Did you miss GamesBeat Summit 2021? Watch on-demand here!
On Tuesday, Intel revealed its new Tiger Lake-H CPUs for gaming laptops. These chips include hyperthreaded 6 and 8-core processors that are ideal for high-end gaming performance in a thin and light notebook. And this was always the goal, according to Intel gaming-notebook product manager Joakim Algstam. I had a conversation with Algstam that you can listen to on the player below or on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.
“It’s what we have been working toward since the beginning of the segment,” Algstam told GamesBeat. “As we balance platforms together with our OEM partners, we want to make sure that the CPU and the GPU and coexist inside these thin form factors with the best thermal Solutions possible.”
To that end, Intel recently highlighted Alienware’s upcoming X17 gaming notebook. The X17 uses new thermal interface material and a quad-fan setup to avoid temperature throttling.
And extreme cooling is necessary, even as Tiger Lake-H improves efficiency. That’s because Intel and its partners continue to push the limits on how much hardware they can cram into slim devices.
Algstam points to examples where device can now run high-end CPUs and GPUs in a sub-25 millimeter laptop with only a single power supply. A similar gaming notebook would’ve required two power supplies just a few years ago.
“I remember back in 2011, we had a project that focused on the thin enthusiast form factor, and we wanted to get below 20 millimeters, and at that time most laptops were muscle books and they were 50 millimeters thick and people looked at us like we were crazy,” said Algstam. “It was like a barrier that we wanted to reach and two years later [we announced] that we had a teraflop compute inside a 20 millimeter form factor and from there we were off to the races.”
Now, the enthusiast gaming laptop below 20mm is Intel’s fastest-growing segment at 45% growth year-over-year. And it’s precisely because a 20mm, powerful laptop can fit into people’s lives so well.
“What we have found is that people want portability in their own house,” said Algstam. “It’s not so much about taking the laptop out of the house. It’s wanting to sit in the den and then on the couch in front of my TV with my laptop and these platforms allow you to bring that capability.”
GamesBeat
GamesBeat’s creed when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. How will you do that? Membership includes access to:
- Newsletters, such as DeanBeat
- The wonderful, educational, and fun speakers at our events
- Networking opportunities
- Special members-only interviews, chats, and “open office” events with GamesBeat staff
- Chatting with community members, GamesBeat staff, and other guests in our Discord
- And maybe even a fun prize or two
- Introductions to like-minded parties
