Intel CCG will manage all consumer silicon.
What you should know
- The most recent Intel reorganization will divide its GPU teams into two groups, with a focus on gaming and data centers.
- The discrete gaming GPU will fall under the same management as the company’s CCG business, which handles processors.
- It will include its GPU for data centers within its Data Center and AI business.
- Intel states that its teams are “fully engaged” in preparing the next-generation Intel Arc Battlemage GPU, but no specific release date was provided.
- Not only will Intel’s new GPUs face stiff competition from rivals such as AMD and Nvidia, but the company is pursuing this endeavor at a time when there is an oversupply of graphics cards.
Intel’s latest business realignment sees the company’s graphics division split in two, with the consumer Arc GPU group being managed by Intel’s Client Computing Group (CCG). This means that consumer graphics will be managed by Lisa Pearce, director of Intel Graphics Software Engineering, and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, head of the CCG.
Before the reorganization, the graphics division was a separate division within the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) business and was led by Executive Vice President Raj Koduri. After the change, Koduri will return to his previous position as Chief Architect.
“With our flagship products now in production, we are evolving our structure to accelerate and scale their impact and drive go-to-market strategies with a unified voice to customers,” the company said in a statement, emphasizing the significance of the GPU and accelerated computing markets. This includes our consumer graphics teams joining our client computing group and our accelerated computing teams joining our data center and artificial intelligence group.
Intel’s Data Center and AI (DCAI) business will absorb the GPU team responsible for data center and GPC products. The teams responsible for the GPU’s SoC and IP design will also move to DCAI but will continue to support the client graphics team, according to the company.
Uncertainty surrounds the immediate effects of the reorganization on Intel’s GPU release schedules for gamers, but a closer realignment of Intel’s consumer processors and consumer graphics could help the company find architectural ways to drive better performance gains and increase tie-ins. Even though Smart Access Memory was no longer exclusive to AMD’s Radeon and Ryzen families, Intel’s competitor was able to deliver a 15% performance boost when combining that company’s CPU and GPU silicon, for example.
Even though Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has expressed optimism about the company’s efforts to enter the discrete GPU market in the past, it is unclear whether the company has encountered any obstacles. Recent GPU market challenges for Intel and its competitors include a glut of graphics card inventory as a result of years of supply issues caused by the global pandemic and prior cryptocurrency demand. If Intel’s next-generation discrete gaming graphics cards do not perform well, it may be difficult for the company to continue investing in the business, even though Intel has shown no indication of this.
According to a report by Tom’s Hardware, Intel executives appear committed to the company’s current roadmap for Arc discrete GPUs.
This implies that the second-generation Battlemage and third-generation Celestial playing cards could be released soon. It has been speculated that Battlemage could be released as early as 2023, but Intel has refused to provide a precise release date due to previous delays with the Arc line.
Intel’s next-generation graphics will also have to compete with the recently released RTX 4000 series graphics from Nvidia and the Radeon 7900 series from AMD.
Aside from the gaming industry, Intel’s investment in the GPU business will be a valuable asset for the company as it enters the market for artificial intelligence. Having a GPU-driven solution for the data center and HPC market, rather than a CPU-driven solution, will help Intel compete with Nvidia and AMD while delivering higher profit margins.
