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Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

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Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#81

Post by cmxch »

mythz wrote: post #73

Really confused why the Intel and AMD both continue to struggle and yet still refuse to offer what Nvidia wont, i.e. high ram consumer GPUs. I'd much prefer paying 3x cost for 3x VRAM (48GB/$1047), 6x cost for 6x VRAM (96GB/$2094), 12x cost for 12x VRAM (192GB/$4188), etc. They'd sell like hotcakes and software support would quickly improve. At 16GB I'd still prefer to pay a premium for NVidia GPUs given its superior…

Maxsun does offer a high VRAM (48GB) dual Arc Pro B60, but the only US availability has it on par with a 5090 at ~$3000.

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#83

Post by cmxch »

syntaxing wrote: post #39
adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably better off with the incoming B60 which has 24GB vram.

There’s a 48GB B60 already [1] but it’s definitely a significant amount more than 3X B50 pro (you obviously get way better performance). [1] https://www.maxsun.com/products/intel-arc-pro-b60-dual-48g-t...

No good if the cost is identical to a 5090.

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#84

Post by PostOnce »

cmxch wrote: post #81
mythz wrote: post #73

Really confused why the Intel and AMD both continue to struggle and yet still refuse to offer what Nvidia wont, i.e. high ram consumer GPUs. I'd much prefer paying 3x cost for 3x VRAM (48GB/$1047), 6x cost for 6x VRAM (96GB/$2094), 12x cost for 12x VRAM (192GB/$4188), etc. They'd sell like hotcakes and software support would quickly improve. At 16GB I'd still prefer to pay a premium for NVidia GPUs given its superior…

Maxsun does offer a high VRAM (48GB) dual Arc Pro B60, but the only US availability has it on par with a 5090 at ~$3000.

I think that's actually two GPUs on one card, and not a single GPU with 48GB VRAM

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#86

Post by kube-system »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #74
mythz wrote: post #73

Really confused why the Intel and AMD both continue to struggle and yet still refuse to offer what Nvidia wont, i.e. high ram consumer GPUs. I'd much prefer paying 3x cost for 3x VRAM (48GB/$1047), 6x cost for 6x VRAM (96GB/$2094), 12x cost for 12x VRAM (192GB/$4188), etc. They'd sell like hotcakes and software support would quickly improve. At 16GB I'd still prefer to pay a premium for NVidia GPUs given its superior…

they don't manufacture RAM, so none of the margin goes to them

They sell the completed card, which has margin. You can charge more money for a card with more vram.

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#87

Post by adgjlsfhk1 »

grim_io wrote: post #60
adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AMD has more FP16 and FP64 flops (but ~1/2 the FP32 flops). Also the AMD is at half the TDP (300 vs 600 W)

FP16+ doesn't really matter for local LLM inference, no one can run reasonably big models at FP16. Usually the models are quantized to 8/4 bits, where the 5090 again demolishes the w7900 by having a multiple of max TOPS.

with 48 GB of vram you could run a 20b model at fp16. It won't be a better GPU for everything, but it definitely beats a 5090 for some use case. It's also a generation old, and the newer rx9070 seems like it should be pretty competitive with a 5090 from a flops perspective, so a workstation model with 32 gb of vram and a less cut back core would be interesting.

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#88

Post by emmelaich »

bitmasher9 wrote: post #5

It’s interesting that it uses 4 Display Ports and not a single HDMI. Is HDMI seen as a “gaming” feature, or is DP seen as a “workstation” interface? Ultimately HDMI is a brand that commands higher royalties than DP, so I suspect this decision was largely chosen to minimize costs. I wonder what percentage of the target audience has HDMI only displays.

My monitor does 165Hz with DP, only 150 with HDMI.

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#89

Post by doctorpangloss »

nullc wrote: post #75
doctorpangloss wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they don't manufacture RAM, so none of the margin goes to them

Even if they put out some super high memory models and just pass the ram through at cost it would increase sales -- potentially quite dramatically and increase their total income a lot and have a good chance of transitioning to being a market leader rather than an also-ran. AMD has lagged so long because of the software ecosystem but the climate now is that they'd only need to support a couple popular model architect…

the whole RAM industry was twice sanctioned for price fixing, so I agree: any business that deals with RAM has, more likely than other industries by a lot, anti-competitive collusion

Re: Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU Launched at $349 for Compact Workstations

#90

Post by dangus »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #70
dangus wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the answer for you, Intel's GPU chips are on TSMC's process. They are not made in Intel-owned fabs. There really is no such thing as "buying American" in the computer hardware industry unless you are talking about the designs rather than the assembly. There are also critical parts of the lithography process that depend on US technology, which is why the US is able to enforce certain sanctions (and due to some…

Thanks for that perspective. I am just in a place of puzzling why none of this says Made in USA on it. I can get socks and tshirts woven in north carolina which is nice, and furniture made in illinois. That's all a resurgence of 'arts & craft' I suppose, valuing a product made in small batches by someone passionate about quality instead of just getting whatever is lowest cost. Suppose there's not much in the way of a…

I would go even further than that and point out that the US still makes plenty of cheap or just "normal" priced, non-artisan items! You'll actually have a hard time finding grocery store Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) made outside of the US and Canada - things like dish soap, laundry detergent, paper products, shampoo, and a whole lot of food.

I randomly thought of paint companies as another example, with Sherwin-Williams and PPG having US plants.

The US is still the #2 manufacturer in the world, it's just a little less obvious in a lot of consumer-visible categories.

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