Future laptops will run games without graphics cards or Stadia, boasts Intel
Laptops have traditionally required a dedicated graphics card to run modern video games, but this may be about to change as Intel’s upcoming Ice Lake processors will be powerful enough alone to give lightweight laptops gaming pedigree.
This is all thanks to the Intel Iris Plus graphics engine found in Intel’s 10th Generation Intel Core processors. Intel claims this has enough GPU power to run games such as Fortnite and Dirt Rally 2.0 in Full HD with a smooth frame rate performance.
Related: Intel Ice Lake
The Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics is, of course, unlikely to be powerful enough to run more intensive video game titles such as The Witcher 3, Far Cry 5 or Shadow of the Tomb Raider without frame rates dropping drastically.
Also, running games at higher resolutions such as Quad HD and 4K is almost guaranteed to be out of the question for Intel Ice Lake laptops without a dedicated GPU.
Still, the idea laptops that possibly weigh just over 1kg could be running video games in Full HD sounds nothing short of miraculous.
The timing is also fascinating given Google Stadia will be launching in November 2019, promising the ability to stream AAA video games to almost any laptop, regardless of GPU grunt, as long as the internet connection meets the upload speed requirements. Ice Lake laptops could well be a great alternative to those lacking high speed internet.
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Intel’s upcoming 10th Generation processors will boast many other new features for upcoming laptops, including artificial intelligence optimisation, support for Wi-Fi 6 GIG+ and the capability to have up to four Thunderbolt 3 ports.
The new Ice Lake processors will also use a 10nm process, which is a massive landmark for Intel which has struggled to to scale down its 14nm process since 2016. This smaller process should also ensure manufacturers will be able to create smaller and lighter laptops in the future without sacrificing on performance.
Laptops rocking the Ice Lake CPU are expected to launch before Christmas, with the Acer Swift 5, Dell XPS 13 2 in 1, HP Envy 13 and Lenovo S940 among the first to be officially confirmed.