Intel Discontinues Deep Link Technology: A Setback for Integrated CPU-GPU Performance

Intel stealthily pulls the plug on Deep Link less than 5 years after launch

You can continue to use the technology, but it will not receive any future updates or support from Intel. Intel has discontinued support for its Deep Link suite of technologies, as confirmed by a representative on GitHub, via X user Haze. After Intel quietly stopped promoting the feature in newer products such as Battlemage, it has now confirmed that active development for Deep Link has ceased. While you still might be able to use Deep Link, Intel has clarified that there will be no future updates or official support from their customer service channels. Deep Link was introduced in late 2020. It allows you to harness the combined power of your Intel CPU and Arc GPU to improve streaming, AI acceleration, and overall efficiency. To utilize Deep Link, you needed an Intel 11th, 12th, or 13th Generation CPU and a dedicated Arc Alchemist GPU. The suite offered four key utilities: Dynamic Power Share, Stream Assist, Hyper Encode, and Hyper Compute. Dynamic Power Share optimizes performance and power by intelligently shifting power resources between the CPU and GPU. Stream Assist improved streaming by offloading the task from the dedicated GPU to the integrated GPU. Hyper Encode accelerated video encoding using multiple Intel processors. Lastly, Hyper Compute leveraged your Intel CPU and GPU to accelerate AI workloads in OpenVINO. These features boosted performance in apps like OBS, DaVinci Resolve, and Handbrake. The user who originated the thread at GitHub could not get Stream Assist up and running with OBS using the latest Arc B580 paired with the Core Ultra 7 265K. Following a month-long wait, a representative relayed that Intel had discontinued software development. It turns out that even Alchemist users had a hard time getting these features working in Handbrake and OBS. It's possible that Intel considered Deep Link a niche feature and deemed the ongoing effort and investment not worthwhile. Besides, most of these features require per-vendor validation. Development was likely dropped a while back, as Meteor Lake, an architecture that dates back to late 2023, is alson't among the supported CPUs.

Intel Drops Support For Deep Link For Intel-Based Systems; Stops Its Maintenance And Future Updates

Intel has reportedly discontinued its Deep Link technology, which now won't receive any updates in the near future. Intel's Deep Link technology, which was released in 2022 at the time of the Arc Alchemist launch, has reportedly reached its end of life. While Intel hasn't announced this officially through a press release, one of its employees has notified users on a GitHub thread that Intel will no longer be maintaining the feature. Zack-Intel wrote in the thread that Deep Link won't be receiving any future updates and will remain in its current form from now on. Actually, this came from an issue raised by a user, SapphireDrew, who asked for help on GitHub regarding the failure of Intel Deep Link. Apparently, he was failing to activate it while using OBS Studio, a software that helps users capture their gameplay or stream it live. An OBS employee replied that this wasn't due to OBS, and it's something that is related to the drivers. Thankfully, Zack-Intel reached out to the user, but confirmed the discontinuation of Deep Link only after a month. Unfortunately, for users who bought the Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs to access the feature, this could be disappointing since the feature was promised to help in performance enhancements on Intel's 1tth gen and newer processors, coupled with Arc Alchemist graphics cards. Hi @SapphireDrew I wanted to reach out to let you know about a change regarding the Intel® Deep Link features. Deep Link is no longer actively maintained and will not be receiving future updates, meaning that there will be no changes to the features regardless of their current functionality status. - Zack-Intel, GitHub Intel explicitly advertises Deep Link as something that improves performance and "...elevate gaming, creating, and streaming". Therefore, discontinuing it suddenly without announcing it officially can be surprising for many. Intel Deep Link is aimed at enhancing the collaboration between the system's CPU and discrete GPU solutions. The feature allocates more CPU/GPU resources to the tasks that need them the most, allowing the systems to be more efficient while also improving performance. Deep Link brings several features for performance enhancements, such as Dynamic Power Share, Hyper Encode, Additive AI, and Stream Assist, all of which focus on different areas to help elevate the user experience. The feature doesn't work on AMD or NVIDIA GPUs and strictly needs an Intel CPU+GPU to remain active. Unfortunately, the feature will now have compatibility issues due to the dropping of maintenance, and while it will still work, users may face various issues that probably won't be fixed by Intel.