Intel is launching its first Iris Xe desktop graphics card today. With the original code name “DG1”, these new desktop GPUs are mainly aimed at small and medium-sized businesses and conventional desktop PCs. Intel is teaming up with Asus and other partners to sell these cards to system integrators who will bundle them with pre-built systems.
Much like the Iris Xe Max graphics cards that debuted on laptops in October, these desktop GPUs were not really designed for games. Intel is marketing them as a way to improve what is offered on conventional desktops, with better graphics, support for multiple monitors and improved hardware acceleration for certain codecs.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22261498/colorful_2_fan_dg1_angle_1_rwd.png.rendition.intel.web.978.550.png)
The cards will include three 4K video outputs for multiple monitors, in addition to HDR support and AI features. They will also support the decoding of AV1 content and will be provided with 4 GB of video memory and 80 execution units. Intel is even offering support for Adaptive Sync, so you will have a much smoother experience with monitors with a higher refresh rate with these cards.
Although these starter cards were not designed to compete with AMD’s latest and greatest gaming cards, Intel is also working on its Xe-HPG architecture. This promises to be focused on high-performance gaming tasks, and could usher in an era when Intel competes with AMD and Nvidia later this year.
Iris Xe is also not Intel’s first attempt at a desktop GPU. Intel ended its Larrabee project 10 years ago and also launched its Intel i740 series in 1998. This is the first time in 20 years that we’ve seen Intel launch a desktop GPU, but you need to wait a little longer to see if Intel can really face Nvidia and AMD.