Intel has finally entered into the GPU market by partnering with few OEM partners, namely ASUS and Colorful, to launch their first-ever discrete graphics card for consumers. This OEM-only Intel DG1 Xe Graphics Card might be a first trail run for Intel before it comes in full-force by the end of this year.
It is indeed not one of the most powerful GPU out there but could be a handy option for average users and small businesses. As of now, partnering with OEMs means these Intel DG1 Graphics Cards will be made available on pre-built systems only.
Coming to the specs, the Intel Iris Xe features DG1 GPU based on its new 10nm SuperFin architecture. It features 80 Execution Units (640 Shading Units) and while not revealing the clock speed for the non-Max variant, the Iris Xe MAX is clocked at 1650 MHz.
While the TDP is going to be 30 Watts, these Intel GPUs will offer 4GB of LPDDR4X VRAM. The low power draw makes it even more attractive and this why Asus didn’t even opt for the fan in its GPU design.
For pre-built systems, the Intel Xe DG1 Graphics Card makes sense as already we know Intel can deliver decent graphics performance with its Xe Max graphics for laptops. Essentially, this is almost the same laptop GPU, featuring on upcoming desktops as well as serving a trail run for Intel.
Here’s the Intel press release:
Intel Releases Iris Xe Desktop Graphics Cards
Intel codesigned and partnered with two ecosystem partners, including ASUS, to launch the Intel® Iris® Xe discrete desktop graphics cards (code-named “DG1”) in systems targeted to mainstream users and small- and medium-size businesses. The cards are sold to system integrators who will offer Iris Xe discrete graphics as part of pre-built systems.
Following the launch of Intel® Iris® Xe MAX for notebooks, Intel’s first Xe-based discrete graphics processing unit, Intel and its partners saw the opportunity to better serve the high-volume, value-desktop market with improved graphics, display and media acceleration capabilities.
The new cards offer a compelling upgrade to existing options in the market segment. They feature three display outputs; hardware video decode and encode acceleration, including AV1 decode support; Adaptive Sync; Display HDR support and artificial intelligence capabilities thanks to DP4a deep-learning inference acceleration. The Iris Xe discrete graphics cards come with 80 execution units and 4 gigabytes of video memory.
To learn more about the Intel Iris Xe graphics card for desktop, visit the product page on Intel.com.
