Sources from multiple graphics card vendors have confirmed that Intel has approached them to lay down plans to enter the discrete graphics card market for desktop PCs. The new products from Intel would be positioned as direct competitors to AMD's ATI Radeon and Nvidia's GeForce series of cards.
At this stage all plans are still rather vague, according to the sources, with Intel scheduled to deliver a more complete roadmap and specifications in the fourth quarter of this year. However, according to most of the sources, Intel will aim for the mid-range market in the initial stages with pricing targeted around US$300. In the current market, graphics cards at the high-end are priced at around US$800.
In order to be competitive, the cards will need to match the features of products from AMD and Nvidia such as support for DirectX 10 and equivalent memory densities, the sources pointed out. Whether or not Intel will implement a technology to support multi-card configurations similar to SLI and Crossfire is unknown at this stage but it is a possibility as most of Intel's mid-range and high-end chipsets support multiple PCI Express slots already.
Reception to the news is generally positive with one graphics card vendor stating that it will almost certainly support the Intel line with new products, while most of the others are all waiting for more information before they make a decision. Many of the card makers feel that the entrance of Intel into the market will increase competition and will spur AMD and Nvidia to be more aggressive in terms of technology and costs.
Sources at Intel where typically coy about discussing the plans, simply stating that the discrete graphics card market is one of the areas the company is considering.
According to Jon Peddie Research, Intel held over a 50% share of the integrated graphics market (IGP) in the first quarter of 2007. However, sources at the card vendors noted that this lead will not guarantee Intel success in the discrete market as the market channel for motherboards and graphics cards are very different. Sources at AMD also pointed out that success in the discrete market is heavily dependent on drivers. Whether or not Intel is successful will depend largely on how well it can win the cooperation of game developers, the sources said.
If current plans go smoothly, the launch of the new products is expected to be around early in the second quarter of 2008, according to the graphics card vendors.
