Intel Larrabee - the Lone Wolf?
Intel still thinks it can revolutionize the GPU market with their upcoming Larrabee solution. Of course Intel is capable of doing that and with the help of GDDR 5 memories, they can easily come to par with ATI’s and NVIDIA’s solutions. However, a 12-layer PCB (4 more layers then current graphics card PCBs) will most likely give Intel’s partners some splitting headaches. OK, partners and integrators might figure out a way to reduce costs, but what about game developers? Are they getting DirectX and OpenGL support? Intel says it’s a NO-NO! Enter “direct mode”, the API of the future.
Well now, Larrabee wants to be proclaimed as the rightful 3dfx Voodoo successor. A new API like the good ol’ Glide from 3dfx might bring a lot of hassle for the game developers, as they'd have to write specific code to support Larrabee based products, which doesn't sound like it'll be a popular thing when the card is to be released in summer 2009. But 3dfx proved that Glide was better than DirectX and OpenGL, so Intel is not really treading on new grounds with Larrabee.
Fudzilla informs that Larrabee will launch together with six games that will have been specifically designed to take advantage of the features integrated in Intel’s solution, but Intel doesn't seem to have revealed details about which six titles this will be. Six games by launch time is not that bad, but Intel has to make sure developers will keep rolling a fair number of games that run smoothly on Larrabee’s new API. Then again, DirectX 11 is to be launched around the same time and game developers will be faced with some dilemma: do they make the shift to DX11 or get acquainted with Intel’s API… or both?
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