Intel scraps Larrabee graphics chips

Intel - Larrabee chips not happening
Intel - Larrabee chips not happening

Intel has announced that its is shelving its 'Larrabee' graphics chips project, with development proving more time-consuming than the company expected.

Intel had hoped to launch its GPGPU chip either this year or next, with the company using the technology it uses for its integrated graphics in the design of a discrete chip.

However, graphics giants NVidia and AMD will be pleased to find out that Intel's plans have suffered a major setback, and plans for a Larrabee GPGPU chip have been shelved.

Confirmation

Spokesman Nick Knupffer confirmed the news, stating to Cnet that the company is 'behind where they had hoped to be at this point in the project'.

"As a result, our first Larrabee product will not be launched as a standalone discrete graphics product," he added.

This means that that Intel's offering would not be competitive, leading to a change of direction from the market-leader in CPUs.

Larrabee is now expected to be used as a software development platform for both graphics and high performance computing, according to Knupffer.

Drowning in its own ambition

As TechRadar stated out back in November 'it's hard to tell at this point whether it's waving hello, or drowning on its own ambition'.

And it has now become clear that this was the case, with Intel returning to its core focus.

GPGPUs are big news and becoming increasingly prevalent in computing - with the parallel processing power of graphics chips being utilised more and more.

With AMD's Direct X 11 graphics cards already performing admirably, and Nvidia's coming soon, it's a tough market, and one in which Intel will not, for the time being, be entering into.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.