Intel Meteor Lake With Arc Integrated GPU & XeSS Delivers Up To 2x FPS In Dying Light 2

Intel has showcased a new demo of its Meteor Lake CPUs with Arc-integrated graphics running Dying Light 2 while using XeSS technology.

The demo which was shown during the Intel Tech Tour Malaysia, showcased an undisclosed Intel Meteor Lake (1st Gen Core Ultra) CPU running Dying Light 2. Dying Light 2 is a AAA game with some pretty decent graphics and what Intel showed were two identical systems running at the same TDP of around 28-30W. The test was specifically chosen to showcase the graphics performance of Intel's upcoming Arc Alchemist integrated graphics architecture which is featured within the Meteor Lake GPU tile.

The Intel Meteor Lake system on the left was running Dying Light 2 at a native resolution of 1080p while the system on the right was running the XeSS Quality preset which uses an internal 720p resolution and upscales it to 1080p (1.5x scaling factor). Intel Arc has so far only been available in discrete form factor so this is the first time we are actually seeing integrated Arc GPUs in action.

Just like the Arc discrete family, the Alchemist architecture for Meteor Lake CPUs also comes with support for a range of features such as ray tracing and XeSS. The XeSS technology is a major and crucial component for integrated graphics since it can deliver big boosts to performance and can help drive 60+ FPS in 1080p gaming scenarios with a decent mix of settings.

This demo shows exactly that with the Intel Meteor Lake Arc integrated graphics delivering up to a 2x boost in FPS at the same wattage. In some cases, the boost can fall down to 20-30% but it stays over 50% through the majority of the demo which is a good thing and this is XeSS Quality preset so we can expect even more performance using Balanced and Performance modes.

AMD's RDNA 3 GPUs also feature FSR support which helps drive significant performance gains over the native res and that makes Phoenix APUs one of the fastest chips around when comparing integrated graphics performance.

This will also play a crucial role in upcoming handheld tablets and consoles which are going to see a major adoption for Meteor Lake CPUs. Currently, AMD is the undisputed king of this segment but it was recently seen that some manufacturers have started adopting Intel's Meteor Lake chips for their upcoming handhelds which might become a viable alternative and one that heats up the handheld market.

With Meteor Lake, Intel is aiming to secure that leadership and tackle both AMD APUs and NVIDIA's entry-level discrete GPUs. Intel didn't share the actual performance numbers but it is likely that we will see them in the coming months as we get closer to the launch of Meteor Lake which is on the 14th of December.