Intel dedicated GPUs, according to new rumors, the project is on the high seas

For the second time in a few weeks an indiscretion crosses the network: Intel's dedicated GPU project, designed to compete with AMD and Nvidia in different markets, including primarily that of artificial intelligence, would not have taken the right path.

In the margins of the last quarterly report, CEO Bob Swan stated that the first dedicated DG1 GPU had been tested and validated, said it was an “important milestone” and hinted that everything was going according to plan.

In recent weeks, from China, instead, rumors have begun to leak: lower efficiency than the competition, drivers to improve and above all no support from the companies that make video cards, to mean the canonical partners of AMD and Nvidia such as Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Sapphire, Zotac, etc.

Until now the rumors on DG1 indicated that it would be a solution most likely intended for servers, based on Xe architecture and built at 10 nanometers. According to previous corridor rumors, the Santa Clara house would be working on multiple versions with an Execution Unit (EU) number of 128, 256 and 512.

In fact, new information (currently not verifiable) published on Reddit reports that the graphics chip may be very different from the initial predictions. In fact, there is talk of a GPU capable of offering only 23% higher performance than the integrated graphics of future Tiger Lake CPUs and designed for a 25 watt TDP, a value that Intel would be struggling to respect.

A GPU that could therefore accompany the integrated graphics of a notebook, such as Nvidia's GeForce MX250. Either way, it wouldn't be a high-end chip designed for a dedicated card, that's for sure.

As already written in the past, given that Intel's dedicated GPU project will probably take the first concrete steps only in the last part of 2020, there is still time to resolve any shortcomings, it being understood that both for notebook manufacturers and for end users, an important element will be represented by the general picture: not only consumption and performance, but also the price.

If we add to this the fact that we know very little about Intel's concrete plans and above all nothing concrete – the company is rightly trying to work as far as possible – then you need to take this information very, very carefully.

First of all, it is necessary to understand what DG1 is: is it a name that indicates a whole range of solutions? A specific product? There is no clarity on this. We are awaiting official information: after talking about the Ponte Vecchio 7-nanometer accelerator, Intel cannot avoid too long to illustrate its GPU ambitions in the world.

It cannot be excluded that something is already talking about the CES in Las Vegas in the coming weeks, even if the Computex in June may be the most suitable stage. All this in the event that there were actually no problems; the departure of two key marketing people admitted that it left us a little stunned and perplexed.