September 18’s big announcement of a surprise partnership between Nvidia and Intel could represent a sea change in the x86 computing landscape. There’s a lot to digest about it—and a lot of unanswered questions. From the just-announced Intel x86 RTX system-on-a chip (SoC) effort for PCs (bringing Nvidia graphics right onto Intel CPUs, in one combined, fast-communicating unit), to the $5 billion, around-5%-investment in Intel by Nvidia, this deal will reverberate across the coming years.
While the partnership has huge implications for the Nvidia-powered AI and data center landscape (bringing Intel CPUs into that fold) and for Intel’s general economic fortunes, I’m going to focus here on the consumer-centric announcement—the RTX SoCs. These products look poised to show up, eventually, in millions of PCs, fusing Intel’s high-performing CPU processing cores with an Nvidia RTX graphics “chiplet” on one chip.
This has the potential to shake up several segments of the PC market. Following the announcements, these are the five biggest questions that came to my mind.
1. Is This a Revolution for Integrated Graphics?
In short: yes, though I would add a few asterisks. First, do these chips even count as integrated graphics?
An RTX graphics chiplet will be (literally) “integrated” into the same system-on-chip (SoC) as Intel’s CPU, fusing the two into one unit. This is a discernable difference from running a discrete Nvidia graphics chip, with its own memory and on its own module or section of a laptop motherboard, alongside a separate Intel processor. But that alone is not traditionally what we mean when talking about integrated graphics.
Intel and AMD have sold processors with, relatively speaking, weak integrated graphics for many years, dubbed things like Intel Graphics, Intel Xe Graphics, Intel Arc Graphics, and AMD Radeon Graphics. They’ve gotten better in recent years, but these solutions still handle graphics workloads at a level far lower than discrete GPU chips can (that is, the powerful graphics chips sold almost exclusively by Nvidia and AMD). This is the usual setup for most PCs that don’t require real graphics horsepower, which is generally reserved for specialist professional PCs and gaming systems. Traditional integrated graphics usually power entry-level, general-use, and business laptops.
(Credit: Intel)
However, that definition is changing. These Intel x86 RTX SoCs join a developing space that we don’t currently have one name for (see my colleague Brian Westover’s take, which ponders a new name for this kind of chip), akin to Apple’s M-series silicon and AMD’s Ryzen AI Max. They are not discrete graphics, but they aren’t the usual integrated graphics, either. In these new solutions, one SoC powers the processing and graphics workloads, offering higher performance than traditional integrated systems. Part of that power is down to the system as a whole and the graphics sharing a large pool of fast “unified” memory; it looks like the RTX SoCs will utilize unified memory, too.
All told, even if these chips go against our more classic use of the term, they are a kind of integrated graphics. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang referred to them as such during the joint press conference with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan that followed the announcement, too.
(Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Does this announcement herald a revolution in integrated graphics, then? I’d say yes, but again, a caveat applies. As mentioned, Nvidia and Intel are not first movers in this area, but once the fruits of this partnership bear out, they will likely be the biggest ones. They may not have opened the door, but this looks like a massive step in pushing the PC industry in this direction. If the new “integrated graphics” umbrella now covers these multipurpose SoCs, integrated graphics are evolving already. In the future, expect the term to be associated with higher performance than we were used to for decades.
2. What Type of Laptops Are Going to Change?
This question is a natural follow-on to the integrated graphics discussion, because certain types of laptops are better suited to integrated versus discrete graphics. Laptop makers keep prices down by opting out of a discrete graphics chip from Nvidia or AMD; they often aren’t needed for many general workloads. They add significant cost and need more robust cooling. With the hybrid nature of these collaborative custom SoCs, it’s less clear where exactly they will land, though thin-and-light laptops that can benefit from previously unavailable levels of graphics performance seem a sure target.
They’re unlikely to be cheap, though. In a unified-memory world, the CPU and GPU both access the same pool of system memory, and more, faster system memory could significantly raise the ceiling. Additionally, the CPU and graphics chiplet will be connected by a highly efficient NVLink interface, potentially offering far more performance than we’ve seen from PCI Express and other solutions.
That’s great, but it costs more to add fast memory to systems, and general-use laptops have less need for it. While improved graphics performance is never a bad thing, all of this suggests everyday and general-use laptops may not see these SoCs. Take some existing examples. AMD’s Ryzen AI Max unified memory solution is geared toward higher-end systems. (A $2,000-plus gaming tablet, workstation laptops.) Apple’s latest M4 series, which also uses unified memory, finds itself in Apple’s lowest-end $999 MacBook Air 13-inch base model, but the performance gains over traditional integrated graphics are notably less significant than with the much pricier Apple M4 Pro and Max versions in its MacBook Pros.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Only time will tell how much the Intel/Nvidia x86 RTX SoCs will transform the product tier—cheaper laptops—most associated with non-discrete graphics. These products are likely a year or more away, so there’s no telling yet how many entry-level “traditional” integrated graphics laptops will see this technology at a reasonable price.
There’s some hope that entry-level shoppers will see these chips, though. During the press conference announcing the partnership, Jensen Huang pinpointed the general integrated-graphics laptop segment as one of the few areas of the PC market Nvidia is currently absent from. I can’t see these SoCs in the absolute least-expensive band of laptops, but these Intel x86 RTX SoCs could transform some slice of mainstream consumer PCs.
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After all, why would Nvidia compete with its own existing, dominant GeForce RTX 40 and 50 series graphics chips? Powerful gaming laptop lines are not the target recipients here. Similarly, potent professional workstations need even more powerful hardware. However, if new laptops can push more graphics power than before, these chips can transform a certain tier of systems into gaming-ready laptops or create a new band of thinner gaming systems. Consider AMD’s existing APUs in the crosshairs here.
In short, it’s most likely a new generation of content-creation and performance-boosted productivity laptops awaits these chips. But the market will have to speak.
3. Could These New Chips Matter for Desktop PCs?
On the consumer side, most signs point to the x86 RTX SoCs as a better fit for laptops than desktops. For many of the reasons outlined above, laptops stand to gain the most from a unified chip.
The space constraints, costs, thermal headaches, and other obstacles associated with fitting real graphics power into laptops apply less to most desktops. Large desktop graphics cards will always beat out a thermally constrained chip on a board for graphics muscle. Desktop towers, with the space for these graphics cards, effective cooling systems, and the modularity for upgrades and additions, have less need for the Intel x86 RTX SoCs.
That said, smaller desktops pose some interesting possibilities. I recently reviewed the Framework Desktop, a microtower PC that packs AMD’s high-end Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip. This chip is AMD’s top-tier option with unified memory, enabling the Framework Desktop to achieve low-end-GPU-like performance from an integrated solution.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
That’s nice on its own, but especially when you consider the Framework Desktop is very small and couldn’t fit a full-size graphics card to begin with. Nvidia and Intel are unlikely to issue desktop-specific hybrid chips, because you can use the laptop-minded versions of these chips in small-form-factor (SFF) desktops. It opens up the possibility of their use in mini PCs, smaller professional-grade systems, and more—amping up the graphics possibilities in the SFF market. But I wouldn’t expect versions of the SoCs optimized for towers, or socketed for desktop motherboards.
4. So, Did Nvidia Drop Its Plans for Arm-Based Products?
Nvidia has its fingers in a number of Arm-shaped pies, but you should generally expect no change in the company’s Arm plans. This was the likeliest outcome to me, off the bat—Nvidia would rather make sure it’s everywhere during its period of dominance—and it was confirmed by Jensen Huang during the press conference.
The Nvidia CEO projected full confidence in its Arm roadmap, with plans in place and customers already committed. This new adventure alongside Intel in x86 is exciting, but it will co-exist alongside current and future Arm initiatives. Arm already holds court in Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell processors and workstations, not to mention data center and AI infrastructure. These are a completely different (and dollar-rich) side of the business, separate from the consumer SoCs and gaming graphics cards.
(Credit: John Burek)
Huang also mentioned Nvidia’s next-generation “Vera” CPUs, as well as the Arm chips being deployed in AI-focused DGX Spark systems.
Rumors have also abounded about unannounced Arm-based products, notably Arm consumer CPUs dubbed N1 and N1X, hinted at by Huang in the past and expected to be done in partnership with MediaTek, which are likely included in Jensen’s sweeping commitment. But we don’t know specifically about that.
5. What Does This All Mean for Intel?
This has to be seen as something of a relief for Intel during a period of exceptional turbulence. Partnering with the dominant GPU maker will ensure a level of proliferation for their products if (likely when) these SoCs catch on. During the press conference, CEO Tan angled this as purely good news (no surprise there!), but it’s hard not to read a $5 billion investment as a vote of confidence in x86 as a platform and Intel as a company. Nvidia is not only visibly content with tying the two companies together in a major partnership, but also committing to a long roadmap and years of working more closely together.
Intel’s leadership in the x86 market—both its technical expertise and its market reach—remains strong enough for Nvidia to throw its weight behind. As far as specific products, Intel Arc discrete graphics chips—at least in the laptop market—may be one of the casualties. We have seen very few discrete Arc chips in laptops (not to be confused with Intel’s Arc integrated graphics), and they occupy the same spaces (that is, below high-performance AMD Radeon RX and Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs) that the x86 SoCs seem likely to slide into. We’ll have to see how it shakes out once these products become reality.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Then there’s the manufacturing aspect. Nvidia relies heavily on TSMC across its consumer and data-center business, and that will continue. It’s unclear if, when, or how a shift to Intel Foundry might happen for all or part of these new consumer chips. Intel relies on TSMC for some things, too, but if it can reach its goal to boost fabrication at home, these joint SoCs could be a natural fit for that. Given Nvidia’s extraordinarily multifaceted business, though, expect all these players to remain part of the mix for the foreseeable future.
Intel is rebuilding its culture with a focus on engineering, Tan explained, and this partnership indicates the path forward. Many of Intel’s existing products will be unaffected—the same goes for Nvidia—but the two are backing one another to deliver the next generation of computing and bring meaningful graphics performance to a new range of systems.
About Our Expert
Matthew Buzzi
Principal Writer, Hardware
Experience
I’ve been a consumer PC expert at PCMag for 10 years, and I love PC gaming. I’ve played games on my computer for as long as I can remember, which eventually (as it does for many) led me to build and upgrade my own desktops to this day. Through my years here, I’ve tested and reviewed many, many dozens of laptops and desktops, and I am always happy to recommend a PC for your needs and budget.
This article was published by WTVG on 2025-09-19 11:02:00
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