Intel shows Xe graphics for data center – makes Threadripper look small

As the launch of Intel’s Xe-based graphics chips approaches, the company is also starting to lift the lid on various products that apply the architecture. In addition to confirming the launch of the Tiger Lake family’s portable processors, which are equipped with integrated Xe graphics, the company also presents images of a massive socket-mounted graphics circuit included in Intel’s Xe-HP and Xe-HPC data center product line.

The new photos will be published on Intel’s Twitter account, which has since been deleted. Raja Koduri, Head of Intel’s Graphics Division, follows up, however the post calling the new circle “Baap of All”, which translated from Hindi means “father of all”. This means that the graphics circuit in question is so massive that it casts a shadow over all other circuits.

The photos that were published on Intel’s Twitter account also give reason for the extensive nickname. In the pictures, the Xe circuit is compared to an AA battery, which as a reference indicates that the estimated size of the graphics circuit is enormous 3,700 mm². By comparison, Nvidia’s current flagship Geforce RTX 2080 Ti measures in at a relatively modest 754 mm². However, in the case of several circuits connected to each other, the entire surface is not used.

The graphics circuit in the high-performance segments Xe-HP and Xe-HPC is thus aimed at data centers and thus becomes a competitor to AMD’s Radeon Pro and Radeon Instinct, and Nvidia’s Quadro and Tesla products. Xe-HP applies the Multi-chip Module (MCM), where several circuits are connected to each other on one and the same substrate. It’s the same kind of technology that AMD calls chiplet-design. Intel has previously unveiled the first member of the Xe-HP family with the code name “Ponte Vecchio” at 7 nanometers.

Shortly after the images were published, they became the basis for speculation as to whether the massive circuit could also be used for high-performance graphics cards for consumers. These speculations are denied by Raja Koduri as in one series of Twitter posts explains that the company’s focus right now is on improving the situation for those who play with integrated graphics. This is a clear indication that Intel is not competing with AMD and Nvidia for high-performance graphics cards for consumers in the first stage.

On the other hand, the fact that Intel ranks at the top in terms of the physical size of the circuits seems to be a given fact.

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