Intel Explains Why It Faked a DX11 Graphics Demo on Ivy Bridge at CES 2012

Posted 01/12/2012 at 8:31am | by Paul Lilly

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In some ways the Internet is like the digital equivalent of truth serum. It forces people to fess up and spill the beans on their shenanigans, because in some cases, their tricks are caught on video and uploaded to the Web for all the world to see. This happened to Intel at CES when Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel's PC client group, was caught faking a DirectX 11 graphics demo on an Ivy Bridge Ultrabook.

The "live demo" was supposed to show off Ivy Bridge's DX11 capabilities by taking a lap in the game F1 2011. Eden grabbed the wheel of the controller, but as the demo started, a brief glimps of VLC media player controls appeared on the bottom of the screen, a clear indication it was a pre-recorded demo. It was an awkward moment, made even more so as Eden let go of the wheel and said he didn't need to use his hands "because they are driving it from backstage." Clearly Eden knew he had been caught no-handed, and in a flustered moment was put on the spot to come up with an excuse, one that didn't make sense. You can catch a video of the incident over at IT World.

If the DX11 capabilities on Ivy Bridge are so good, then why fake the demo? It's a question that raced through the blogosphere, with some wondering just how far Intel went in pulling the wool over the audience's eyes. Did Intel record the demo using a discrete GPU and try to pass it off as Ivy Bridge? The truth is actually far less sinister.

As it was explained to Anandtech, the demo was a late addition to Intel's presentation and the Santa Clara chip maker simply didn't have time to set it up live. Nevertheless, Intel stood firm in saying that it works just as everyone saw in the video, and to prove it, the company invited Anandtech to check out a live demo -- a real one -- on an Ivy Bridge notebook. It wasn't the same one Eden was using, but it was rocking Intel's Ivy Bridge platform with Intel HD Graphics 4000. You can see how it went here.