Intel continued to push the less-appreciated iGPU side of its business at GDC earlier this week, announcing a partnership with Raptr, a popular graphics utility app.
Raptr, which also partners with AMD, provides tools that let users easily update drivers, optimize game settings, and record and broadcast game play. Nvidia provides similar services in its GeForce Experience.
One added benefit is that the Raptr video capture service will also work with Intel Quick Sync encoding for faster performance.
Raptr collects optimal settings from its user base and provides a recommendation service. This is especially beneficial for those who use Intel iGPUs. Although many enthusiasts would benefit from a database of realistic and up-to-date game settings, most serious PC gamers employ discrete GPUs and take pride in keeping up to date on drivers, and on their ability to tweak game settings. Intel said that use of its iGPU continues to grow, citing data showing that 19 percent of Steam users have Intel graphics.
In addition to the partnership with Raptr, Intel also announced a game using RealSense, and a desktop LGA1150 Core i5 CPU in the Broadwell family that will have Iris Pro graphics, 65 W TDP, and an unlocked multiplier. Unfortunately, no other details were given about desktop Broadwell. Those CPUs are expected to arrive in the middle of this year.
A new NUC device was also announced that is expected to have this Broadwell i5 with Iris Pro graphics. This should be a significant improvement for the NUC devices in terms of both CPU and GPU performance. Most NUCs currently have dual-core mobile processors and Intel HD 6000 graphics. With double the number of CPU cores, higher TDP and clock speeds, and the move to Iris graphics, the new NUC should bring a significant increase in performance when it hits the market.
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