A
AirRaid
Ricky Morris, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Thursday 7 June 2007]
Sources from multiple graphics card vendors have confirmed that Intel
has approached them to lay down plans to enter the discrete graphics
card market for desktop PCs. The new products from Intel would be
positioned as direct competitors to AMD's ATI Radeon and Nvidia's
GeForce series of cards.
At this stage all plans are still rather vague, according to the
sources, with Intel scheduled to deliver a more complete roadmap and
specifications in the fourth quarter of this year. However, according
to most of the sources, Intel will aim for the mid-range market in the
initial stages with pricing targeted around US$300. In the current
market, graphics cards at the high-end are priced at around US$800.
In order to be competitive, the cards will need to match the features
of products from AMD and Nvidia such as support for DirectX 10 and
equivalent memory densities, the sources pointed out. Whether or not
Intel will implement a technology to support multi-card configurations
similar to SLI and Crossfire is unknown at this stage but it is a
possibility as most of Intel's mid-range and high-end chipsets support
multiple PCI Express slots already.
Reception to the news is generally positive with one graphics card
vendor stating that it will almost certainly support the Intel line
with new products, while most of the others are all waiting for more
information before they make a decision. Many of the card makers feel
that the entrance of Intel into the market will increase competition
and will spur AMD and Nvidia to be more aggressive in terms of
technology and costs.
Sources at Intel where typically coy about discussing the plans,
simply stating that the discrete graphics card market is one of the
areas the company is considering.
According to Jon Peddie Research, Intel held over a 50% share of the
integrated graphics market (IGP) in the first quarter of 2007.
However, sources at the card vendors noted that this lead will not
guarantee Intel success in the discrete market as the market channel
for motherboards and graphics cards are very different. Sources at AMD
also pointed out that success in the discrete market is heavily
dependent on drivers. Whether or not Intel is successful will depend
largely on how well it can win the cooperation of game developers, the
sources said.
If current plans go smoothly, the launch of the new products is
expected to be around early in the second quarter of 2008, according
to the graphics card vendors.
http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20070606VL207.html
Sources from multiple graphics card vendors have confirmed that Intel
has approached them to lay down plans to enter the discrete graphics
card market for desktop PCs. The new products from Intel would be
positioned as direct competitors to AMD's ATI Radeon and Nvidia's
GeForce series of cards.
At this stage all plans are still rather vague, according to the
sources, with Intel scheduled to deliver a more complete roadmap and
specifications in the fourth quarter of this year. However, according
to most of the sources, Intel will aim for the mid-range market in the
initial stages with pricing targeted around US$300. In the current
market, graphics cards at the high-end are priced at around US$800.
In order to be competitive, the cards will need to match the features
of products from AMD and Nvidia such as support for DirectX 10 and
equivalent memory densities, the sources pointed out. Whether or not
Intel will implement a technology to support multi-card configurations
similar to SLI and Crossfire is unknown at this stage but it is a
possibility as most of Intel's mid-range and high-end chipsets support
multiple PCI Express slots already.
Reception to the news is generally positive with one graphics card
vendor stating that it will almost certainly support the Intel line
with new products, while most of the others are all waiting for more
information before they make a decision. Many of the card makers feel
that the entrance of Intel into the market will increase competition
and will spur AMD and Nvidia to be more aggressive in terms of
technology and costs.
Sources at Intel where typically coy about discussing the plans,
simply stating that the discrete graphics card market is one of the
areas the company is considering.
According to Jon Peddie Research, Intel held over a 50% share of the
integrated graphics market (IGP) in the first quarter of 2007.
However, sources at the card vendors noted that this lead will not
guarantee Intel success in the discrete market as the market channel
for motherboards and graphics cards are very different. Sources at AMD
also pointed out that success in the discrete market is heavily
dependent on drivers. Whether or not Intel is successful will depend
largely on how well it can win the cooperation of game developers, the
sources said.
If current plans go smoothly, the launch of the new products is
expected to be around early in the second quarter of 2008, according
to the graphics card vendors.
http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20070606VL207.html
