Good news Tom, for dedicated gamers and workstation users, we won't be getting rid of the PCIe X16 slot for graphics cards even though there will be graphics on the CPU. Going forward you won't have to disable the onboard graphics if you add a card. Shortly (a few months) you will be able to switch between the on board and the add in.
For hard core gamers, you will be able to run high end games on the add in then switch to the on board for video and encoding. You might even be able to use multiple monitors, not saying, just maybe.
The gen 2 Core i graphics are very good for gaming (about equal to a $75-$150 add in) and superior on video playback and encoding. Allows you to start there and add in later if you choose.
Even more surpsises to come.....stay tuned!
Originally Posted by tom2112
That's not cool! You won't see my cry over the integration of chipsets. They're a needless complication in my opinion.
But:
Graphics embedded into the CPU sounds like a bad idea from the consumer perspective. It's a lot more expensive to upgrade a CPU that it is to put in a new video card. Gamers won't like that much. I suppose if you don't have to buy the video card at all, then you save some. But in the gaming side of things, consumers upgrade graphics semi-annually. I'm a cheap s.o.b, and even I get a new graphics card every other year. But I can maintain the same motherboard/CPU combo for several years. If it's all on one die, that could put a crimp in the gaming industry that seems to drive a lot of the consumer PC upgrades/sales.
I'm sure there's some advantages, such as increased speed between CPU and GPU because of a completely integrated bus. But I'm still leery of any integrated graphics.