Intel’s Xe-HPG (DG2) engineering board teased by Raja Koduri?

Intel DG2 running 3DMark?

Just a month after teasing Xe-HPG architecture being tested in 3DMark, Raja Koduri, a Senior VP and GM at Architecture and Graphics division at Intel, has posted a photo that might be showing the actual graphics card in action.

Raja Koduri has already posted a screenshot from the 3DMark Mesh Shader test, which was being evaluated with Xe-HPG hardware at Intel Labs even before the test was available to the public. Today Koduri posted a photo from Intel’s California Folsom test lab likely showing the DG2 graphics card in action.

Till today Intel has not shown any pictures of the new DG2 family of GPUs. The Xe-HPG is a new architecture designed specifically for gaming. The first generation of GPUs should feature three variants, offering up to 512 Execution Units.

The new photo has unfortunately not been labeled as DG2 or Xe-HPG, instead, Koduri is recalling the year 2012 when he was testing older GPUs at the very same lab. What he did say, however, is that the new GPU is more than 20 times faster.

Intel DG2 test?, Source: Raja Koduri

A closer look reveals an engineering board with a large CPU-like heatsink and cooler. This is a common way of testing new GPUs, which are often swapped out of the socket during the evaluation. On the desk, we can see two power supplies, one being directly attached to the GPU evaluation board, while the other one is supplying power to the motherboard. The GPU engineering board is attached to the motherboard through the PCIe riser. It is unclear which motherboard is being used, but it looks similar (but not the same) to the recently teased Alder Lake board.

Intel DG2 engineering board?, Source: Raja Koduri

While the tweet does not mention DG2 even once, we have some clues lying around. The 3DMark software that is installed on the system has all 3DMark feature tests installed, including the DirectX DXR test. The current generation of Xe GPUs (Xe-LP) has no capability of running raytracing. What this suggests is that this system was specifically prepared for DG2, which has already been confirmed to support hardware acceleration for ray tracing.

3DMark DirectX Ray Tracing Test, Source: Raja Koduri

Intel has not yet confirmed the possible launch date for its new discrete GPUs, which will be available for both desktops and mobile devices. The manufacturer has confirmed though that it will be manufactured using an external foundry. It is unclear if DG2 will be made in 7nm or 6nm fabrication node, but most rumors have been pointing towards the smaller node.

Intel Xe-HPG, Source: Intel

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