Intel planned to announce Monday a laptop-computer chip that combines an Intel processor and an AMD graphics unit, according to a person familiar with the matter. The chip is intended for laptops that are thin and lightweight but powerful enough to run high-end videogames—attributes that lately have been driving sales in an otherwise waning market for personal computers.
Intel competes head-on with Nvidia in driving artificial-intelligence calculations for large internet companies. For several quarters, Nvidia’s business selling chips to data centershas been up by triple digits from the previous year, presumably displacing sales of Intel processors. Intel last year acquired technology to compete for that business with the purchase of Nervana Systems, and it expects those chips to start shipping by the end of the year.
Gaming PCs typically require both Intel processors and high-end graphics chips from AMD or Nvidia. Intel’s new product give it a shot at some of the revenue that usually goes to those graphics chips, while generating new sales for AMD and muscling in on Nvidia’s dominance in graphics units.
