Intel unveils Arc G3 handheld gaming chips, set to power Acer Predator Atlas devices

Intel has announced that it is pursuing a new series of custom handheld gaming chips. The company formally introduced the new processors as the Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme on Thursday. The silicon producer has not revealed many details about the chips yet, but reports suggest they may feature two fewer CPU cores than Intel’s Panther Lake laptop chips while still offering a full complement of Xe3 GPU cores for gaming performance.

These new chipsets are expected to power the newly announced Acer Predator Atlas 8 handhelds. Reports indicate that the Atlas 8 will launch in at least two variants — one equipped with the Intel Arc G3 Extreme and Arc B390 graphics, while another may feature the Arc B370 with 10 Xe3 cores.

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Both variants are expected to be paired with 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 7467 MT/s and cooled using what Acer claims is the first metal fan in a handheld gaming device. The cooling setup reportedly features 89 blades and delivers a claimed 10% airflow improvement over competing devices.

The handhelds are expected to weigh around 810 grams with the larger 80 Wh battery pack, while another version with a 60 Wh battery could weigh approximately 770 grams. Reports suggest the higher-end model will likely feature the larger battery option.

Specs and features

The 8-inch display is expected to feature a 1920x1200 IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio in a native landscape orientation. The device is said to offer 500 nits of brightness along with a 48Hz–120Hz variable refresh rate. The screen will reportedly be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus with Corning DXC anti-glare coating, while also covering 100% of the sRGB colour gamut and 77% of Adobe RGB.

The handheld features adjustable hair-trigger stops, two rear buttons, and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button. The device will ship with Windows 11 and Xbox Mode

, alongside up to a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD in the full-length M.2 2280 format.

Specification sheets suggest the handheld could measure roughly one inch thick at its thinnest point and over two inches thick around the grips.

Since the device is based on an Intel platform, it is also expected to include Thunderbolt 4 ports, Intel Wi-Fi 7 support, a UHS-II microSD card reader, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Intel has also named MSI, GPD, and OneXPlayer as partners for the new handheld platform, while MSI is rumoured to be preparing an “MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus” handheld based on the platform.