Intel's DG2 GPU Leaked Specifications Show Serious Potential

Intel DG2 GPU
Intel DG2 GPU (Image credit: Igor's Lab)

Intel's Iris Xe DG1 may be shaping up to be a disappointment, but the chipmaker's approaching Xe-HPG DG2 GPU could be a solid performer. German publication Igor's Lab has shared the alleged specifications for the DG2 in its desktop and mobile format.

The Xe-HPG DG2 block diagram seemingly suggests that Intel had originally planned to pair the GPU with its Tiger Lake-H chips, which are rumored to launch next week. It would seem that Intel didn't make the window for Tiger Lake-H, however, as Wallossek claims that the chipmaker will use the DG2 for Alder Lake-P instead. The DG2 reportedly features the BGA2660 package.

Apparently, the DG2 was supposed to communicate with Tiger Lake-H through a high-speed PCIe Gen 4.0 x12 interface. The 12-lane connection is a bit unorthodox, so it's uncertain if that was a typo. The DG2 would be the first GPU to offer DisplayPort 2.0 support. Oddly, the GPU only supports HDMI 2.0 and not HDMI 2.1. However, Wallossek did mention that this was an outdated diagram and DG2 could perhaps come with HDMI 2.1.

Intel DG2 GPU (Image credit: Igor's Lab)

Wallossek shared a drawing of the board layout for a Tiger Lake-H chip that's accompanied by the DG2. We spotted a total of six memory chips. Evidently, only two of the memory chips are actually attached to the DG2. This would mean that the remaining four memory chips are probably soldered memory chips for the system.

Nevertheless, we can't discard the possibility that all six memory chips are for the DG2. The leaked specifications suggest that the DG2 can leverage up to 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

Intel Xe-HPG DG2 GPU Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Header Cell - Column 0 SKU 1SKU 2SKU 3SKU 4SKU 5
Package TypeBGA2660BGA2660BGA2660TBCTBC
Supported Memory TechnologyGDDR6GDDR6GDDR6GDDR6GDDR6
Memory Speed16 Gbps16 Gbps16 Gbps16 Gbps16 Gbps
Interface / Bus256-bit192-bit128-bit64-bit64-bit
Memory Size (Max)16 GB12 GB8 GB4 GB4 GB
Smart Cache Size16 MB16 MB8 MBTBCTBC
Graphics Execution Units (EUs) 512384256196128
Graphics Frequency (High) Mobile 1.1 GHz600 MHz450 MHzTBCTBC
Graphics Frequency (Turbo) Mobile1.8 GHz1.8 GHz1.4 GHzTBCTBC
TDP Mobile (Chip Only)100W100W100WTBCTBC
TDP desktopTBCTBCTBCTBCTBC

Wallossek listed a total of five potential DG2 GPUs. The SKU 1, SKU 2 and SKU 3 could be considered the high-performance versions, while the SKU 4 and SKU 5 are likely the entry-level models. They have one common denominator though. Regardless of the model, the DG2 allegedly utilizes 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory chips. The GPU alone should consume up to 100W, maybe around 125W if we factor in the GDDR6 memory chips. The desktop variants of the DG2 might arrive with a TDP over 200W.

The flagship DG2 GPU seemingly has 512 EUs that can clock up to 1.8 GHz. This particular model is equipped with 16GB of 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit memory interface. This works out to 512 GBps of memory bandwidth.

The budget DG2 SKUs are limited to 192 and 128 EUs. The boost clock speeds are unknown for the moment. The memory configuration consists of 4GB of 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory that communicate through a 64-bit memory bus. The maximum memory bandwidth on these models is 128 GBps.

Assuming that Wallossek's time frame is accurate, production for the SKU 4 and SKU 5 models should start between late October and early December. He thinks that they may be ready just in time for the Christmas holidays. Production on the SKU 1 through SKU 3 models should start in between December and early March in 2022.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • LolaGT
    Next year, maybe, possibly, okie dokie.
    At least they are matching the competition, by not having anything a typical consumer can buy any time soon.
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    Assuming this is the same Gen11 core used in Tiger Lake and doing some paper napkin math:
    A 96 EU core gets around 1599 on Time Spy on average (https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Tiger-Lake-U-Xe-Graphics-G7-96EUs-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.462145.0.html)
    Bump this up to 512 EU, a 5.3x increase
    Assuming they're operating at maximum boost (1350 MHz for the Tiger Lake iGPU, 1800MHz for the top end DG2), this is a 1.33x increase
    Assuming everything scales up according to those two values (I know it won't), this means the 512 EU Xe core could get up to 11,271 on Time Spy.That puts it in the same league as the laptop 3080. But I think it'll probably float more around the 3070's performance. If it does perform that well, that'd be a nice third entry into the ring.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    In anyway this may be one of the best crypto currency gpus! Even if it sucks as a gaming gpu, it has great potential as a calculation monster!
    Reply
  • VforV
    No way top DG2 GPU will not come this year!

    Intel will push hard to get it out ASAP, they would be missing so much if their best card will come out only in 2022.

    Their last tweet or whatever that was said "it's just around the corner", that's months away, not almost 1 year...
    Reply
  • Eximo
    I kind of want one just to have something different, and to see how badly it runs Nvidia and AMD optimized titles when it launches.

    I miss my Voodoos and Matrox.
    Reply
  • TCA_ChinChin
    Anything to help reduce the GPU shortage. At this point, Intel could release performance of a 3060 with 3070 prices and it would still sell out.
    Reply