Intel Arc... Firmware requires Intel/Intel

It looks like it only requires the Intel ME in order to update the GPU's firmware.

I guess you could use it on a non-intel system, and transfer it over to an intel system if you need a firmware update, but that would be a pain in the ass.

Honestly, interchangeability of components is one of the bedrocks of why the PC has been successful.

Any lock-outs or lock-ins are just a bad idea, and amount to market manipulation, IMHO.
 
It looks like it only requires the Intel ME in order to update the GPU's firmware.

I guess you could use it on a non-intel system, and transfer it over to an intel system if you need a firmware update, but that would be a pain in the ass.

Honestly, interchangeability of components is one of the bedrocks of why the PC has been successful.

Any lock-outs or lock-ins are just a bad idea, and amount to market manipulation, IMHO.
Indeed. I get that most people rarely if ever flash a GPU firmware.
But if any companies GPUs would end up needing a firmware update at some point... :)
 
Indeed. I get that most people rarely if ever flash a GPU firmware.
But if any companies GPUs would end up needing a firmware update at some point... :)

Agreed.

I wonder though. I suspect many GPU's flash firmware in the background during driver updates, don't they?

I feel like my 6900xt does this, judging by the fact that my "more power tool" settings get reset with new driver installs.

I'm not entirely clear on where the more power settings reside though. Might just be in the registry, but the tool does depend on having the GPU's firmware....
 
Indeed. I get that most people rarely if ever flash a GPU firmware.
But if any companies GPUs would end up needing a firmware update at some point... :)
That. Gamers without a budget, like myself, may keep cards for years. I never needed to do a firmware update on mine. However... Intel lauched an entirely new product that already had some public disbelief before even reaching the shelves. It'd be very dumb from them to require coupling with their cpus to do anything on such cards.
 
Whelp, that's...bad. I was thinking about getting one of these for another PC (not my main) but not if it's locked to Intel for FW updates.
 
Agreed.

I wonder though. I suspect many GPU's flash firmware in the background during driver updates, don't they?

I feel like my 6900xt does this, judging by the fact that my "more power tool" settings get reset with new driver installs.

I'm not entirely clear on where the more power settings reside though. Might just be in the registry, but the tool does depend on having the GPU's firmware....
I'm pretty sure MPT works in Windows. If there was VBIOS access, I bet the RAM clock lock would be bypassed.
 
Update: Intel reached out to say firmware updating will work on AMD platforms, but awaiting to hear futher details / answers to questions given the statements on Fwupd with the Intel-authored firmware updating plugin, etc, to see if it's currently implemented or just planned for the future.
 
GPU's almost never need a firmware update. Only one in 20 years I can think of was the firmware that enabled resize bar. None of my previous nVidia gpu's going back to TNT2 have ever needed a bios flash. Don't think the couple of ATI's ever needed one either.

Doesn't mean that people don't flash for a variety of reasons.. mining bios comes to mind, or people wanting to use different clocks, etc. But flashing for new features or bug fixes, very rare. But since Arc is a new product, it's possible there might be a couple of bios revisions to iron out early bugs. But I suspect this is a non-issue.
 
GPU's almost never need a firmware update.

I've had to modify firmware on dozens of cards because idiot AIBs pushed the core/mem clocks too hard, which would make the card unstable. And it's not some huang-lo wofat noname card, I've had to do this on Asus, Gigabyte, Sapphire, Zotac, etc. cards.

They could get away with it on new cards, but as the cards aged and the specs on various components changed slightly, suddenly it wasn't fine anymore and artifacting galore.

Then there's stupid fan curves. "let's set the fan not to do anything at all until GPU core reaches 110C and the fan is melting off the card THEN we'll turn it on" - This was more common in Laptops, but I've had a fair few cards through my hands with super bad fan curves.
 
From Intel:

Intel Arc doesn't require the host CSME to update firmware. Firmware updates will work on both AMD or Intel platforms. Arc has its own Graphics Security Control for firmware updates leveraging existing technology like HECI interface protocol to implement the firmware update flow.
 
Agreed.

I wonder though. I suspect many GPU's flash firmware in the background during driver updates, don't they?

I feel like my 6900xt does this, judging by the fact that my "more power tool" settings get reset with new driver installs.

I'm not entirely clear on where the more power settings reside though. Might just be in the registry, but the tool does depend on having the GPU's firmware....
I don't think they would flash it in the background without the users knowledge. It is something that could brick your PC. 3xxx series is the first time I was ever asked to flash the bios. That was through evega precision tune for SAM.
 
Just noticed that Intel has responded... that you should be able to update firmware on AMD. Of course that isn't what the software actually says... and doesn't appear to be the way it works. But hey perhaps its a just a messy work in progress like everything else Intel GPU right now.
 
I've had to modify firmware on dozens of cards because idiot AIBs pushed the core/mem clocks too hard, which would make the card unstable. And it's not some huang-lo wofat noname card, I've had to do this on Asus, Gigabyte, Sapphire, Zotac, etc. cards.

They could get away with it on new cards, but as the cards aged and the specs on various components changed slightly, suddenly it wasn't fine anymore and artifacting galore.

Then there's stupid fan curves. "let's set the fan not to do anything at all until GPU core reaches 110C and the fan is melting off the card THEN we'll turn it on" - This was more common in Laptops, but I've had a fair few cards through my hands with super bad fan curves.
Lol at the made up non-name chinese crap brand!
I had a zotac start artifacting too. it was under warranty, I RMA'd it. But yeah, they had some stupid high clocks on that card... haven't considered Zotac since.

But frequency changes and fan curves, you can do all of that in Afterburner.

But really? Dozens?
 
But frequency changes and fan curves, you can do all of that in Afterburner.

But really? Dozens?

Software controlled clocks and fan curves is great and all, but you have to be on Windows and rely on said software always behaving properly, between driver updates and other software changes. Not very reliable.

And yes, dozens. I do PC repair, and I've had to fix dozens of customer cards. It's not really realistic to say "OK, your card won't die if you <insert long list of complex procedure list>". Most PC gamers are not technical, they just want to turn their rig on and game, not get down and dirty debugging hardware problems for hours. That's why they pay me, to fix their problems and deliver the simplest solution for them.

Fixing the video cards BIOS is the best solution, and it will keep working if the owner transfers it to another machine, reinstalls Windows or sells it on to someone else.
 
Back
Top