Intel has formally taken the wraps off its highly anticipated new line of Core CPUs featuring Radeon Vega graphics processors integrated onto the same physical package. Intel first announced its collaboration with AMD[1] in November 2017, confirming months of rumours. Details of one such CPU model were inadvertently published on Intel's own website[2] last week before being taken down, and now we know that there will be five models in total, aimed at both laptops and desktops.
Dell[3] and HP will be the first to launch new 2-in-1 laptops using these processors, but specifics will only be known when the respective companies do their own unveilings. Other companies will be announcing more products in early 2018. Intel has also launched a new line of its own compact NUC[4] PCs featuring the new processors and aimed at gamers.
The CPUs will form a new 'G' series within Intel's[5] product stack, and will be marketed as 8th Gen Core processors with Radeon RX Vega M Graphics. Of the five new CPUs, two have 100W thermal ratings and are designed for desktop systems, while three have 65W ratings and are intended for high-end laptops. All five have Radeon Vega[6] GPUs on the same physical package, behaving just like a discrete GPU. In addition, the Intel HD Graphics 630 logic is still a part of the processor die and will take over when a powerful GPU is not required.
Intel is claiming 1.6x better productivity, 2.3X faster graphics, and 6.7x faster video transcoding compared to a three-year-old laptop using a Core i7-4720 CPU and discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M GPU. Compared to a more modern system with a Core...