With the release of a new driver that brings support to the recently released 13th generation CPUs, Intel has updated Arc Control, its Arc Control management center, solving one of the main criticisms leveled at the solution by adding an optional windowed mode. Before the update, the program only worked in overlay mode, occupying the entire screen and preventing interaction with other windows, even though it was possible to observe the rest of the open programs.
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Confirming rumors that circulated this week, Intel launched today (1) a major update for Arc Control allowing the user to enable the mode in which the application starts to run in windowed mode, instead of just working in overlay (when an interface occupies the entire the screen, preventing interaction with other programs). As has been speculated, the overlay format has not been completely removed — in the application settings, the options “Desktop and Overlay”, “Disable overlay” and “Disable desktop” are offered.
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Intel Arc Control in Windowed Mode
Renan da Silva Dores/FreeGameGuide
Depending on the option selected by the user, Intel’s software will work in both formats, only in windowed mode or only in overlay mode, thus serving both users who complained and those who sympathized with the old format. The giant also seems to have worked to optimize the performance of the solution, which opens and searches for driver updates faster.
The improved Intel Arc Control arrives as part of the company’s efforts to improve the quality of drivers, whose situation at launch was heavily criticized, especially for the lack of robust support for games with older graphics APIs, such as DirectX 9 or even the relatively new DirectX 11. The brand has struggled ever since, getting good results on the journey. Its last major update, released in December, saw performance improvements of up to 80% on older titles.
Intel drivers gain support for Raptor Lake CPUs
The update was accompanied by the launch of driver number 31.0.101.4091, whose main novelty is support for 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake processors presented during CES 2023, held at the beginning of last month. Highlight is given to the Raptor Lake-P series for notebooks, with a consumption of 28 W, but also present among the new components contemplated are the Raptor Lake-HX series (55 W), Raptor Lake-H (45 W), Raptor Lake- U (15W), Alder Lake-N (5W), plus the 65W Raptor Lake-S for desktops.
As the giant had confirmed during the electronics fair, in addition to having optimizations for recent games and other professional apps, all these components now have access to Arc Control, as well as receiving a special gaming mode that improves battery life and compatibility with XeSS, the upscaling technology with Artificial Intelligence that promises to boost performance in heavier titles.
Source: VideoCardz