The Arc A7 mid-range GPU family for consumer gaming was not built for large-scale activities, with numerous GPU instances operating concurrently. For this purpose, Intel offers the Data Center GPU Flex series, which are basically the same cards but lack display ports and cooling fans.
Intel will now give licenses for such usage even if users want to purchase Arc A7 GPUs for use in servers. This indicates that Intel’s software licensing approach will be comparable to AMD’s but unique from NVIDIA’s. Intel will not restrict its desktop GPUs to desktop computers only. Unlike NVIDIA’s CUDA licensing, the company stated that it has no plans to limit its use in servers.
At the event, I also confirmed a key detail. Intel is not going to limit its desktop cards to desktops only. Unlike NVIDIA’s CUDA license, the company said it was not planning to prohibit their use in servers. That was a welcome announcement.
— ServeTheHome
NVIDIA prohibits the usage of GeForce and TITAN GPUs in data centers and does not provide a software license for use in data centers. This consideration should sufficiently persuade any responsible firm or government to invest in data-center hardware. However, this won’t have any effect on the minor players.
Intriguingly, the NVIDIA license still permits ‘blockchain processing,’ which should refer to cutting-edge technology but, in practice, relates to crypto mining. In the meanwhile, it appears that Arc GPUs can be utilized for anything.
Via ServeTheHome