Intel is certainly giving way to the old-fashioned brand. First it was Sparkle, but now Matrox is jumping on the Intel’s Arc Alchemist bandwagon. The latter has unveiled a brand new Luma series of graphics cards, leveraging Intel’s Arc A310 and Arc A380, one of the best graphics cards on the market.
The Arc A3 series uses ACM-G11 silicon. The difference between the Arc A310 and the Arc A380 comes down to the former having two fewer Xe cores, 2GB less GDDR6 memory, and a limited 64-bit memory interface. As a result, both graphics cards hit the market without much publicity. For example, the Arc A380 was initially only available in China, but Intel then launched the Arc A310 in the quietest way a chip maker could. Matrox is one of the few if not the first vendor to release not just one but two Arc A310s.
The Luma A310 and Luma A310F are low profile graphics cards that fit easily into any Small Form Factor (SFF) system. Matrox includes low profile brackets for these two specific SKUs. The graphics card sticks to a single-slot design with a width of 16.76 cm (6.6 inches). Additionally, the Luma A310 uses a passive cooler, while the Luma A310F relies on a blower-type design with a small cooling fan. The Luma A380 also adheres to the single-slot design. However, this is a full-sized graphics card with a length of 25.38 cm (9.99 inches), so it’s not the best option for SFF systems.
Matrox luminance specifications
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Luma A310 | Luma A310F | Luma A380 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPUs | Intel Arc A310 | Intel Arc A310 | Intel Arc A380 |
| memory | 4GB GDDR6 | 4GB GDDR6 | 6GB GDDR6 |
| interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 (electrical x8) | PCIe 4.0 x16 (electrical x8) | PCIe 4.0 x16 (electrical x8) |
| cooling | passive | Active | Active |
| power consumption | 30W | 50W | 75W |
| video output | 4 x mini display port | 4 x mini display port | 4 x display port |
| form factor | low profile, single slot | low profile, single slot | Full height, single slot |
| size | 16.76×6.86cm | 16.76×6.86cm | 25.38×12.68cm |
All three Luma graphics cards utilize the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. However, it’s important to emphasize that you’re limited to electrically powered x8, so you only get half the bandwidth of the expansion slot.
The Arc A310 and Arc A380 have the same TDP of 75W. For Matrox, the Luma A310 and Luma A310F are 30W and 50W TDP graphics cards respectively. The Arc A380, on the other hand, is compliant with Intel’s 75W reference specification. Either way, the graphics card draws all of its power from the expansion slot, so there’s no need for an external PCIe power connector.
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You can use Matrox’s Luma graphics cards for gaming, but these products are aimed at industrial, digital signage, and medical clients. The Luma A310 and Luma A310F have 4 Mini DisplayPort 2.1 (secure) outputs, while the Luma A380 has 4 standard DisplayPort outputs. This combination can accommodate up to four displays simultaneously. Matrox sells Mini DisplayPort to standard DisplayPort (CAB-MDP-DPF) cables separately. $29.99 (opens in new tab) If the user prefers the latter.
Customers can choose two 8K displays at 60Hz or a 5K display at 120Hz in a dual display setup. However, in quad display configurations, HDR 12b support limits the resolution to 5K at 60Hz. Additionally, the manufacturer includes Matrox PowerDesk and Matrox MuraControl for managing multi-display setups.
Matrox supports Luma products with a 3-year warranty, which can be extended by the purchaser for an additional fee. The graphics card life cycle is 7 years.
