Intel is Reportedly Already Eying Up 6nm/3nm Xe GPU Designs

Every indication suggests that, at some point this year, Intel will be set to officially enter the dedicated graphics card market with not only the launch of workstation-based cards, but also consumer-level graphics solutions. Put simply, for those of us who are more than happy to see AMD and Nvidia get more competition, it’s exciting stuff.

In a report via TechPowerUp, however, it seems that Intel definitely has the long-term on their mind. So much, in fact, that they have already contacted TSMC (one of the world’s largest chipset foundries) over reserving the rights to future 6nm and even 3nm node designs!

Intel Look to Reserve 3nm and 6nm Chipset Designs

Intel has generally preferred using their own manufacturing plants. It is hardly a secret though that they’re struggling to produce at the levels required. This news would, therefore, strongly back up claims seen throughout the latter part of 2019 that Intel is at least agreeable in discussing outsourcing more and more of their chipset designs. Not a terrible idea in theory. Consumers will, however, be concerned that quality control might start to become an issue if they get desperate.

The plot does, however, thicken… With this deal being specifically linked to their upcoming Xe graphics card platform, it also shows a clear indication that Intel isn’t merely dipping its toe into the GPU market. They’re in this for (at least in terms of expected development cycles) at least the next 5-10 years.

What Do We Think?

Although entirely rumor at this point, every indication suggests that Intel’s Xe graphics card is going to be pretty special. A 7nm node design and featuring hardware-based ray tracing support? Sounds to us like they’re basically taking the best that both AMD and Nvidia have to offer.

Admittedly, no ‘deals’ have reportedly been signed or confirmed yet. This does, however, give us a strong indication of Intel’s intent for the market and with a launch expected around Q3/Q4 2020, we can’t wait to find out just how good these are going to be!

What do you think? Are you interested in Intel’s upcoming graphics card releases? Do you think they will have the beating of Nvidia? Could this deal potentially impact AMD in the long-term? – Let us know in the comments!