Intel Arc G3 Extreme benchmarked in Forza Horizon 6, handheld gaming levels up

The last couple of years have seen the arrival of several PC handhelds, from Linux- and SteamOS-powered models to Windows 11-based devices, all built for portable, on-the-go gaming. With the majority of these devices sporting AMD hardware and delivering similar results, the upcoming launch of Acer's new Predator Atlas 8 is a little different: its flagship model is powered by Intel's brand-new Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor. And it's a game-changer for performance.

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At Computex 2026, we spent considerable time benchmarking the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor with its powerful integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics in Forza Horizon 6 on Acer's new Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld, which is set to launch in October 2026. Right off the bat, the performance is a game-changer, with the game running smoothly on the handheld's 1920 x 1200 resolution 120 Hz display without any upscaling. And that's with Medium and High graphics settings.

Of course, Forza Horizon 6 is an exceptionally well-optimized PC game, but the performance here paints the picture of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor becoming the PC gaming handheld champ when it hits retail shelves. With Medium settings and no ray tracing, we got an average of 56 FPS in the game's internal benchmark mode, which dropped to 48 FPS when the graphics preset was increased to High. Turn on XeSS 3's AI-powered Super Resolution with the Quality preset, and the Medium performance setting increases to a smooth 60 FPS with minimal impact on image quality.

Forza Horizon 6 Benchmarks - Acer Predator Atlas 8 (Intel Arc G3 Extreme) @ 1920 x 1200

In fact, some of the ghosting we noticed disappeared when we switched XeSS 3's SR preset to the more aggressive Balanced preset (which upscales from a lower resolution) and set the graphics preset to High. There, we got a solid 64 FPS average, and the game looked notably more detailed. And to showcase the power of the Intel Arc B390 and its next-gen ray-tracing capabilities, we still got solid performance when benchmarking Low and Medium ray-traced reflections and global illumination with the XeSS 3 SR Performance preset - 57 FPS and 51 FPS, respectively.

And to really stress the Acer Predator Atlas 8 and its hardware, we even benchmarked the game on the Extreme graphics preset with ray tracing enabled. Although it only delivered a 34 FPS average using the XeSS 3 SR Performance preset, the fact that it was playable at all, on a PC gaming handheld no less, was pretty remarkable to witness.

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Now, it's worth noting that these benchmarks were carried out with the handheld plugged in. Running the same High graphics preset test with a more efficient unplugged battery profile, the average dropped from 64 FPS to 59 FPS. A notable drop that's worth taking into consideration, however, with the Predator Atlas 8's VRR display, anything higher than 50 FPS still looked smooth.