Intel Iris Xe Max Discrete GPU for Slim Laptops Announced

Intel Iris Xe Max Discrete GPU for Slim Laptops Announced, Promises AI and Encoding Performance Boost. The Intel Iris Xe Max GPU is based on the same Xe-LP GPU as the integrated GPUs in 11th Gen Core Tiger Lake processors. It is targeted at thin-and-light laptops and will be able to work in conjunction with an integrated GPU. This is enabled through a software framework that Intel calls this Deep Link. The primary applications that can be accelerated by “stacking” the capabilities of both GPUs include AI inferencing and video encoding. Intel claims up to 7 times faster AI-based content creation on the 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 CPU plus Iris Xe Max GPU compared to a laptop with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU and Nvidia GeForce MX350 GPU

As for media encoding, Intel says it has achieved 1.78X better results than with a Core i9-10980HK and GeForce RTX 2080 Super MaxQ.  Deep Link is also able to dynamically manage power and thermal headroom between the GPU and CPU, resulting in a claimed 20 percent improvement in CPU performance when the GPU is idle. This is similar to AMD's SmartShift power optimisation feature. The Iris Xe Max GPU features up to 96 execution units which is the same as the top-end integrated implementation, but has a higher maximum clock speed of 1.65GHz. It leverages Intel's 10nm SuperFin transistor technology. It can leverage PCIe 4.0 speed to connect to the CPU, and has 4GB of LPDDR4X memory with a bandwidth of 68GBps. Up to four displays can be run simultaneously over HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4 or internal eDP

Variable rate shading and adaptive sync are supported. Intel had long ago promised to launch a discrete GPU in 2020, as part of a sweeping effort to overhaul its integrated and discrete graphics capabilities. The company hired AMD's Radeon graphics chief, Raja Koduri, and several other key executives. At CES this year, the DG1 discrete GPU test vehicle was shown off, and distributed among developers. Intel also committed to launching a high-end gaming GPU for desktop PCs at its recent Architecture Day event, which will support hardware ray tracing and manufactured at a third-party foundry. Acer, Asus and Dell have simultaneously unveiled the first laptops featuring Iris Xe Max GPUs. The Acer Swift 3X, Asus VivoBook TP470, and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 will all go on sale in parts of the world in November.