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It's simultaneously a shocking shakeup of the PC chip triumvirate (AMD must be fuming), a much-needed lifeline for struggling Intel, and a recipe for a potentially exciting future - the world's foremost graphics pioneer joining forces with the company formerly known as Chipzilla. Imagine the possibilities!
But I also have to ask myself at the same time: What does this mean for the future of Arc, Intel's own in-house graphics project?
Intel Arc's short history shows promise…
Arc is still in its infancy. Intel famously canceled its early "Larrabee" graphics architecture in the 2000s, which became a liability after the rise of Bitcoin and AI demonstrated the powerful potential of GPUs. Intel realized it missed the boat and rushed - slowly, at times - to orchestrate both the Arc brand and the Xe graphics architecture girding it.
The first Arc graphics cards launched in just October 2022, delivering great value for its price despite an onslaught of annoying bugs. Intel diligently fixed those bugs over time, and by the time the second-gen Arc B580 launched in late 2024, we called
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Although the mammoth Intel-Nvidia deal has ramifications both for the data center as well as the PC, it's the integration of Nvidia's GPU and Intel's CPU that will be the most impactful. And while that could affect Intel's desktop SOC roadmap that includes integrated CPUs, the most natural fit is how it will affect Intel's mobile roadmap.
According to both companies, "Intel will build and offer to the market x86 system-on-chips (SOCs) that integrate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets," the companies said. "These new x86 RTX SOCs will power a wide range of PCs that demand integration of world-class CPUs and GPUs."
Essentially, the deal pairs two of the biggest names in the notebook chip market. Intel. though it has suffered market-share losses in the desktop space, controls just under 80 percent of the mobile PC processor market, according to Mercury Research. Nvidia, meanwhile, owns a 94 percent share in discrete graphics chips, and gaming laptops that do include AMD silicon usually do so as part of the CPU, not the GPU — even though AMD's mobile "Fire Range" HX3D offers the advantages of its Ryzen X3D desktop cousins. AMD also has another problem:
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The companies say customers will get their meals within minutes.
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