Sparkle Becomes Official Intel Arc AIC Partner, GPUs Start at $139
After taking a long hiatus from the graphics card game, Sparkle Computer is making a comeback with Intel. The brand is now an official Intel Arc AIC partner, and the custom Arc Arc Alchemist offerings, among the best graphics cards, will be available in America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions.
For the uninitiated, Sparkle Computer is a veteran manufacturer in the computer hardware industry. Founded in 1982, the company has over 40 years of experience producing graphics cards, motherboards, power supplies, Thunderbolt eGPU, and docking stations. The graphics card market may have forgotten about Sparkle Computer; admittedly, the company has been absent from the graphics card market for almost a decade now. The last Sparkle graphics card on the retail market was from the Nvidia GeForce GTX 700-series (Maxwell), launched in 2014.
Instead of returning with a bang with Nvidia or AMD, Sparkle Computer opted for the underdog. The company will be one of a handful of manufacturers to offer custom Intel Arc A770, A750, A380, and A310 graphics cards. Sparkle Computer will commercialize Arc Alchemist graphics cards under four distinct product lines: Titan, Orc, Elf, and Genie. Logically, the Titan-branded models will deliver the best performance with factory overclocks and robust cooling solutions. Sparkle Computer includes a limited VGA holder for Titan-series graphics cards. The Orc and Elf series featured slightly toned-down design and features, whereas the Genie series sticks to only the essentials with low-profile configurations.
Sparkle Computer has officially launched the Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition, Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Orc OC Edition, and Sparkle Intel Arc A380 Elf. However, the company is in the long haul, so more models are already in the pipeline. At Computex 2023, we've seen the flagship Sparkle Intel Arc A770 Titan OC Edition, several Arc A310 and A380 industrial models, an Arc A370 MXM module, and an Arc A770 liquid-cooled prototype with a pre-installed water block.
The Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition is a 2.5-slot graphics card with a length of 12.02 inches (305.5mm). The triple-fan cooling solution utilizes three AXL fans that only spin up during heavy workloads. Sparkle Computer's testing reportedly shows that the brand's cooling solution keeps the Arc A750 up to five degrees Celsius cooler than the rival cooler on Intel's Arc A750 Limited Edition.
The Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition also comes with ThermalSync. This patented thermal sensor changes the color of the LED light bar depending on the temperature of the graphics card.
Staying true to its model name, the Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition rocks a 2,200 MHz boost clock, 150 MHz higher than the reference specification. It features dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors, so a 650W power supply is the minimum capacity to power the Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition. The graphics card also delivers one HDMI 2.0 port and three DisplayPort 2.0 outputs for connecting monitors.
On the other hand, the Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Orc OC Edition has a more compact design. It's a 2.2-slot graphics card that measures 9.74 inches (222mm) long. As a result, the graphics card arrives with a dual-fan cooler instead of the triple-fan layout on the Titan. It has the same ThermalSync technology and identical specifications to the Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition.
The Sparkle Intel Arc A380 Elf rounds out Sparkle Computer's initial Arc retail lineup. The graphics card matches your typical dual-slot design with a single cooling fan. It's only 6.01 inches (152.6mm) long and will fit inside the majority of modern computer cases. The graphics card boosts up to 2,000 MHz and has no auxiliary power connectors. A 450W power supply is sufficient to feed the Sparkle Intel Arc A380 Elf. The display layout resembles Sparkle Computer's custom Arc A750 SKUs.
Sparkle Intel Arc graphics card purchases are eligible for Intel's gaming and create software bundle, which has a $300+ value. The bundle comes with free copies of Gotham Knights and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, as well as a six-month subscription to MAGIX Video Pro X14, a three-month subscription to XSplit Premium Suite, and a free download for Topaz Gigapixel AI.
The Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Titan OC Edition and Sparkle Intel Arc A750 Orc OC Edition retail for $259.99 and $239.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the Sparkle Intel Arc A380 Elf has a $139.99 price tag.
