Officially unveiled last November 2017, Intel has published more information about their partnership with Radeon Technology Group (RTG) to merge the Vega architecture with Intel’s 8th generation processors.
8th Intel Core Processors now powered with Radeon RX Vega M
The new Intel 8th Generation Core processors with Radeon RX Vega M Graphics (also known as Kaby Lake-G) currently has five SKUs: four Core i7s and a single Core i5. These processors are born from a 14nm manufacturing process. The five SKUs are split between Radeon RX Vega M GH (Graphics High) or Radeon RX Vega M GL (Graphics Low). Despite having Vega cores inside, all of these processors still has Intel’s HD 630 integrated graphics. Here are their specifications:
| Model | Core i7-8809G | Core i7-8709G | Core i7-8706G | Core i7-8705G | Core i5-8350G |
| TDP | 100W | 100W | 65W | 65W | 65W |
| Core / Threads | 4/8 | 4/8 | 4/8 | 4/8 | 4/8 |
| Base Clocks | 3.1GHz | 3.1GHz | 3.1GHz | 3.1GHz | 2.8GHz |
| Boost Clocks | 4.2GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.1GHz | 3.8GHz |
| L3 Cache | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB | 8MB | 6MB |
| Memory Channels | Dual | Dual | Dual | Dual | Dual |
| Memory Speed | DDR4, 2400MHz | DDR4, 2400MHz | DDR4, 2400MHz | DDR4, 2400MHz | DDR4, 2400MHz |
| Unlocked CPU, GPU, HBM2 | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Discrete Graphics | Radeon RX Vega M GH | Radeon RX Vega M GH | Radeon RX Vega M GL | Radeon RX Vega M GL | Radeon RX Vega M GL |
| GPU Frequency | Up to 1100MHz | Up to 1100MHz | Up to 1100MHz | Up to 1100MHz | Up to 1100MHz |
| Intel vPro | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Integrating Vega
In a move to save power, these Kaby Lake-G processors use the Intel HD 630 inside them to save power when better GPU performance isn’t needed.
Much like their desktop counterparts, these mobile Vega chips uses HBM2 as VRAM for faster operation. These chips also supports AMD’s FreeSync Technology whenever you plug in a FreeSync compatible monitor. Here are the specifications for both the Radeon RX Vega M GH and GL:
| Model | i7-8809G, i7-8709G | i7-8706G, i7-8705G, i5-8305G |
| GPU | Radeon RX Vega M GH | Radeon RX Vega GL |
| Architecture | Vega M | Vega M |
| Compute Units | 24 | 20 |
| Stream Processors | 1536 | 1280 |
| Base Clock | 1063MHz | 931MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1190MHz | 1011MHz |
| Bandwidth | 204.8GB/s | 179.2GB/s |
| Peak SP Performance | Up to 3.7 TFLOPs | Up to 2.6 TFLOPs |
| ROPs | 64 pix/clk | 32 pix/clk |
| High Bandwidth Cache | 4GB HBM2 | 4GB HBM2 |
Intel has detailed some benchmarks with the official press kit. Until we get our hands on it, however, these would need to be taken with a grain of salt. But based on the initial numbers, the current crop of 8th generation processors with RX Vega M outperforms older gaming laptops with discrete graphics.
We won’t go too much about the technical details until we get hands-on with a device equipped with Intel’s new batch of processors. But it is an exciting time for both low-power devices as well as the mobile world.
