Intel Shows Off New Gen11 Graphics, Teases Xe Discrete GPU

Intel’s Architecture Day 2018 in December wasn’t just a CPU show. The graphics market is poised to be a significant component of Intel’s strategy going forward, and the company’s Gen11 solution looks like it’ll be a potent improvement over Skylake. These improvements are long overdue.

- Joel Hruska

For most of the past twenty years, the phrase “Intel graphics” was a contradiction in terms for those who cared about gaming. But starting in 2011 with Sandy Bridge, that began to change. There was a period of several years in which Intel’s own solutions were improving at a solid pace. From 2011 to 2015, IGP performance improved in real terms, meaning Intel’s GPUs got faster more quickly than games needed them to for additional GPU resources. There were still only a relative handful of titles that could be coaxed into running well, but the situation was improving by the year.

And then it stopped. Neither Kaby nor Coffee Lake contained any additional 3D optimizations. After three and a half years in the proverbial wilderness, Intel wants to change that.