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By its very nature, Intel's tick-tock strategy means that important architectural changes are only introduced once the production process is operating near 100% efficiency, so what's going on with Ivy Bridge?
KitGuru prepares to get well and truly pixelated.
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From what we have heard, every sales meeting that Intel has taken since the end of 2009 has included common themes:-
- DX11 is not that important
- DX11 is having little impact in the mass market
- There are hardly any games that use DX11
Against that argument, nVidia and AMD have been engaged in a battle-royal [With cheese? – Ed] to include ever more DirectX 11 features – especially the advanced stuff like Tessellation.
Sources close to Intel have told KitGuru that the company is sick and tired of hearing AMD and nVidia banging on about DirectX 11. On a global level, Intel seems to have changed its mind – and decided that DX11 is important and has got a roll to play.
So can enough features be enabled within Ivy Bridge to allow Intel to tick the DX11 box in time for Microsoft's launch of DX11.1 with Windows 8 in 1012? Also, more importantly, will it be worth while?
How much effort you put into something, is largely based on the commercials. How big an audience is interested in spending money on the product you're creating? Intel's Philip Taylor has been looking at the size of the market and has confidently predicted that of the 400 million computers that will be sold in 2014, 300 million will ship with integrated graphics.
He's also saying that once Ivy Bridge hits, only serious enthusiasts will need to think about graphic cards – everyone else will be happy with the GPU capabilities integrated inside the CPU. Interesting view point. KitGuru wonders if Phil's right? What would it mean if 70% of the world's machines shipped with DirectX 11 or better onboard?
That brings us back to Intel's sales approach. Let's see if we can guess how the previous messaging will need to be updated, shall we ?
- DX11 is not that important? Might be to the +250m users that Intel is predicting will buy a new DX11 PC in future years
- DX11 is having little impact in the mass market? Those same users might disagree
- There are hardly any games that use DX11 Looking at the launches, DX11 was taken up faster than any previous version
Right now, in air-conditioned luxury somewhere, Intel has a team of marketing folks working hard on telling the world just how amazing DirectX 11 is. While they are at it, there will also be messaging about how important it is and, we'd guess, how amazing Intel's implementation will be.
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Comments below or in the KitGuru forum.
– DX11 is not that important: False. People adore it. The boost in Graphics is beautiful.
– DX11 is having little impact in the mass market: False. Almost every game launched recently has had DX11 support natively, or is getting it implemented (Crysis 2, which is more of a Console Port than an actual PC Game). Even World of Warcraft which is 6 years old now got initial support for it with Cataclysm.
– There are hardly any games that use DX11 Maybe in 2009, but in 20102011? Nope.
“Intel’s Philip Taylor has been looking at the size of the market and has confidently predicted that of the 400 million computers that will be sold in 2014, 300 million will ship with integrated graphics.”
That’s most likely true, but that’s also not the point.
– Extreme Series Intel CPUs cost a LOT more than non-Extreme, even if they don’t include Built-in GPUs, making people buy higher end Performance CPUs but not Extreme Series.
– Just because someone buys a CPU with a built-in GPU, doesn’t mean they’ll actually use it. The point is not how many are sold, but how many of those sold will ever have their on-board GPU actually used?
Far as only Enthusiasts desiring GPUs, not true. Video and Photo Professionals require Nvidia’s Quadro or AMD’s >thingy> Series. On-board GPUs can’t provide them with what they get from those Cards, so its not just Gaming Enthusiasts that will keep using GPU Cards.
It might be that only the CrossFire/SLi Users will be left using GPU Cards instead of the On-Board GPU after Ivy Bridge, but I think we’ll be a bigger crowd than predicted.
@Impy: We could not agree with you more – nice set of arguments. We really like the fact that Phil has stepped forward with Intel’s view of the world, but we really can’t agree with it 🙂
I think from Intels stand point of integrated graphics they are correct……gpu’s integrated onto the cpu are not going to be used for gaming to any great extent as they are not powerful enough. So what is the point of having DX11 capable gpu’s on them?
It may be a different situation when applications able to leverage the power of DX11 intergrated gpu’s arrive…..but where are they?
At this time and from an integrate gpu stand point Intel is correct.
I think that Philip Taylor’s prediction may very well come true, and in the sense that people will buy the integrated GPU’s and use them. Most of the graphics card sales were sub-$100 cards, and these are already dropping. Even for gaming, sub-$200 rule. Take a look at the Steam hardware survey, the top cards are GeForce 9800, 8800, GTX 260, Radeon 5770, GeForce 9600. Nothing extremely new or high end (although granted the top ones were once high end).
AMD will soon have Llano, which at its high end should provide decent entry level gaming. I’m sure Intel is aiming at that level of performance, and while Ivy Bridge might not reach it, I’d bet it will come close, and that Intel will continue to improve its graphics. That’s just 2011-2012. Phil Taylor is talking 2014. By then integrated GPU should be even better compared to the discrete ones available.
BTW, Phil Taylor worked at ATI and before that at Microsoft, as a DirectX evangelist. So it’s not as if he’s a clueless noob.
A couple of flies in the ointment:
By 2014 PC’s may be on the decline, giving way to phones and tablets. That will mean that the percentage of enthusiasts will become comparatively larger as other users leave the PC scene.
In 2014 both Sony and Microsoft are expected to release new consoles, which might finally get the majority of games to require higher end hardware.
Techno you’re right but I think that’s the point of the story. Intel now needs to say that DX11 is important for integrated cos that is what they will have.
Monopoly rocks! Lots of DX11 games will appear only then, when intel would have their DX11 products released. Until then, they will talk that it’s useless, and not important. It’s kinda- “It’s bad only because we say so, and it is so”