The Battlefield 6 Open Beta gave us all a chance to test whether our systems were up to the task of running the game, which has proven particularly dependent on processor performance. We now have a just over a month until launch, and Intel is seizing the opportunity to curry favour among gamers in that time through a new limited-time bundle.
Starting August 25, loads of Intel CPUs and GPUs will come with a complementary digital copy of Battlefield 6. Qualifying products include both desktop and mobile products spanning across several generations.
While I’m sure Intel would prefer you pick up an Arrow Lake processor such as Core Ultra 9 285K, older chips including Core i9-14900K and Core i5-13400F qualify for the bundle. General rule of thumb here is anything Core (Ultra) 5 and above from 13th Gen onwards is fair game.
Meanwhile, all of Intel’s desktop graphics cards from Arc A580 upwards also qualify. The only model worth buying is Arc B580 in my eyes, particularly as the SKU meets Battlefield 6’s recommend system requirements. If you are considering Arc B570 then I strongly recommend reading my review.
I have no issue recommending Arc B580 to those in search of a budget graphics card capable of running Battlefield 6, all the moreso thanks to the game’s support for XeSS 2. Similarly, all of these processors should deliver an enjoyable gameplay experience paired with appropriate GPUs.
However, those in search of a high-end CPU pairing for powerful graphics cards would do well to consider AMD alternatives of the X3D variety. As many demonstrated during the open beta, Battlefield 6 absolutely loves L3 cache.
To put it another way, Core i9-14900K is only ~$10 cheaper than Ryzen 7 9800X3D right now. Paired with RTX 5090, AMD’s CPU is able to deliver frame rates far higher than Intel’s, all while consuming far less power.
You’ve got until September 7 to decide whether you fancy taking Intel up on its offer, during which time I’d mull over the full list of qualifying products. Just remember Battlefield 6 won’t launch until October 10, giving you a month or so to acquaint yourself with your new tech.
For more musings on Intel CPUs and GPUs, and every other bit of silicon under the sun, be sure to follow Club386 on Google News and elsewhere on the web.