While we expect Intel’s gaming-dedicated DG2 GPU to arrive next year, making way for a third graphics card manufacturer to choose from other than the current AMD and Nvidia duopoly, it announced its low-power, OEM-only DG1 model back at CES 2020.
Although Intel doesn’t specifically designate it as a gaming GPU, the DG1 now appears in the specs of a prebuilt Cyberpower gaming PC, making us wonder what it’s capable of. Coming in at $749.99 alongside an Intel Core i5-11400F, it has surprisingly good value considering the stock issues pushing the prices of even last generation higher.
There’s little in the way of benchmarks for the Xe-LP-based DG1 just yet, but the fact it’s found its way inside a budget gaming PC is good news for the future DG2 card. If this cheap GPU can run PC games competently with just 4GB of VRAM and low 30W power consumption, that will speak highly of Intel’s GPU optimisation and could translate to its successor.
From what we know of the DG2, it could even rival the Nvidia’s Geforce RTX 3070 and AMD’s Radeon RX 6800. We’ll need to wait for the tests to come in before jumping to team blue, however, and it’s not likely we’ll see DG1 for sasle outside of pre-built gaming PCs.