The big, breaking news out of the Consumer Electronics Expo (CES) happening right now in Las Vegas is chipmaker Intel and its launch of the new 8th generation Core CPUs with integrated Radeon RX Vega M graphics. This is awesome for those who like to take their gaming on the go, as the new processor is aimed at smaller platforms, such as 2-in-1s, lightweight notebooks, and mini PCs.
A Bunch of Firsts
This 8th generation Intel Core CPU with integrated Radeon RX Vega M graphics (originally announced in November 2017) is the company’s first 8th gen Intel Core H-Series on the market (but there are more to come), and it’s the first time power sharing across a CPU and GPU have been implemented. The CPU brings together the Intel quad-core CPU, Radeon RX Vega M graphics and 4GB of dedicated HBM2 using Intel’s new Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology (again, the first consumer sloution to do so). According to Intel, “EMIB acts like a high-speed intelligent information bridge between the GPU and HBM2 and reduces the usual silicon footprint to less than half that of discrete components implemented separately.” This is also the first time the CPU, GPU and HBM2 have been put together on a single package.
Less Space and Power But All the Performance
The aforementioned power sharing between the CPU and GPU apparently saves up to 17.5W of power and drops in 18 per cent more efficiency. However, despite being smaller and thinner, and using less power, these 8th generation Intel Core CPUs with integrated Radeon RX Vega M graphics will have enough performance to meet both Oculus Rift and Microsoft Mixed Reality performance requirements. That’s pretty amazing, because it means more people will be able to jump on the virtual reality train and experience truly immersive gaming from a slimmer and more sleeker form factor than ever before. As for the GPU, the custom-built Vega M has Radeon display engines with support for up to six displays (six displays from a portable PC!) and it runs in beautiful 4K resolution.
Available in Five Flavours
Intel is offering this processor in five different SKUs ranging from the i7-8809G (the fastest 4.2 GHz CPU) to the i5-8350G (3.8 GHz) and all of them sport four cores and eight threads. The faster processors with Radeon RX Vega graphics also have varying GPU clocks and compute unit counts starting at 24 compute units and a boost clock of up to 1190 MHz to 20 compute units and 1011 MHz. All versions feature 4GB of HBM2 cache for the custom Radeon RX Vega graphics component of the processor.
With the launch of these new processors, you can expect to see a schwack of really small, lightweight, but super powerful gaming laptops hitting the market in the near future. Systems based on Intel 8th Gen Core with Radeon RX Vega M will be available this spring with major partners making announcements soon at CES.
PLug-In’s Ted Kritsonis is at CES 2018 and snapped some photos at the Intel booth. Stay tuned to the Best Buy Plug-in Blog for all the latest product and hardware announcements and news as they happen.
