Intel has apparently begun shipment of its discrete Iris Xe LP-based DG1 graphics card to OEMs and system integrators, which means we will soon see these graphics cards hitting the market - in a manner of speaking. The quantities aren't yet known, but considering Intel's intentions of only shipping it to OEMs, volume shouldn't be quite significant. It remains to be seen whether DG1-toting systems will even be available to the general public, or if these will be sold primarily to business customers. However, considering that the discrete DG1 only offers entry-level performance due to its 80 EUs (less than even the 96 available through integrated graphics on Intel Tiger Lake CPUs), hopes placed on this particular graphics card as somewhat remedying the current industry ailment of undersupply won't materialize.

One interesting tidbit, however, is that system integrators will have to use specific hardware on the systems they build that carry Intel's DG1, as the blue giant has specified that these graphics cards will only work pending specific firmware updates that enable them to function on certain chipset and processor products. Namely, and according to Intel speaking to Legit Reviews, "The Iris Xe discrete add-in card will be paired with 9th gen (Coffee Lake-S) and 10th gen (Comet Lake-S) Intel Core desktop processors and Intel B460, H410, B365, and H310C chipset-based motherboards and sold as part of pre-built systems. These motherboards require a special BIOS that supports Intel Iris Xe, so the cards won't be compatible with other systems."

MSI today released another version of their Trident gaming PCs, a small form-factor PC that's meant to serve as a mainstream gaming station and entertainment center. The Trident 3 Arctic features an all-white design in an enclosure that's capable of either horizontal or vertical installation. The system packs in an Intel Core i7-9700F processor (up to 4.7 GHz, though that's unlikely to be achieved in this small enclosure) paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER graphics card (so no raytracing and limited 1440p gaming, folks).

These components are rounded out by an Intel H310C-based motherboard, 16 GB of 2,666 MHz DDR4 memory, a 512 GB NVMe SSD and a 1 TB HDD. Connectivity-wise, we're looking at 1x USB 3.2 Gen.1 Type-C, 2x USB-C Type-A, 1x HDMI (only for VR-LINK input), and headset and mic connectors. Around the back, we're looking at 2x HDMI, 1x HDMI for VR Link, 1x DVI-D, 2x DisplayPort, Ethernet, 1x USB3.2 Gen.1 Type-A, 4x USB 2.0, and assorted audio connectors. Wireless protocols are covered by support for 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2. Dimensions are set at 97.56 mm thickness, 251.35 mm depth, 353.73 mm height, and 3.17 Kg of mass.

Intel's 9th generation re-branding of its "Skylake-X Refresh" HEDT processors could have a rather short lifespan in the company's product-stack of just three quarters. Intel is planning to launch its next HEDT platform, codenamed "Glacier Falls," which succeeds the current "Basin Falls Refresh." "Glacier Falls" could launch around late-Q2/early-Q3, with unveils slated for Computex 2019 (June). These details are part of a slide leak from an internal presentation from motherboard manufacturer GIGABYTE.

The slide revealing "Glacier Falls" also mentions two new mainstream-desktop platform chipsets, the B365 Express and the H310C Express. There is no information on what sets these apart from the current B360 and H310, respectively. We predict their entry is necessitated by stronger CPU VRM requirements to support 9th generation Core 6-core and 8-core processor SKUs that are known to pull up to 140 Watts of power (unrelated to TDP, which is calculated on the basis of nominal clock speed and not Turbo Boost). There's also a faint possibility of Intel giving the B365 CPU overclocking support to compete with the value proposition of AMD's B450.