Intel shows off designs for its discrete graphics card due in 2020

[CyberTech]

Content source

https://www.techspot.com/news/79298-intel-shows-off-designs-discrete-graphics-card-due.html

Something to look forward to: Intel's new graphics card is starting to become a little more real now that designs have been presented on stage. It is now a waiting game to find out how well it will perform against rivals Nvidia and AMD.

Even though Intel is still nearly a year away from launching its own discrete graphics card, the company is already beginning to show off where it is headed. In a GDC 2019 keynote, Intel has shared some early designs of their GPU slated for a 2020 release.

Taking design cues right from their own Optane SSDs, sharp lines and fairly minimal styling is in use. From what we can tell, Intel might be avoiding the obnoxious RGB flair present on some gaming oriented cards.

The first design uses the typical blower fan found in many other reference designs. Compared to Intel's blue rectangle cards that have been shown in the past, this first iteration appears to be much the same, but with a housing that would look better through a glass side panel.

Turning over to the back side of the card, a full backplate is present. You can also catch a glimpse of what appears to be three full size DisplayPort outputs and one HDMI port, although this could change before final release. It should also be noted that the HDMI spec and DisplayPort version used will be more important than just the number of ports.

Lastly, we get a look at Intel's most intricate design. Quadrilateral scales surround a cooling fan before smoothing out into a semi-matte black finish, giving it the illusion of a fan breaking out of the housing.

Unfortunately, full specifications are still not yet available for Intel's upcoming graphics card. Real world performance is essentially completely unknown for now. As the year goes on, there is a good chance Intel may share some numbers given how eager the company is to make everyone aware that they have a major new product incoming.

Note: the images inside the site..

 

[plat]

During interview with Russian YouTube channel called PRO Hi-Tech, Raja Koduri, Intel's chief architect and senior vice president of architecture, software and graphics, talked about his career, why he left AMD, and where Intel is going with its discrete GPU attempts. However, one of the most notable things Mr Koduri said was regarding upcoming GPU lineup code-named Arctic Sound. He noted that Intel plans to release first GPU as a mid-range model at a price of $200, while enterprise solutions that utilize HBM memory will follow that.

Koduri said that he wants to replicate AMD's strategy of capturing high-volume price-points, such as the $199 Radeon RX 480. The plan here is to bring an affordable, good performing GPU to the masses - "GPUs for everyone" as he calls them. Additionally, he states that Intel's current strategy revolves around price, not performance, providing best possible value to consumers. Intel's approach for the next two or three years is to launch a complete lineup of GPUs, with a common architecture being used for everything from iGPUs found inside consumer CPUs to data-center GPUs.


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Personal Note: Not much to the article itself but the comments that follow add some flesh to the bones.

 

[Malware Maniac]

Hmm... Interesting, Intel is getting into the GPU business?
Looks like Nvidia might have some competition here soon (of course aside from AMD already).

 

[plat]

The article is a teaser at best; I would have liked more detail on what the lineup is supposed to be. After the whole Spectre/Meltdown thing with the cpus, I'm not enchanted with Intel. NIVIDIA's 20x Super series for me, most likely, when my lovely but now-obsolete GTX 1080 Founders Ed. goes "poof."