Intel has launched a non-WHQL — "beta" driver update for Arc Alchemist discrete GPUs and Iris Xe iGPUs, adding several game stability improvements for Starfield. The update doesn't add full support for the game, but at the very least, it will make the game playable on Arc Alchemist, some of the best graphics cards, unlike previous driver revisions.
Intel's documentation reveals that the graphics driver package has been temporarily increased significantly to reduce game loading times in Starfield. This driver has also patched several Starfield game instability and visual artifact bugs. However, Intel notes Arc gamers will see the most stability when utilizing the High graphics preset or lower.
Intel also confirmed that further development efforts to improve Starfield's compatibility with Arc GPUs will arrive in future driver updates. This should mean we'll finally see a full-blown WHQL "game-ready" driver update for Starfield shortly. Besides the patch notes for Starfield, Intel also added game-ready support for Synced in this latest driver update.
Gameplay issues surrounding Starfield and Intel's Arc Alchemist graphics cards sprung up a few days ago when Intel issued a post (Tweet) confirming the game has serious stability issues on Arc GPUs. At worst, compatibility issues with the game prevented Starfield from running on Arc cards, preventing some Arc gamers from playing the game. Unlike AMD and Nvidia, the problem was that Intel never released a game-ready driver update for Starfield before the game's early access launch.
DLSS 2 Upscaling Makes Its Way To Starfield Thanks To Modders
In other news, famous DLSS modder PureDark officially launched his DLSS 2 upscaling mod for free for all GeForce RTX Starfield gamers. PureDark also has a DLSS 3-frame generation mod for Starfield, but it's only accessible to Patreon members. According to demos by MxBenchmarkPC on YouTube, the DLSS mod provides better image stability than FSR and native resolution with TAA enabled while delivering the same performance as FSR 2.
The same YouTuber also demoed PureDark's Frame generation mod and found it provides a healthy boost in FPS. According to his specific testing at 4K with an RTX 4080, his frame rate jumped from 55 FPS with DLSS enabled to 81 FPS with frame gen enabled.
These new DLSS mods are great to see since the game only comes with FSR 2 support. The game is highly demanding on computer hardware, making it challenging to achieve 60 FPS on most GPUs without some upscaling, so PureDark's new DLSS mods will come in handy for GeForce gamers who want the same performance uplift as FSR 2 but prefer DLSS's superior image quality. The DLSS 3 frame generation mod is a nice bonus for users who don't mind DLSS 3's hit to system latency.
