Maximum PC integrated graphics RSS Feed

Nvidia Ion Platform Invades Computex

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:10:48 -0500

Loud bellows can be heard at the ongoing Computex tradeshow in the Taiwanese capital. Nvidia is the one making all the noise with a bagful of Ion-based small form factor products. There are 21 Ion-based products being showcased at the event, including the Acer Desktop AspireRevo, Asus All-in-one eeeTop ET2002 and MSI All-in-one Windtop AE2201. Many of these products had not been heard of prior to Computex. The Ion platform has been at the receiving end of Intel’s contempt. But even Intel must be keenly observing the first wave of Ion-based products at Computex.

Report: Integrated Graphics Living on Borrowed Time

Paul Lilly — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:30:08 -0600

Integrated graphics has run its course and will soon become virtually extinct, according to a new report by Jon Peddie Research (JPR). The prediction? In just four years time, IGPs won't even make up 1 percent of all GPUs shipped.

That's in stark contrast to 2008, in which integrated graphics accounted for 67 percent of all graphics chips shipped. But JPR sees IGPs stronghold weakening to just 20 percent by 2011, resulting in a significant gains for both the discrete GPU market and emerging CPU+GPU technologies.

If JPR is correct, it will be interesting to see how Intel fares in an IGP-less world. The No. 1 CPU chip maker also accounts for roughly half of all desktop and notebook graphics, a position made possible due to the demand for IGP chipsets. Both Intel and AMD (Fusion) are working on CPUs with embedded graphics, which JPR believes will be a strong segment starting sometime between 2010 and 2012. For Intel's part, the company thinks it will be ready to serve the desktop (Clarkdale) and notebook (Arrandale) markets with CPUs with embedded graphics cores by the end this year, and AMD's Fusion is expected sometime in 2011.

Gigabyte MA 790GP-DS4H

Gordon Mah Ung — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:15:07 -0600

Pardon us, but crowing that your integrated graphics chip is better than your competitor’s integrated graphics chip is a bit like bragging that your D is better than your friend’s D-.

As sad as that is, it’s the tack AMD is taking with its 790GX chipset, which Gigabyte’s MA790GP-DS4H mobo is based on. While the chipset features DirectX 10 support and indeed might be faster than other integrated graphics solutions, it’s still slower than the ancient GeForce 7600 GS we compared it to.

The 790GX does support a hybrid mode, which allows you to pair an equally weak Radeon HD 3400-class GPU with the board. By adding the subpar performance of the Radeon to the integrated graphics, you immediately realize you should have purchased a better videocard. If that were the only story, we’d already be done with the 790GX. What’s interesting is that AMD’s latest chipset scales from dirt-poor integrated, to illogical hybrid support, all the way up to full CrossFire support. The MA790GP-DS4H takes full advantage of the CrossFire slots and lets you run two GPUs at full x16 PCI-E 2.0 data rates. However, Gigabyte makes a faux pas by pointing the SATA ports straight up. If you were to run two double-wide GPUs in the board, several SATA ports would be cut off.

The real news concerning the Gigabyte board is the inclusion of AMD’s new SB750 south-bridge chip, which adds RAID 5, additional SATA ports, and the ability to directly overclock the CPU further than you could before, theoretically. Our Phenom overclocks have been good but not stellar, and we didn’t seem to get much further with the new SB750, so your mileage may vary.

In our benchmarks, the board’s performance was all over the map, with hard drive scores particularly low. Only after installing a patch provided to the media (with the warning that it could result in data loss) did we see performance actually match that of boards based on the 790FX chipset. We imagine that final drivers will include the patch, but it’s obvious to us that the MA 790GP-DS4H’s drivers weren’t fully baked for the release, so color us unimpressed.

IDF 08: Using Integrated Graphics May Boost Laptop Battery Life by 1 Hour

Paul Lilly — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:53:36 -0500

One of the biggest sacrifices power users must make when picking out a notebook inevitably comes down to battery life. Lugging around a desktop replacement isn't just heavy, it also means portability becomes a PITA, as you better have a power outlet nearby when the battery loses its juice. But what if enthusiasts could have their portable cake and eat it too?

Intel looks to serve up such a dish as part of its Centrino 2 platform with switchable graphics. From within the OS, gamers and other power users will have the option of switching between discrete graphics during intense fragfests and internal graphics when hashing out that less demanding TPS report.

The power savings, according to Intel, will be as much as one-third, which in some cases could add up to an hour (or more) of battery life. More than just lip service, Intel held an onstage demonstration showing a laptop consume about 25 watts of power while using discrete graphics. Switching to integrated graphics dropped the consumption down to 15-16 watts.

Is this the feature power users have been waiting for?

Image Credit: Intel and HP