in a standard desktop. You will enjoy the full potential of the A770, which meets and exceeds the system requirements of Elden ring. You can also refer to our desktop quick start guide to optimize the performance of the arc in all applications located at this link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000091128/graphics.html

If you encounter any issues while using the arc in a standard desktop setup, kindly please let us know so we can further troubleshoot it for you. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hi tagarista89, 

I am just checking in if you encountered any issues using the standard desktop setup. 

If you do, kindly please let us know so we can further troubleshoot it for you.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello tagarista89,

As we have not heard a response in the past few days, we will proceed in closing this thread. If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[tagarista89]

Hi, Ramyer M. 

With standard desktop setup, tried with a desktop pc of my friend,  with Rebar enabled it works pretty well.

It's sad to hear that Intel Arc solutions in EGPU mode were not designed even though my notebook uses PCIe tunneling with thunderbolt (I remember that it is an Intel designed and proprietary technology and allows the use of the GPU via thunderbolt) it is not possible to take advantage of the video card that Intel itself designed.

Unfortunately I don't have space to have a desktop computer and notebook and an EGPU was a fair compromise between space and performance.

A real shame given that it could have gained, even if small, a particular slice of the market.

Thanks again for your support.

Regards

Nicola

[NormanS_Intel]

Hello tagarista89,

I understand your frustration that Intel Arc graphics do not support eGPU, even though your notebook has PCIe tunneling with Thunderbolt. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you, as I know you have limited space and an eGPU was a good option for you. Intel Arc are aimed at delivering high-end gaming and content creation experiences on desktop PCs, but they are not compatible with EGPUs at this time.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored or you can contact our technical support team using this link:  https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/contact-intel.html#support-intel-products_80939:227960 

Thank you for your feedback and your interest in Intel Arc. We appreciate your support and we hope to provide you with more options in the future.

Best regards,

Norman S.
Intel Customer Support Engineer