Intel Core Processors with Radeon Vega Graphics Officially Presented

As we predicted in the article on the results of 2017 , literally the first days of the coming year brought new news about Intel processors with discrete graphics from AMD. Now we have the officially announced Intel Core i5 / i7 line with Radeon RX Vega M GH graphics. To date, it has 5 models: 4 pieces i7 and one i5. Unfortunately, the prices of processors have not yet been put down, but their technical specifications can already be discussed.

All presented processors belong to the Kaby Lake G family and are made on 14-nm process technology. All have both an integrated graphics core (Intel HD Graphics 630) and the already-mentioned external subsystem that uses high-performance HBM2 memory connected using Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology. The CPU and the discrete graphics exchange data over a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus.

The new solution is designed for portable devices and will compete with today's models of laptops with discrete graphics. The Radeon RX Vega M GPU chips are close in performance to today's Radeon RX 560-570, but in general, in a three-chip configuration, Intel plans to surpass more productive solutions due to optimal load balancing based on the features of the components and the high speed of the HBM2 bus.

However, all these plans need to be tested on real hardware under real loads. The problems here are the following.
')

• A TDP of 100 watts for a laptop is a lot, vendors will have to conjure over cooling systems;
• due to the same, it is unclear what the indicators of autonomy and noise will be;
• new drivers must be released and stabilized;
• Finally, the cost of a comprehensive solution is still unknown - whether there will be a benefit.

Comparative characteristics of the processors are given in the table.

Model	i7-8809G	i7-8709G	i7-8706G	i7-8705G	I5-8305G
CPU
Cores / Threads	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8
Baz. frequency	3.1 GHz	3.1 GHz	3.1 GHz	3.1 GHz	2.8 GHz
Cache	8 MB	8 MB	8 MB	8 MB	6 MB
Memory	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2400
Tdp	100 watts	100 watts	65 W	65 W	65 W
Discrete graphics
Baz. Frequency	1063 MHz	1063 MHz	931 MHz	931 MHz	931 MHz
Memory	4 GB HBM2	4 GB HBM2	4 GB HBM2	4 GB HBM2	4 GB HBM2
Video output	eDP 1.4, DP 1.4 w / HDR, HDMI 2.0b, DVI
Max. permission	4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
DirectX / OpenGL	12 / 4.5	12 / 4.5	12 / 4.5	12 / 4.5	12 / 4.5
Vulkan API	Supported by
No. of Disp.	6	6	6	6	6
Integrated graphics
Baz. Frequency	350 MHz	350 MHz	350 MHz	350 MHz	350 MHz
Max. memory	64 GB	64 GB	64 GB	64 GB	64 GB
Video output	eDP 1.4, DP 1.2, HDMI 1.4, DVI
Max. permission	4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
DirectX / OpenGL	12 / 4.4	12 / 4.4	12 / 4.4	12 / 4.4	12 / 4.4
No. of Disp.	3	3	3	3	3

According to forecasts, sales of commercial samples on the new platform will begin in the second quarter of 2018. Then we will get answers to the questions asked.