Intel Iris Xe Max GPU to debut on latest Acer, Asus and Dell laptops

Intel has announced its Iris Xe Max (DG1) GPU will be making its way to several of its partner laptops. This would include the Acer Swift 3x, Asus Vivobook Flip TP470 and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2 in 1.

These three laptops will be the first devices to leverage on Intel’s 11th Gen Core (Tiger Lake) mobile processors, Iris Xe Max graphics and Deep Link technology. There is, however, no word when these laptops will be made available locally in Malaysia.

The new Iris Xe Max graphics is Intel’s first Xe-based discrete graphics processing unit (GPU) that is part of the company’s strategy to enter the discrete graphics market. According to Intel, the Iris Xe Max platforms feature its Deep Link technology as part of Intel Adaptix, support PCIe Gen 4 and address an emerging need for content creation performance in thin-and-light laptops.

The company said in a statement:

We set out to redefine the role of discrete graphics in thin-and-light laptops and address a growing segment of creators who want more portability. Iris Xe Max graphics and Intel Deep Link technology serve as examples of the kind of platform-level innovation that Intel plans to bring to market in the future as we execute to our scalable Xe roadmap.

Intel added that it is also delivering two new features that can be accessed via the Intel Graphics Command Centre. This includes Game Sharpening, a post-processing technique that promises to give a visual quality boost. The second feature Instant Game Tuning, is said to keep games optimised without requiring a full driver install. 

Intel promises the new Iris Xe Max graphics, paired with its Tiger Lake processors, offer graphical performance that would make Full HD gaming on a thin-and-light laptop possible.

The company backs its claims stating that it has conducted tests with claims that with triple ‘A’ games like Borderlands 3, Hitman 2, The Witcher 3 and found these games are playable at a 1080p resolution. Intel provided a comparison chart between the Iris Xe Max and Nvidia MX350, showing its solution mostly outperforming the latter’s in most games.

Beyond just games, Intel’s Iris Xe Max graphics is said to deliver Additive AI that provides 7 times faster AI-based creation than similar laptops configured with third-party graphics. It also boasts that users can expect Hyper Encode for up to1.78 times faster encoding than a high-end desktop graphics card. 

Separately, Intel also recently unveiled its new 11th gen Rocket Lake-S desktop processors that will use its new Cypress Core architecture. The new chips are said to offer better performance and deliver enhanced Intel UHD graphics with the Intel Xe graphics architecture. The chips are expected to be out sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

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