ASRock Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC Debuts in China

Intel launched its first Arc Alchemist desktop graphics card, the A380, as a China-exclusive in mid-June. And now we're starting to see some more add-in-board (AIB) partners rolling out their wares. ASRock has joined the Arc A380 hardware party with its new Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC. At long last, the Gunnir Arc A380 Photon 6GB OC finally has some competition.

ASRock shared the full specs of its new Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC on a dedicated product page on its Chinese site. Like the previously released Gunnir, it is an overclocked (OC) model. Note the ASRock card’s GPU boost clock, at 2,250 MHz, is 200 MHz lower than its twin-fan-cooled rival.

A better cooler can help with sustained max GPU clocks, and — going by the specs — the ASRock, with its 8% slower GPU, will perform noticeably slower than the Gunnir. Chinese reviewers have commented on the Gunnir being a solidly-built model, and perhaps the ASRock Challenger won’t be its strongest erm… challenger. We should also see Arc A380 graphics cards from Intel partners such as Acer, Asus, Gigabyte, HP, and MSI in the coming weeks.

The ASRock card is still 250 MHz faster than reference, enough to merit the product’s OC suffix. The single fan, and lack of thermal mass compared to the Gunnir, means the OC can’t be as impressive here.

ASRock’s card seems to offer slightly slower rated GDDR6. We can’t be certain of this spec right now though — the data is from the official product specification pages, but the bullet point highlights suggest it is 15.5 Mbps GDDR6. In other words, two different values are listed on the same product page.

ASRock has the ITX form factor in its favor; it is still two slots wide, but its 190mm length will help it fit in more compact chassis options. Other features ASRock highlights: the Challenger ITX OC uses an own design striped axial fan for improved airflow. When not under load, the fan will spin down and stop, thanks to ASRock’s 0dB technology. ASRock says it has paid close attention to small details such as thermal paste (it uses nanotech paste), and precise screw torques for optimal heat dissipation.

ASRock’s Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC is on sale now on China’s JD.com for 1,299 Chinese Yuan (roughly $192), including the 13% sales tax. 

It will be interesting to see what other designs come out from other Intel AIBs. However, we are more interested in the promised impending debut of much more powerful Intel Arc Alchemist models like the Intel Arc A750 and Arc A770, which have a much better chance of penetrating our best graphics cards roundup. Intel is going to release some own branded Special Edition reference designs for these cards, too. For more about Intel Arc graphics, please check out our Everything We Know feature.