Intel presents Xe-HPG – the graphics circuit developed for gaming

This fall, Intel will launch the new graphics chips in the Xe family sharply to consumers. First out will be the Xe-LP, which takes place as integrated graphics inside the Tiger Lake processor family for laptops. The menu features up to 96 computing units with improved underlying architecture and manufacturing process, which is expected to double the computing power set against the previous Gen11 in Ice Lake.

In addition to Xe-LP, the company is also preparing the much more powerful circuits Xe-HP and Xe-HPC, which have so far been communicated as solutions for data centers and supercomputers. Intel has previously talked about making a proper entry into the enthusiast market and gaming, but it has been somewhat unclear which circuit would be used for this application.

Now Intel is lifting the blade from its mouth and revealing what many have been waiting for, namely Xe-HPG (High Performance Gaming) – a graphics circuit specially developed for gaming. The circuit takes place between Xe-LP and XE-HP in the company’s line-up and is said to consist of building blocks from both Xe-HP and Xe-HPC to achieve a good balance between energy efficiency and computing power.

The underlying memory system has been rebuilt in the Xe-HPG circuit, where Intel, for cost reasons, leaves the memory technology HBM from Xe-HP and XE-HPC behind in favor of cheaper GDDR6. In addition to this, Intel can officially reveal that the circuit will have dedicated silicon for radiation tracking, ray tracing, in real time.

Last but not least, the company announces that the new game-focused circuit will not be manufactured by Intel itself, but that the production will instead be outsourced to an external party. Which manufacturer it is is still a secret, but given that Intel has recently placed orders with Taiwanese TSMC, they may well be relevant for the production of Xe-HPG.

The first graphics cards with the Xe-HPG circuit are expected to be delivered in 2021. Exactly which performance segment the cards end up in is still unknown.

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