Intel develops low-power graphics core that is 40% more efficient

Graphics hardware can rapidly drain a laptop’s battery. If Intel brings a new low-power graphics core to market, though, high-performance visuals and long battery life won’t be mutually exclusive concepts. The experimental design boosts the voltage of those components it needs the most, letting it aggressively reduce the voltage of unused circuits; it can even put the entire core to sleep for brief moments. The result is a GPU that’s 40 percent more efficient than what you’d otherwise get. 

Intel has designed a new integrated graphics core that the company claims can improve the battery life of smartphones, tablets and laptops. Graphics can be power hungry and the new power-efficient core, when paired with a CPU, represents a leap in bringing down overall power consumption on chips, said Intel researcher Divya Kolar, in a blog entry. “This graphics core incorporates several new features that allow it to improve energy efficiency by 40 percent—essentially giving longer battery life for the same performance or improving performance when you really need it,” Kolar wrote. The graphics core was developed by Intel’s researchers, and a paper about the technology is being presented at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this week.