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Intel apparently plans processors without an integrated graphics unit. This shows a leaked slide mentioning the i9-9900KF, i7-9700KF and other processors.

Intel plans processors without integrated graphics unit

Intel continues to have massive problems with the 14nm production. Although the situation relaxes a bit, the bottleneck seems not to be overcome yet. The processor prices are therefore still correspondingly high. The i9-9900K costs a good $550 US, the i7-9700K costs about $410 US. Intel is currently apparently planning a solution how the products could become cheaper again in a very special form.

At the gigabyte event, where AMD’s X570 chipset and Ryzen 3000 were also mentioned, there were some interesting details to be seen on a slide. Accordingly, Intel is planning a total of six processors that will be launched on the market without an integrated graphics unit. They all have an F suffix. Concretely it’s about the i9-9900KF, the i7-9700KF, the i5-9600KF, the i5-9400F, the i3-9350KF and the i3-8100F. “Large offer without graphic unit (GT0)” is written in Chinese next to the models.

Cheaper production without iGPU

A statement from TechPowerUp also shows that there is some truth about the leak. The website confirms that it has also heard of Intel processors without iGPU. The use of such a product is obvious. The largest target group for the mentioned processors, primarily the K-models, uses a dedicated graphics card anyway, which makes the iGPU unnecessary. The competitor AMD has already recognized this and delivers the majority of its Ryzen lineup for the desktop area without a graphics unit. This can also reduce production costs. In a Core i9-9900K, the iGPU needs a quarter, in a quad-core like the i3-9350K even half of the die area. Intel could therefore have designed new dies that come without iGPU. This would place more dies on one wafer, which would significantly lower the costs.

Whether and when the processors will come onto the market is still unknown. It is also possible that it is only a product for OEMs and is not available for the end customer market. However, it is possible that Intel will do the same for AMD in the coming years and will offer only a few mainstream models with integrated iGPU.