Intel's next-generation "Meteor Lake-P" mobile processor with a 6P+8E Compute Tile was shown off at the 2022 IEEE VLSI Symposium on Tech and Circuits (6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores). We now have annotations for all four tiles, as well as a close-up die-shot of the Compute Tile. Intel also confirmed that the Compute Tile will be built on its homebrew Intel 4 silicon fabrication process, which offers over 20% iso-power performance increase versus the Intel 7 node, through extensive use of EUV lithography.

We had earlier seen a 2P+8E version of the "Meteor Lake" Compute Tile, probably from the "Meteor Lake-U" package. The larger 6P+8E Compute tile features six "Redwood Cove" performance cores, and two "Crestmont" efficiency core clusters, each with four E-cores. Assuming the L3 cache slice per P-core or E-core cluster is 2.5 MB, there has to be 20 MB of L3 cache on the compute tile. Each P-core has 2 MB of dedicated L2 cache, while each of the two E-core clusters shares 4 MB of L2 cache among four E-cores.

AMD in its 2022 Financial Analyst Day presentation announced the codename for the second generation of Ryzen desktop processors for Socket AM5, which is "Granite Ridge." A successor to the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," the next-generation "Granite Ridge" processor will incorporate the "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture, with its CPU complex dies (CCDs) built on the 4 nm silicon fabrication node. "Zen 5" will feature several core-level designs as detailed in our older article, including a redesigned front-end with greater parallelism, which should indicate a much large execution stage. The architecture could also incorporate AI/ML performance enhancements as AMD taps into Xilinx IP to add more fixed-function hardware backing the AI/ML capabilities of its processors.

The "Zen 5" microarchitecture makes its client debut with Ryzen "Granite Ridge," and server debut with EPYC "Turin." It's being speculated that AMD could give "Turin" a round of CPU core-count increases, while retaining the same SP5 infrastructure; which means we could see either smaller CCDs, or higher core-count per CCD with "Zen 5." Much like "Raphael," the next-gen "Granite Ridge" will be a series of high core-count desktop processors that will feature a functional iGPU that's good enough for desktop/productivity, though not gaming. AMD confirmed that it doesn't see "Raphael" as an APU, and that its definition of an "APU" is a processor with a large iGPU that's capable of gaming. The company's next such APU will be "Phoenix Point."

AMD's next-generation Ryzen 7000-series "Phoenix" mobile processors are all the rage these days. Bound for 2023, these chips feature a powerful iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, with performance allegedly rivaling that of a GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU—a popular performance-segment discrete GPU. What's more, AMD is also taking a swing at Intel in the CPU core-count game, by giving "Phoenix" a large number of "Zen 4" CPU cores. The secret ingredient pushing this combo, however, is a large cache.

AMD has used large caches to good effect both on its "Zen 3" processors, such as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, where they're called 3D Vertical Cache (3D V-cache); as well as its Radeon RX 6000 discrete GPUs, where they're called Infinity Cache. The only known difference between the two is that the latter is fully on-die, while the former is stacked on top of existing silicon IP. It's being reported now, that "Phoenix" will indeed feature a stacked 3D V-cache.

Le Comptoir du Hardware scored a die-shot of a 2P+8E core variant of the "Meteor Lake" compute tile, and Locuza annotated it. "Meteor Lake" will be Intel's first processor to implement the company's IDM 2.0 strategy to the fullest. The processor is a multi-chip module of various tiles (chiplets), each with a certain function, sitting on die made on a silicon fabrication node most suitable to that function. Under this strategy, for example, if Intel's chip-designers calculate that the iGPU will be the most power-hungry component on the processor, followed by the CPU cores, the graphics tile will be built on a more advanced process than the compute tile. Intel's "Meteor Lake" and "Arrow Lake" processors will implement chiplets built on the Intel 4, TSMC N3, and Intel 20A fabrication nodes, each with unique power and transistor-density characteristics. Learn more about the "Meteor Lake" MCM in our older article.

The 2P+8E (2 performance cores + 8 efficiency cores) compute tile is one among many variants of compute tiles Intel will develop for the various SKUs making up the next-generation Core mobile processor series. The die is annotated with the two large "Redwood Cove" P-cores and their cache slices taking up about 35% of the die area; and the two "Crestmount" E-core clusters (each with 4 E-cores), and their cache slices, taking up the rest. The two P-cores and two E-core clusters are interconnected by a Ring Bus, and share an L3 cache. The size of each L3 cache slice is either 2.5 MB or 3 MB. At 2.5 MB, the total L3 cache will be 10 MB, and at 3 MB, it will be 12 MB. As with all past generations, the L3 cache is fully accessible by all CPU cores in the compute tile.

Magic Leap's next-generation augmented reality (AR) headset could be AMD-powered according to a Basemark benchmark listing seen by _Rogame. The chip driving this headset is codenamed "Mero," and is a semi-custom SoC made by AMD. The SoC combines a CPU based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, with an iGPU based on RDNA2. Basemark reads this as 8 CPU cores, although it's possible this is 4-core/8-thread.

At this point, the RDNA2 compute unit (CU) count is unknown. Magic Leap uses an Android 10-derived OS for the x86-64 machine architecture, and the system name reads as "Magic Leap Demophon" to Basemark (which could just be the prototype's network machine name). The AR display-head is 720 x 920 pixels, and the memory available to the OS is 1 GB (not counting the memory shared to the iGPU).

Earlier this week, we learned about AMD making several additions to its Ryzen 5000 Socket AM4 desktop processor lineup, to better compete against the bulk of the 12th Gen Intel Core "Alder Lake" processors. It turns out that there are three more additions to the lineup that we missed, because they're slated for a slightly later availability from the other chips (later by weeks).

The first of these three is the Ryzen 7 5700 (non-X). This chip is uniquely different from the Ryzen 7 5700X and the Ryzen 7 5600G. It is an 8-core/16-thread processor that's based on the 7 nm "Cezanne" silicon, with its iGPU disabled. This means you still get eight "Zen 3" CPU cores, but no iGPU, just 16 MB of L3 cache, and the PCI-Express interface of the chip is limited Gen 3. The Ryzen 3 5100 is the spiritual successor to the very interesting Ryzen 3 3100. It is a 4-core/8-thread processor based on the same "Cezanne" silicon with "Zen 3" cores, but with only 8 MB of L3 cache, and the iGPU remaining disabled. The third chip on the anvil is the Ryzen 7 4700, an interesting 8-core/16-thread offering based on the older "Renoir" silicon with "Zen 2" CPU cores.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, the company's ambitious new 8-core/16-thread Socket AM4 processor that claims to match the Core i9-12900K "Alder Lake" in gaming performance, will launch at an MSRP of USD $449, according to prices of several upcoming AMD Ryzen processors leaked to the web. The 5800X3D is clocked lower than the 5800X, with 3.40 GHz base and 4.50 GHz boost frequencies, but the large 96 MB L3 cache from the 3D Vertical Cache memory, overcomes this.

The Ryzen 7 5700X is an interesting new 8-core/16-thread part. It's based on the "Vermeer" MCM just like the 5800X, and unlike the 5700G that's based on the "Cezanne" monolithic silicon. The 5700X is clocked at 3.40 GHz base, with 4.60 GHz boost, compared to the 3.80 GHz base and 4.70 GHz boost frequency of the 5800X. The Ryzen 7 5700X is launching at $299 MSRP, which implies that the company is cutting the MSRP of the Ryzen 5 5600X that originally occupied this price-point.Update Mar 9th: Correction: the Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core/12-thread part.

Intel is designing a "Halo" SKU of a future generation of mobile processors with a goal to match Apple's in-house silicon of the time. Slated for tape-out some time in 2023, with mass-production expected in 2024, the 15th Generation Core "Arrow Lake-P Halo" processor is being designed specifically to compete with Apple's "premium 14-inch laptop" (presumably the MacBook Pro) that the company could have around 2024, based on an in-house Apple silicon. This is to essentially tell its notebook partners that they will have an SoC capable of making their devices in the class truly competitive. Apple relies on a highly scaled out Arm-based SoC based on in-house IP blocks, with a software that's closely optimized for it. Intel's effort appears to chase down its performance and efficiency.

The Core "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture succeeds the 14th Gen "Meteor Lake." It is a multi-chip module (MCM) of three distinct dies built on different fabrication nodes, in line with the company's IDM 2.0 strategy. These nodes are Intel 4 (comparable to TSMC N7 or N6), Intel 20A (comparable to TSMC N5), and an "external" 3 nm-class node that's just the TSMC N3. The compute tile, or the die which houses the CPU cores, combines a hybrid CPU setup of 6 P-cores, and 8 E-cores. The performance cores are likely successors of the "Redwood Cove" P-cores powering the "Meteor Lake" compute tiles. Intel appears to be using one kind of E-cores across two generations (eg: Gracemont across Alder Lake and Raptor Lake). If this is any indication, Arrow Lake could continue to use "Crestmont" E-cores. Things get interesting with the Graphics tile.

AMD is planning to crash Intel's big 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-P" mobile processor launch with its own next-gen launch, the Ryzen 6000 mobile processor series. These chips are the company's first built on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) silicon fabrication process, and combine up to 8 "Zen 3+" CPU cores, with a next-generation iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. The company has given the Media CoreNext and Video CoreNext engines incremental updates, according to a leaked slide scored by VideoCardz.

Ryzen 6000 "Rembrandt" processors come with hardware-accelerated decode of the AV1 video format. The Display CoreNext (display I/O engine) now supports DisplayPort 2.0, complete with DSC, UHBR10, HDR10+, and variable refresh-rate. The HDR pipeline has awareness for the various display panel types, including OLED and mini-LED. The iGPU on "Rembrandt" features up to 12 compute units (768 stream processors). It remains to be seen if Ray Accelerators are featured, as that would make this the first iGPU (on the PC platform) with DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

We've had remote gaming for several years now—where your laptop with a basic iGPU can stream gameplay as it's being rendered on your gaming desktop, either across your home network, or across the Internet. We've also seen cloud-gaming, where you pay a provider like NVIDIA GeForce NOW to host your digital game licenses, and render your game in datacenters, to stream it across to your device. What if this idea is turned on its head—what if your laptop holds your software or games, and it simply streams close-to-metal data over network, to use their hardware resources? Intel thinks this is possible.

Intel today pulled off a fascinating presentation titled "Powering Metaverses," along the sidelines of the Real-Time Conference 2021 (RTC 2021) virtual summit. Dubbed "resource abstraction," Intel is working on a technology that intelligently senses compute resources available to a device across other devices on the network; accounts for network bandwidth and latency; and treats these resources as if they are available to a local machine. The company put out a conceptual demo of a laptop with a basic iGPU dramatically improving gaming performance by roping in hardware resources of a gaming desktop on the network; without the game actually being installed on that desktop. If latency-sensitive applications like games could be pulled off on this system, it bodes really well for applications that aren't as latency-sensitive, or even as bandwidth-sensitive. Resource Abstraction will feature a lot as Intel steers toward Web 3.0 and metaverses. The concept video can be found here.

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Jon Peddie Research, unit shipments of add-in boards increased in Q3'21 from last year. AMD saw a one-percent increase in market share while Nvidia remained the dominant market share leader with 78.2%. Year over year, total AIB shipments increased by 25.7% this quarter compared to last year at 12.7 million units, and up quarter-to-quarter from 11.47 million units in Q2'21.

Add-in boards (AIBs) use discrete GPUs (dGPU) with dedicated memory. Desktop PCs, workstations, servers, rendering and mining farms, and scientific instruments use AIBs. Consumers and enterprises buy AIBs from resellers or OEMs. They can be part of a new system or installed as an upgrade to an existing system. Systems with AIBs represent the higher end of the graphics industry. Entry-level systems use integrated GPUs (iGPU) in CPUs that share slower system memory.

AMD apparently finds itself with quite a bit of undigested 7 nm "Renoir" silicon, which it plans to repackage as Socket AM4 processors, reports VideoCardz, citing sources on ChipHell forums. The most interesting aspect of this leak is that the silicon variant, codenamed "Renoir X," comes with a disabled iGPU. This is hence a case of AMD harvesting enough "Renoir" dies with faulty iGPU components, to sell them off as desktop processors. It is also learned that these chips don't feature all of the 8 "Zen 2" CPU cores present on the silicon, but rather AMD is looking to carve out entry-level SKUs, such as the Ryzen 3 or Athlon. The company lacks Athlon desktop SKUs based on "Zen 2" or later, although traditionally the company sought to include some basic iGPU solution with its Athlon SKUs.

In related news, the source reports that AMD will refresh its Ryzen desktop processor family with the new "Vermeer S" Ryzen processors. Built on the existing Socket AM4 package, these use AMD's "Zen 3" CCDs that feature 3D Vertical Cache (3DV Cache), much like the recently announced EPYC "Milan X" server processors. AMD claimed that the 3DV Cache technology has a significant performance uplift on performance akin to a generational update. These could be the company's first response to Intel Core "Alder Lake," although since they're based on the older AM4 platform, could only feature DDR4 and PCIe Gen 4. Much like the Ryzen 3000XT series, these appear to be a stopgap product lineup, with AMD targeting late-Q2/early-Q3 for next-generation "Raphael" Socket AM5 processors based on the "Zen 4" architecture, with DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5.

The first trace of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 6000 mobile series has recently appeared with a processor of OPN code 100-000000518-41_N surfacing in the UserBenchmark database with the socket listed as FP7 which is the rumored platform for AMD's 6 nm Rembrandt family. The engineering sample features 8-cores and 16-threads with a base clock of 3.9 GHz and a boost of 4.1 GHz along with an integrated RDNA2 iGPU.

This marks the move from Vega to Navi 2 for the integrated GPU which should result in significant graphics performance and efficiency improvements. The processor was paired with a single 16 GB DDR5 memory module from Corsair running at 4800 MHz CL40, the computer is also listed as Corsair Xenomorph which is interesting as we are not aware of any plans for Corsair to release laptops. AMD is expected to announce Rembrandt at CES 2022 and the processors have allegedly already entered production.

As we await the update of AMD's highly anticipated 6000 series Rembrandt APUs based on Zen 3 cores and RDNA2 graphics, we are in for a surprise with information about the next generation, more than a year away, of Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors based on Zen 4 architecture. Codenamed Raphael-H, it co-exists with the upcoming lineup of Phoenix APUs, which come after the 6000 series Rembrandt APU lineup. This mobile variant of the forthcoming desktop Raphael processors features as many as 16 cores based on Zen 4 architecture. What is so special about the Raphael-H is that it represents a mobile adaptation of desktop processors, and we are not sure how it will be different from the Phoenix APUs. However, we assume that Phoenix is going to feature a more powerful graphics solution.

The confusing thing is the timeline of these processors. First comes the Rembrandt APUs (6000 series) and then both the Raphael-H and Phoenix mobile processors. AMD could disable iGPU on mobile Raphael-H designs. However, that is just a guess. We have to wait to find out more in the upcoming months.

The Kubuntu Focus Team announces the availability of the third-generation M2 Linux mobile workstation with multiple performance enhancements. RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 models are in stock now. RTX 3060 models can be reserved now and ship in the first week of November. The thin-and-light M2 laptop is a superb choice for anyone looking for the best out-of-the-box Linux experience with the most powerful mobile hardware. Customers include ML scientists, developers, and creators. Improvements to the third generation include:

• Cooler and faster Intel 11th generation Core i7-11800H. Geekbench scores improve 19 and 29%.
• Double the iGPU performance with Intel Iris Xe 32EU Graphics.
• Increased RAM speed from 2933 to 3200 MHz, up to 64 GB dual-channel.
• BIOS switchable USB-C GPU output.
• Upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to version 4.

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake processor family is set to bring a mixture of big and little cores, combined into one package designed for the hybrid way of computing. Alongside the CPU cores, Intel is also etching integrated graphics into the Alder Lake silicon. However, according to Komachi (@KOMACHI_ENSAKA), there will be Alder Lake SKUs that don't feature a working integrated GPU. Just like we witnessed Intel produce "F" models for its past few generations of Core processors, we could see a re-appearance of the F SKUs with Alder Lake as well. In the leaked listing, Komachi notes the appearance of Intel Core i5-12600KF, Core i7-12700KF, and Core i9-12900KF.

All of the listed models are overclockable SKUs, just with their integrated graphics disabled. Just like the previous generation, Intel decided to introduce this SKU, giving customers a few benefits with the non-functional iGPU. As there is no GPU to produce heat, overclocking efforts could be much better on the "F" SKUs. In addition to that, these SKUs could be a bit cheaper compared to the regular models, saving the buyers some spare cash if they are going to purchase a 3rd party dedicated GPU anyway.

The first desktop processors to implement AMD's "Zen 4" microarchitecture will feature integrated graphics as standard across the lineup, according to a Chips and Cheese report citing leaked AMD design documents. Currently, most of the Socket AM4 desktop processor lineup lacks integrated graphics, and specialized "G" SKUs with integrated graphics dot it. These SKUs almost always come with compromises in CPU performance or PCIe I/O. With its 5 nm "Raphael" Socket AM5 desktop processor, AMD is planning to change this, in a bid to match up to Intel on the universality of integrated graphics.

Built in the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, the "Raphael" silicon combines "Zen 4" CPU cores along with an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. This would be the first time AMD updated the SIMD architecture of its Ryzen iGPUs since 2017. The RDNA2-based iGPU will come with a more advanced DCN (Display CoreNext) component than current RDNA2-based discrete GPUs, with some SKUs even featuring DisplayPort 2.0 support, besides HDMI 2.1. By the time "Raphael" is out (2022-23), it is expected that USB4 type-C would gain popularity, and mainstream motherboards as well as pre-built desktops could ship with USB4 with DisplayPort 2.0 passthrough. AMD relies on a discrete USB4 controller with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, for its first Socket AM5 platform.

A next-generation Microsoft Surface Pro X with Windows 11 was shown running a Microsoft-branded processor that's expected to be a design collaboration between the company and Qualcomm, in a bid to develop a high performance/Watt solution rivaling the Apple M1. Microsoft's contribution to this is the x86-64 emulation heavily integrated into Windows 11, letting you run native x86-64 apps seamlessly, with the OS handling the hardware abstraction much like WOW64.

Called the Microsoft SQ2, the silicon features an 8-core/8-thread CPU, and an iGPU that meets the minimum requirements of Windows 11 for its standard UI, with just enough power for web-browsing with high-res videos. The CPU runs at speeds of up to 3.15 GHz, and has a fairly advanced memory system that includes a 3-level cache and LPDDR5 memory.

Previously, we have assumed that AMD 4700S desktop kit is based on Xbox Series X APU. Today, according to the findings of Bodnara, who managed to access one of these units, and we got some interesting discoveries. The chip powering the system is actually the PlayStation 5 SoC, which features AMD Zen 2 based system architecture, with 8 cores and 16 threads that can boost up to 3.2 GHz. The board that was tested features SK Hynix GDDR6 memory running at 14 Gbps, placed on the backside of the board. The APU is attached to AMD A77E Fusion Controller Hub (FCH), which was the one powering Xbox One "Durango" SoC, leading us to previously believe that the AMD 4700S is derived from an Xbox Series X system.

The graphics of this APU are disabled, however, it was the same variant of RDNA 2 GPU used by the PlayStation 5. Right out of the box, the system is equipped with a discrete GPU coming in a form of the Radeon 550, and this configuration was tested by the Bodnara team. You can find the images of the system and some performance results below.Performance:

We have been receiving several leaks for Intel's upcoming DG2 GPUs with a 256 Execution Unit model recently appearing on Geekbench paired with a 14-core Alder Lake mobile CPU. The Alder Lake mobile processor featured an integrated Xe GPU with 96 Execution Units which were also benchmarked. The 256 Execution Unit graphics card tested is likely derived from the mid-range DG2-384 GPU. The 96 EU DG2 iGPU featured a maximum frequency of 1.2 GHz while the 256 EU variant increased that to 1.4 GHz. The DG2-256 scored an OpenCL score of 18,450 points in the Geekbench 5 benchmark which places it at GTX 1050 performance level. The DG2-96 integrated GPU scored 6,500 points which is comparable to a GTX 460. While these performance numbers are low it is important to keep in mind that these are just early results from a mid-range mobile offering and Intel is planning to release cards with 512 Execution Units which should compete with the RTX 3070 Ti and 6700 XT.

Famous chip photographer Fritzchens Fritz has always surprised us with some awesome die shots of the latest processors. Today, he has prepared another interesting surprise for all technology enthusiasts. Mr. Fritz has managed to run Intel's Core i5-11400 "Rocket Lake" processor without any type of colling solution, and use a thermal camera to capture what is happening inside the silicon. As the Rocket Lake design is impossible to run at any low-power setting, the author has made some changes to get a sustained run from the CPU. For starters, he set the operating clock speed to the constant 800 MHz, with iGPU, AVX, and HyperThreading disabled. The VCCSA was offset by -0.200 mV and the memory speed was lowered to DDR4-1333 speed.

The results? Well, the CPU has managed to run some tests without a cooler, and the thermal camera shows us just how the CPU works. As a CPU core gets in use, a thermal camera picks it up and we can see a core sort of spiking. Its temperature increases and it becomes distinctive from the rest of the die. After some time, the CPU became unusable, which is to be expected given that Rocket Lake's power-hungry design managed to survive quite a long time without any sufficient cooling.You can check out the YouTube video below and see the magic happen.

The discrete GPU market has been a duopoly for quite some time, and when Intel announced that the company is rebooting plans for its discrete GPU lineup, another player was about to break that duopoly. Today, that has been changed forever and Intel has officially become the third manufacturer of discrete GPUs, as we can see on the online listing. On BestBuy, CyberPowerPC has listed "Gamer Xtreme Gaming Desktop" powered exclusively by Intel components. When it comes to the CPU choice, Intel's 6C/12T Core i5-11400F CPU model is present without iGPU. Now comes the interesting part. The GPU powering the system is Intel Iris Xe discrete graphics card, which is a DG1 GPU based on Xe-LP SKU.

This model features 80 EUs, resulting in 640 shading units. While this is not any gaming beast, casual 1080p gaming should be just fine on this configuration. The system is listed for 750 US Dollars, and it is sold out, as of the time of writing this. While the performance of this configuration may not be something monumental, it is an important step towards Intel's inclusion in the discrete GPU market. By using OEMs, the GPU will reach a very large market without any major problems. We are waiting to see the first reviews of the system, which will surely take a good look at the card and examine its performance.

The rumor mill keeps crushing away; in this case, regarding AMD's plans for their next-generation Zen designs. Various users have shared pieces of the same AMD roadmap, which apparently places AMD in an APU-focused landscape come their Ryzen 7000 series. we are currently on AMD's Ryzen 5000-series; Ryzen 6000 is supposed to materialize via a Zen 3+ design, with improved performance per watt obtained from improvements to its current Zen 3 family. However, Ryzen 7000-series is expected to debut on AMD's next-gen platform (let's call it AM5), which is also expected to introduce DDR5 support for AMD's mainstream computing platform. And now, the leaked, alleged roadmaps paint a Zen 4 + Navi 2 APU series in the works for AMD's Zen 4 debut with Raphael - roadmapped for manufacturing at the 5 nm process.

The inclusion of an iGPU chip with AMD's mainstream processors may signal a move by AMD to produce chiplets for all of its products, and then integrating them in the final product. You just have to think about it in the sense that AMD could "easily" pair one of the eight-core chiplets from the current Ryzen 5800X, for example, with an I/O die (which would likely still be fabricated with Global Foundries) an an additional Navi 2 GPU chiplet. It makes sense for AMD to start fabricating GPUs as chiplets as well - AMD's research on MCM (Multi-Chip Module) GPUs is pretty well-known at this point, and is a given for future development. It means that AMD needed only to develop one CPU chiplet and one GPU chiplet which they can then scale on-package by adding in more of the svelte pieces of silicon - something that Intel still doesn't do, and which results in the company's monolithic dies.

Intel started shipping their first Xe DG1 graphics card to OEMs earlier this year which features 4 GB of LPDDR4X and 80 execution units. While these initial cards aren't high performance and only compete with entry-level products like the NVIDIA MX350 they demonstrated Intel's ability to produce a discrete GPU. We have recently received some more potential performance information about Intel's next card the DG2 from chief GPU architect, Raja Koduri. Koduri posted an image of him with the team at Intel's Folsom lab working on the Intel Iris Pro 5200 iGPU back in 2012 and noted that now 9 years later their new GPU is over 20 times faster. The Intel Iris Pro 5200 scores 1015 on Videocard Benchmarks and ~1,400 points on 3DMark Fire Strike, if we assume these scores will be 20x more we get values of ~20,300 in Videocard Benchmarks and 28,000 points in Fire Strike. While these values don't extrapolate perfectly they provide a good indication of potential performance placing the GPU in the same realm of the NVIDIA RTX 3070 and AMD RX 6800.

NVIDIA has quietly introduced a new entry-level desktop discrete GPU positioned a notch below even the GeForce GT 1030. The new GT 1010 is based on the "Pascal" graphics architecture circa 2016, and is cut further down from the 16 nm "GP108" silicon. The GT 1010 appears to be NVIDIA's move at replacing the "Kepler" based GT 710 from its bare entry-level, and helping the company clear out all remaining inventory of the "GP108" silicon from the channel, out to OEMs. The GT 1010 likely features 256 CUDA cores, 16 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 64-bit wide memory bus (40 GB/s bandwidth), with a maximum GPU Boost frequency of 1468 MHz. If the GT 1010 does make it to the retail channel, we expect a sub-$60 price. With these specs, the chip will be easily bested by the latest iGPUs from AMD and Intel.