Not too long ago, the notion of Intel getting into the world of discrete graphics cards seemed ludicrous. Intel?! The same company that killed its last major GPU project in 2009 and spent the 2010s focusing on weak integrated graphics? The same one that turned to AMD when it needed a decent GPU to sit alongside its CPU for enthusiast laptops?

But after tempting Raja Koduri away from AMD, the engineer who spearheaded the powerful-yet-inexpensive Radeon RX480, it started to seem like Intel was finally getting serious about gaming GPUs. Since then, the company's new Xe graphics have beefed up its notebook CPUs and popped up in the DG1 card for developers.

Intel Arc A750 GPU

Intel Arc A750 GPU

Now comes the real test: Can Koduri and the Intel crew actually make GPUs gamers will want? After spending some time with the Arc A750 and A770 , it's clear that the company has developed cards that can easily take on NVIDIA and AMD's alternatives. But most importantly, they're aiming to deliver that power a lower price. The A750 is launching at $289, while the A770 starts at $329 (with a Limited Edition card at $349).

Theoretically, that puts the A770 on par with the RTX 3060's original price. But thanks to the wild GPU market, NVIDIA's card currently goes for around $400. We've yet to see how retailers will price Intel's cards, but the company's representatives have claimed they're pushing stores to stick to their low launch pricing. If that's the case, Intel's Arc GPUs will end up being something truly rare in the video card world today: good deals.

I was impressed the moment I opened the Arc A750 and A770 boards sent for review. After testing Intel's recent NUC Extreme systems, I was expecting some fairly practical-yet-dull gamer chic. But these cards are genuinely sleek. They're well-built, have a finger print-free matte finish, and aside from the modest LEDs around the A770's fans, there's no annoying bling in sight. These certainly don't feel like Intel's first consumer graphics cards. They're more like stealth bombers built with the express purpose of obliterating NVIDIA and AMD's price-performance ratios.