How many cores could Intel add if they drop the IGPU?

[FrankJH]

Im not sure this makes any business sense for Intel in the slightest.

The general consumer WANTS integrated graphics - majority don't want an external card (and majority of those in here want exactly the opposite)

6-8 core with integrated graphics is all majority of business users want as well, so Intel would be spending a fortune re-designing and having an assembly line for a very very small proportion of the market

 

[JasonM]

Just picking up on the HT comments and some saying they prefer HT disabled, or removed.

I program stuff that's multi-threaded (neural nets that work on CPU threads) in .Net framework, I'm using fairly recent Visual Studio compiler so it should be aware of any recent Intel CPU designs.

I'll cut to the chase, with HT i'm seeing maybe 100% improvement, the performance is practically like having double cores. Now I know this makes no sense as typically HT gives around 25% extra. I'm not mistaken also as my threads work as jobs, I have timing data stored in XML files against them so I can compare whats happening.

Now it's just maybe because my software is doing massive floating point work that the hyper threading is not really being blocked compared to regular CPU instructions, just a guess maybe. But anyway there is no way I would want HT'ing removed.

 

[Hotwired]

For maximum competition with the mainstream platforms Intel need to add more cores to compete with AMD.
If you look at a Coffee Lake die the GPU takes up about the same space as 4 cores.
So that gives the option of 10 core with no graphics or 8 core with very cut back graphics using the same die size as the £150 i5-8400.
Moving onto 10nm and ignoring the disaster that has been but just looking at the density improvements and that allegedly will be well over doubled.
In other words they could put out a 16 core with graphics on a die size less than the i5-8400 or 20+ cores with no graphics.
To match that Zen 2 would need to use an 8C CCX unless they put out a TR style chip for AM4 using a MCM design.
I'm not speculating on what will actually happen but the idea of both Mainstream platforms having 16C chips starting at £200 or less isn't that wild based on die sizes as they aren't exactly monolithic designs.

It makes sense to me for the mainstream high end design from Intel to cutback or remove the GPU and focus on more cores.
The mid range design could keep the GPU to CPU ratio the same or weight it a bit more towards the CPU.
I'd like to see them keep the GPU but with a much reduced EU count so you still get most of the features that make it useful for non gaming stuff.
If all this came to pass what great competition there would be for us consumers to benefit from.

Why do you have the idea that Intel is in a position to simply swap out an IGP for anything.

There's as much reality in that as saying that if you remove a Fiesta from your parking space you could put a Range Rover in it.

Yeah it would be nice. But...

 

[smilingcrow]

Im not sure this makes any business sense for Intel in the slightest.

The general consumer WANTS integrated graphics - majority don't want an external card.

6-8 core with integrated graphics is all majority of business users want as well, so Intel would be spending a fortune re-designing and having an assembly line for a very very small proportion of the market

You have missed much of the context of this thread.
I did suggest two options with only one being to remove the iGPU and the other to significantly reduce the number of EUs
Personally I find the later option compelling.

The cost to Intel isn't significant especially when you consider this is partly about fighting off AMD. So it's as much to do with marketing as anything.

 

[smilingcrow]

Why do you have the idea that Intel is in a position to simply swap out an IGP for anything.

They can design whatever they like within reason and already have chips with large core counts and no iGPU so no idea why you think they couldn't do this!
It wouldn't happen overnight but no one has suggested it would. Strange!

 

[Hotwired]

Ok so no actual logic just a wish thread.

 

[smilingcrow]

Ok so no actual logic just a wish thread.

Nope. I looked at reviews where they measured how much space the various logic circuits of a CL chip consumed and wondered what Intel could do if they wanted to compete with AMD's moar cores strategy. So plenty of logic included and quite easy to grasp really.

 

[nashathedog]

I don't think Intel will go beyond 8 cores anytime soon, However AMD might in response to the rumoured 8 core Intel's preparing.

 

[4K8KW10]

Ok so no actual logic just a wish thread.

Not exactly. AMD is on the rise - they will have fresh cash to invest in programming environment and will invest in making their products more attractive. More paralelism everywhere.
Intel has no choice but to follow.