Arch-rivals AMD and Intel have joined forces to create a gaming-grade chip for ultra-portable laptops.
The chip will see Intel provide the CPU, while long-time competitor AMD will offer up GPU hardware. The idea is to have a chipset that can provide slim and lightweight laptops with the power for gaming, without the reliance on Nvidia mobile GPUs and its Max-Q architecture.
This is the first partnership between the two companies since the 1980s, who have for years battled in the CPU arena; Intel had been on top in terms of CPU power and performance until AMD’s Ryzen processors made their debut this year.
Intel produces its own graphics processors in the form of Iris processors which are integrated into its Core i family of CPUs. But they cannot deliver the power needed to run games with much gusto, so Intel’s mobile chips are often paired with Nvidia GPUs in laptops.
AMD meanwhile has its own integrated CPUs and GPUs known as accelerated processing units (APUs), but again these haven’t been able to match the processing power and graphics grunt of an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU pairing.
The partnership between AMD and Intel looks to break this trend, while allowing for gaming laptops to be ultrabook thin; so far only the Razer Blade can be seen as a slim gaming laptop.
“The new product, which will be part of our 8th Gen Intel Core family, brings together our high-performing Intel Core H-series processor, second generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2) and a custom-to-Intel third-party discrete graphics chip from AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group – all in a single processor package,” said Chris Walker, general manager of the mobile client platform at Intel.
There was no mention on when we can expect to see this chip in laptops, but the partnership between two traditional rivals is noteworthy and should see them combine their talents to produce something truly impressive rather than continue to duke it out in the processor world.
Related: Best gaming laptops
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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