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Radeon-RX480-Feature2

The idea that AMD might license its graphics IP to Intel for inclusion in upcoming Intel CPUs sounds similar the kind of headline nosotros might write as an April Fool's joke — but there's a rumor that this may, in fact, be in the works. The question is, what kind of production would Intel wind up building, and when might information technology hit market?

This rumor comes courtesy of [H]ardOCP's Kyle Bennet, who writes that "The licensing bargain between AMD and Intel is signed and washed for putting AMD GPU tech into Intel's iGPU." So why practise we await this could well exist true, when it'south such a shift from the status quo? Several reasons. Commencement, the $1.5 billion license agreement between Intel and Nvidia is drawing to a close, and there's no sign that Intel is going to renew its licensing with Team Green. Intel took a babe step towards AMD's side of the fence when it announced that future Intel GPUs would be FreeSync-compatible, as opposed to licensing G-Sync technology from Nvidia. 2d, there's the fact that Intel probably needs an IP license from either AMD or Nvidia, given how much collective IP the ii companies accept in this infinite.

There are several ways this could play out in-marketplace. One option is that things continue to be business as usual: Intel signs a license and continues to develop its own graphics hardware. This is probably the simplest selection with the smallest upside for AMD, merely information technology as well doesn't give Intel much room to maneuver. Intel has included on-lath graphics IP on its motherboards and CPUs for 17 years, but for almost of that fourth dimension its performance and compatibility ranged from "nonexistent" to "utterly terrible." It wasn't until the launch of Sandy Bridge, in 2011, that Intel started taking graphics more than seriously. Even now, Intel'south GPU hardware and driver back up lag behind both AMD and Nvidia, though the situation has improved markedly over the past few years, especially in mobile. An IP license could requite Intel a leg up in sure areas, depending on what kind of flake the company wants to build. Simply it doesn't really change anything almost Intel's relative position in the marketplace.

Would AMD help Intel build a custom GPU?

The more than intriguing option is that AMD could build a custom GPU for Intel. This would truly be uncharted waters for both companies — AMD and Intel have never cooperated on an effort of this sort, and information technology would have risks for both. Intel would exist betting that AMD would design a better chip than they themselves could field, while AMD would be betting that Zen is strong plenty that information technology no longer needs to lean so heavily on its GPU strengths in the market.

Part of what makes this more probable, at least from the AMD side of things, is that leaning on the force of their integrated GPUs clearly hasn't helped AMD much to date. AMD's total APU concern has collapsed compared with where information technology was 5 years ago. In Q3 2016, AMD recorded CPU, APU, and GPU sales of $472 million. In Q3 2011, AMD sold $1.286 billion worth of CPUs and APUs, while graphics lonely accounted for $403 million. Losing more than iii-quarters of your market revenue in five years is truly disastrous, and panel revenue is the only thing keeping AMD live right now.

JPR-QuarterlyShipments

AMD's graphics sales take begun to rebound, simply the company has fallen hard the past v years.

That fact, more anything, may account for AMD's willingness to sign a deal with Intel. A simple licensing deal could still exist worth $150-$200 million per year, while the royalties from a major GPU evolution projection could exist worth significantly more. AMD needs that revenue if it wants to compete with Nvidia, launch itself into the HPC infinite, or proceed to advance its Zen CPU designs. Intel, meanwhile, may come across an opportunity to appeal to a larger market segment and make processor graphics a more than appealing upgrade opportunity. It'south likewise got die size to spare — Intel already dedicates more of its die infinite on desktop processors to graphics than to x86 performance, and Skylake'south quad-core die size is a svelte 122.4mm sq.

If AMD has inked a deal similar this, we wait to hear almost it sooner rather than afterward, though it could have a year or more than earlier we encounter shipping silicon. The nature of this type of rumor is that information technology raises more questions than answers — in that location's no word on how Intel's GPU would evolve over time compared with AMD'due south technology, for instance. AMD's determination to structure its Radeon Technology Grouping as a subsidiary could make information technology easier to line up this kind of bargain, since it's not as tightly affiliated with AMD. Only we don't know if the bargain would cover older GCN technology, extend to AMD's newer Vega architecture, or even call for the development of a new GPU cadre congenital explicitly to Intel'south specifications.