Intel has turned on DG2 chip for ‘enthusiast’ GPU in lab
Intel’s upcoming DG2 GPU is aimed at gamers in the enthusiast segment. The manufacturer made a first version of the chip and turned it on in his lab. It is not yet known whether the chip will end up on a video card for desktops or whether it is intended for laptops.
Intel CEO Bob Swan reports that the DG2-GPU has been turned on successfully. This is a chip based on the Xe HPG microarchitecture. That variant is intended for video cards for gamers. Swan says this upcoming GPU is aimed at the enthusiast segment.
It is possible that Intel will use the DG2 chip in laptops, for example in combination with the 45W processors. The chip could also be placed on a separate video card for desktops. It is not yet known with which Nvidia and AMD GPUs the DG2 will compete. It is also unclear when products with the DG2 GPU will appear. Presumably that will be sometime next year.
Intel has been working on the Xe GPU architecture since 2017 under the leadership of former AMD Radeon CEO Raja Koduri. In August, Intel gave more details on the different versions of the Xe architecture. Variants are found in laptops, desktops, data centers and super computers.
Intel DG1 in laptops like Xe Max at the end of this year
At the end of this year, the first laptops will be released with an Intel GPU that is separate from the processor. That is the Xe Max, which is based on the Intel DG1 chip with the Xe LP microarchitecture. Asus and Acer have announced laptops with this Xe Max GPU. Tom’s Hardware notes that manufacturers can configure the Xe Max with Lpddr4x or the faster GDDR6.
At the beginning of this year, Intel showed a developer version of the DG1 GPU. That was a separate video card, but it does not come out as such. The DG1 chip is based on 96 execution units. That chip now ends up in laptops. The fastest Tiger Lake processors have an integrated GPU with also 96 EU’s, but they are clocked at a maximum of 1.35GHz, while the DG1 variant would be 1.55GHz according to leaked benchmarks. The DG1 can also be faster than the integrated GPU by using dedicated vram. Intel positions the DG1 GPU against Nvidia’s GeForce MX350.
Acer Swift 3X laptop with Intel Xe Max GPU based on DG1 chip
First Alder Lake samples
The Intel CEO also reports that the first samples of Alder Lake processors have been sent. These are 10nm desktop processors that should be released in the course of 2021. It is rumored to be chips with a big.Little design, which combine fast Golden Cove cores with fuel-efficient Gracemont cores. The corresponding platform may also receive DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support. Intel itself has not yet released any details about Alder Lake.
In the fourth quarter, Intel will be sending out samples of its Sapphire Rapids processors. These are server processors that are made at 10nm and will be on the market in 2021. Furthermore, CEO Bob Swan says he is confident that by 2023 Intel will deliver ‘leading’ products made using Intel’s 7nm process, or third party processes.
At the presentation of the previous quarterly figures, in July, Intel announced that there had been delays in the 7nm process. Initially the plan was to start production in 2021, but yields turned out to be twelve months behind expectations.
Leaked photo of Alder Lake processor