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The day has finally come for Intel, as they've now formally announced the first dedicated Xe GPU with the Intel Iris Xe "DG1". It's a huge thing for Intel, and it's taken them a long time to get here.

Sadly though, this first push is not for people building their own systems. Instead, they've teamed up with ASUS and Colorful to offer entry-level GPUs in their pre-built systems. Starting off at the low end makes a lot of sense though, so they can keep pushing and tweaking as needed before trying to capture a bigger slice of the market.

It actually appears to be based on the same parts as the Intel Iris Xe MAX, with Intel saying they "saw the opportunity to better serve the high-volume, value-desktop market with improved graphics, display and media acceleration capabilities" and this is the result of that.

Specifications:

  Iris Xe DG1
Architecture 10 nm SuperFin
Execution Units 80
GPU Frequency 1700+
Memory 4GB
Memory bus width 128 bit
Memory bandwidth 68 GB/s
TDP 30 W

An important announcement though, and the beginnings of more competition for both NVIDIA and AMD which the market really does need. Once we hear news on the Intel Xe HPG (the gaming GPUs), we will let you know, they've not given any fresh timeline HPG yet.

See more on it here.

Need a job? Intel are currently hiring for a Linux 3D Graphics developer! You would be responsible for "developing support for new features and enabling new platforms for 3D drivers on Linux, including having best in class support for OpenGL and Vulkan on our GPUs" and this includes working with Mesa. It's in Poland and seems like they're not accepting remote positions for it.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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14 comments

Linas Jan 27, 2021
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More options are great, but somehow I feel this will be used to tackle AMD, and NVIDIA will remain unchallenged.
thewho Jan 27, 2021
Off-Topic: Having some Intel-Lenovo-Laptops (X450 X250) Where i get multiple display-freezes while surfing in the Internet. Disabling GPU-Acceleration in Chromium helped a bit.

Found multiple similar issues from other people where they mention the "bad Intel" drivers.
I always thought the Intel OpenSource drivers were of very good quality. Did i miss anything? Or it's only with old chipsets?
grigi Jan 27, 2021
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assuming its the same arch as what's in tiger lake, we know it will perform pretty much exactly that fast.
less cu's more clockspeed and bandwidth.

So, maybe 10% faster than Renoir integrated graphics.
I think a nvidia mx450 competitor.
Arehandoro Jan 27, 2021
One of this with 30W TDP for a small server on a CPU from AMD without GPU, to use with Jellyfin for Hardware decoding and Nextcloud for Image Recognition would really hit the spot for self-hosted hobbyists.
PublicNuisance Jan 27, 2021
I'm really looking forward to these Intel desktop GPUs because Intel GPUs usually work with FLOSS distros such as Trisquel. These may not be super gaming cards but as far as what GPUs are available for that niche they kick the crap out of the Intel UHD GPUs and a GTX 780 Ti using Nouveau so it's a step in the right direction.
Liam Dawe Jan 27, 2021
Updated article with a note on a Linux job currently going with Intel.
pete910 Jan 27, 2021
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Quoting: LinasMore options are great, but somehow I feel this will be used to tackle AMD, and NVIDIA will remain unchallenged.

Both will remain unchallenged for a while to be honest, Ironically its AMD's IP that they are using.
SirLootALot Jan 28, 2021
Colorful said they are not working on a Xe GPU right now. People just assumed that as the coolerdesign is identical besides the color to an existing colorful cooler.
Phlebiac Jan 28, 2021
Quoting: pete910Ironically its AMD's IP that they are using.

Intel made some processors with integrated AMD GPUs on them, but I'm pretty sure "DG1" has nothing to do with AMD IP. Do you have any evidence otherwise?
Phlebiac Jan 28, 2021
As noted on Phoronix, Linux users will want to steer clear of these for a while:
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Intel-Iris-Xe-DG1-Desktop
doomwarriorx Jan 28, 2021
The German IT-page 'heise.de' claims the card requires a special mainboard BIOS enhancement. Thus the card will only work with mainboards provided with those enhancement by the OEMs. So the card is kind of software dongled. If this is true it isn't a standalone card in my eyes. Of course it isn't sold as a single pice, but afaik very uncommon for GPU aimed for desktop PC market.


Last edited by doomwarriorx on 28 January 2021 at 8:06 am UTC
pete910 Jan 28, 2021
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Quoting: Phlebiac
Quoting: pete910Ironically its AMD's IP that they are using.

Intel made some processors with integrated AMD GPUs on them, but I'm pretty sure "DG1" has nothing to do with AMD IP. Do you have any evidence otherwise?
Could well have been for that tbh. However they would need either Nvidia's IP or AMD's to make a modern Graphics card
PublicNuisance Jan 29, 2021
Quoting: PhlebiacAs noted on Phoronix, Linux users will want to steer clear of these for a while:
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Intel-Iris-Xe-DG1-Desktop

Can't buy them anywhere right now regardless so that will be easy to do.
14 Jan 29, 2021
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"High volume" as quoted in the article means Intel is not making much money per unit, which means they will feel overpriced once offered as a standalone unit.
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