When Intel introduced its entry-level Iris Xe DG1 graphics cards for desktop PCs early in 2021, it only positioned them for entry-level Intel-based PCs from system integrators. It even invented ways to prevent their installation into systems based on other platforms. However, since the Iris Xe DG1 desktop boards were not available separately, that limitation was not strictly necessary; furthermore, it turns out that it is possible to make Intel's Iris Xe graphics card work on an AMD system.
An enthusiast from the Chiphell community has obtained an Intel Iris Xe DG1 graphics card and made it work with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G on an AMD X570-based system. Officially, Intel's DG1 is only compatible with PCs powered by the company's 9th- and 10th-Gen Core processors on motherboards powered by its B460, H410, B365, and H310C chipset are consistent with its graphics card. Furthermore, those machines have to feature a particular BIOS to work with DG1. But that specific BIOS is only needed to boot the system up when the board serves as the primary graphics adapter.
It is still possible to use Intel's DG1 on an 'incompatible' platform when installed next to another graphics processor. It is precisely what the enthusiast did: he installed his Iris Xe DG1 into a system with a built-in Radeon RX Vega GPU and then installed an appropriate Intel driver. On the hardware side of matters, he only needed to turn off CSM (compatibility support module in a bid to disable Legacy Mode on the motherboard and enable the full UEFI Mode) and turn on Resize BAR. He needed some tweaks to run the Intel GPU next to an AMD GPU properly under Linux, but everything worked even under this operating system.
A practical reader would ask why to install Intel's Iris Xe DG1 graphics card into an AMD Ryzen system, especially one with its own integrated graphics adapter. The answer is the world-class media processing capabilities of Intel's GPUs far exceed those of AMD's GPUs. Not only does Intel's DG1 support 8Kp60 AV1 decoding, but it also processes mainstream video with better quality.
Rushing to an online store to get an Intel Iris Xe DG1 card for better media processing capabilities may not make sense for everyone. Intel's Arc Alchemist A380 desktop boards are already here, and they do not seem to have any constraints. But at least it has now been proven that Intel's previous-generation desktop discrete GPUs can work with AMD's platform.
