It was about time that Intel re-entered the discrete graphics scene which has been long dominated by the industry giants Nvidia and AMD. Well, the decision has been made.
In 2019, Intel announced Intel Xe and its intention to resurface in the dedicated GPU scene. This was significant news as the last discrete GPU Intel released was way back in 1998. Since then, Intel has kept its hands full with integrated graphics as almost all Intel CPUs ship with them. Unfortunately, even though they are enough to get you through your average day of browsing emails, the iGPUs are nowhere near the graphical power of discrete cards.
All this is about to change as the release of Intel’s line of GPUs is closer than we thought, and if you missed the memo, here is everything we know about the new kid on the block.
1. What’s Intel Xe-HPG DG2?
Intel DG2 is the new dedicated Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) produced by Intel based on the Intel Xe-HPG architecture. This will be Intel’s reentry into the discrete GPU industry.
When we pit Intel, it’s against AMD, and that too in the CPU space, but it is now time for Intel to enter the arena of AMD Vs. Nvidia as the third contender for the GPU crown. The release is compounded by the fact that Intel has made some serious performance claims.
2. Performance: What is the Intel DG2 Capable of?
The Intel DG2 is based on the Xe-HPG architecture and boasts 4096 Cores with 512 EUs (Execution Units) with upto 16 GB GDDR6 memory. Intel claims that the DG2 performs similarly to an RTX 3070.
Now, these are some serious claims to speak of since the 3070 is nothing short of a beast of a card. Currently, there are six variants of the DG2 that are supposedly coming:
| GPU Variant | GPU SKU | Execution Units | Shading Units (Cores) | Memory Capacity | Memory Bus | TGP |
| Xe-HPG 512EU | DG2-512EU | 512 | 4096 | 16/8 GB GDDR6 | 256-bit | ~275W |
| Xe-HPG 384EU | DG2-384EU | 384 | 3072 | 12/6 GB GDDR6 | 192-bit | – |
| Xe-HPG 256EU | DG2-384EU | 256 | 2048 | 8/4 GB GDDR6 | 128-bit | – |
| Xe-HPG 192EU | DG2-384EU | 192 | 1536 | 4 GB GDDR6 | 128-bit | – |
| Xe-HPG 128EU | DG2-128EU | 128 | 1024 | 4 GB GDDR6 | 64-bit | – |
| Xe-HPG 96EU | DG2-128EU | 86 | 768 | 4 GB GDDR6 | 64-bit | ~120W |
That is not all; the Intel DG2 can even handle Ray Tracing along with deep learning capabilities to support DLSS out of the box!
Those are a lot of options and something for every segment, but it would be useless without some sort of release date.
3. Intel DG2 Release Date
Intel DG2 GPUs will release around Quarter 4, 2021, but we do not have an official release date yet. Given the current shortage of GPUs, it would be nice to have a graphic card that is actually in stock.
The manufacturing of Intel DG2 will also be outsourced to TSMC, the manufacturing giant of major silicon chips. So, it is not looking hopeful that this card will be the savior given the current chip shortage.
4. How does the Intel DG2 stack against Intel DG1?
The earlier GPU, the Intel DG1, was a budget option and delivered 60 FPS on low to medium settings, but the DG2 is in a different segment as it goes against high-end cards.
More so, the DG1 was based on the Xe-LP architecture, which is the low power variant, while the DG2 is based on Xe-HPG, the more gaming-oriented architecture.
Looking at the DG1 benchmarks, it looks like Intel is on the right track. It would be great to have another player on the field. Some competitively priced cards would make Intel the clear winner, but the bitter truth is that even if Intel prices them a bit higher, the cards will fly right off the shelf, given the current demand in the market. Now only time will tell if Intel is in it for the long haul or just to make a quick buck.
5. About Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, in Silicon Valley. It is the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer on the basis of revenue, and is the developer of the x86 series of microprocessors – the processors found in most personal computers (PCs).
Incorporated in Delaware, Intel ranked No. 46 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
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