X and HPG, photos for a sample of Intel gaming GPU: performance between RTX 3070 and 3080?

The youtuber Moore’s Law is Dead has published the first photos of an engineering sample of a video card Intel DG2 architecture based Vehicle HPG and disseminated some interesting information on the company’s desktop projects. The channel, in the past, proved to be a rather reliable source, first revealing that the Rocket Lake CPU cores would be called Cypress Cove, as it actually happened.

Click to enlarge

The engineering sample (ES) in question would have a GPU con 512 Execution Unit (EU), apparently not only the maximum expected for this project by Intel, but also a value that returns compared to previous rumors. The heatsink, with two fans and two slot sizes, it would be just one of three projects the Santa Clara home would be considering at the moment. A small note of color, and here the pun is all there is, is that the cover of the heatsink on model that will arrive on the market it could be white and not black.

Click to enlarge

The Youtuber claims that the Xe HPG GPU with 512 EU – made perhaps with 6 nm process from TSMC – is able to achieve a boost frequency of up to 2.2 GHz. Next to the graphics chip there would also be 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. The TDP of Intel video cards should hit a maximum of 275W, and it is for this reason that the ES features two power connectors with 8 and 6 pins respectively. Intel’s initial target was apparently 225-250W.

Click to enlarge

These features should return performance between the GeForce RTX 3070 and the GeForce RTX 3080, with the Youtuber pointing out that none of his sources expects performance similar or superior to the RTX 3080. XeSS (Xe Super Sampling), a code name that Intel would be using internally to identify an Nvidia competitor DLSS.

Click to enlarge

Intel had already confirmed in unsuspecting times the support of ray tracing in hardware by Xe HPG and for this reason a technology similar to DLSS or to the future FidelityFX Super Resolution from AMD could be useful to guarantee high performance and improved graphics quality thanks to ray tracing effects.

As for availability, Moore’s Law is Dead states that a debut of the card in question before the fourth quarter of the year is highly unlikely (October December). This model should be followed by solutions with 128 and 256EU to cover the smaller market segments and in 2022 “prosumer and professional” models should arrive. Finally, the code name is mentioned “Elasti” how is it possible successor of DG2 arriving in 2023.