The performance promises of the next generation of Intel’s 14th generation processor graphics chip, “Meteor Lake”, should further improve gaming comfort on ultraportables.
At the end of the year, a generation of laptop processors could seriously shake up the market, especially in gaming. Under the code name “Meteor Lake”, the 14e generation of Intel Core processors will bring a lot of new things – assembly of chip bits, integration of a VPU, etc. One of its novelties could have a major impact on the potential of ultraportables: the graphics chip or GPU.
While the current generation “Alchemist” graphics drivers have revealed, in a major update, the intrinsic potential of Intel’s current GPUs, the graphics chip that Intel will integrate into its future mobile processors will be of the “Battlemage” generation. (in Xe2-LPG version). And the promise of performance is huge. According to some sources, we could even up to a doubling of performance. Rumors that are far from being far-fetched. And we tell you why.
Credible promises
About iGPU, I think it maybe will reach almost 2x perf levels. ([email protected]+GHz VS 96EU)
—Raichu (@OneRaichu) February 6, 2023
Let’s talk about the source first: under his “funny” name of @OneRaichu, this Twitter user has a very significant history of reliable communications. It was he who communicated not on a rumor, but on his assessment of a gain “of almost x2 in terms of performance level”. An observation that comes from the technical analysis of the GPU, the contours of which we already know. And who can rely on existing examples from the competition.
Read also : Intel promises an AI leap forward for its 14th Gen Core processors (August 2022)
The first argument in favor of Intel is the reduction in engraving size coupled with a new graphics architecture. We already know that Battlemage will allow Intel to increase the range and performance in the field of dedicated graphics cards. We also know that Intel has decided to call on TSMC to engrave its graphics. It should be produced in 4 or 5 nm, instead of the current 10 nm. Looking at the competition side, we’ve already seen AMD offer three generational leaps at around +50% performance – Vega to RDNA, RDNA to RDNA 2, and RDNA 2 to RDNA 3. Here, Intel’s recipe would be the same : the passage from the Alchemist architecture to Battlemage, and the passage from 10 nm to 5 nm, even 4 nm for engraving. Here is what to hope for this performance gain of 50% for equal consumption. But there is still more to go up to 100%…
More cores, more frequency
According to @OneRaishu as well as other sources, two important evolutions would be brought by the 5 or 4 nm engraving of TSMC. Linked to the greater density of transistors of these two “nodes” (N4 or N5), Intel has integrated more graphics cores than currently. To the 96 execution units (EU, roughly, the equivalent of cores in CPUs) that were found in the mobile chips of the 10e at the 12e generation, this integrated GPU (also called iGPU) would oppose 128 EU. Better still, these 128 EUs, which will therefore be more numerous and more efficient, will also be clocked more quickly. Much faster: at the 1.4 GHz of the Xe integrated in a Core i7 1260p, for example, hallway noise speaks of a frequency higher than 2.0 GHz.
If we combine the new architecture, the new engraving, the additional graphics cores and the increase in frequency, we can logically hope to benefit from up to a doubling of the performance in game. Which, excuse the pun, could actually “change the game”, as said on the other side of the Atlantic. We have already seen how the graphics potential of the Radeon 680M of the Ryzen 7 6800U allows an ultraportable PC like the Asus Test Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED – the real competitor of the MacBook Air, that’s it! – to launch absolutely all games. An even more powerful integrated iGPU could therefore make the gaming experience even better.
A look at this video allows you to get a fairly precise idea: an iGPU Xe integrated into a Core i7 1260p (96 EU at 1.4 GHz) runs Cyberpunk 2077 at 23 fps in 1080p (low level of detail) in a very resource-intensive point of view – driving around the city. Enjoying a game at least at 45 fps in Full HD on an ultraportable will therefore perhaps be within our reach from the end of this year for the launch of the first Meteor Lake references.
WCCFtech
