Intel has accidentally announced details of its upcoming discrete graphics card, including the number of cores and memory speeds. The new card, designed to compete with AMD and Nvidia in gaming GPUs, is called the Intel Xe HPG. Not the most exciting or dynamic name, but better than the DG2 codename, which stands for Discrete Graphics 2.

Whatever the name, @Komachi_Ensaka (via Videocardz) dug up some reference material on Intel.com itself: the material unearthed from the "DG2" search is only accessible with an authorized login to the Intel Resource Center. In other words, you can only access them as an OEM partner, but the titles and snippets of the documents themselves contain a surprising amount of information.

Most interestingly, it has been officially confirmed that a full fat 512 execution unit (EU) version of the DG2 GPU does indeed exist. This is a 4096-core analog that may offer similar overall performance to the recently released Radeon RX 6700 XT.

Intel's own documentation also details 128 EU and 384 EU versions of the DG2 GPU, which correspond to 1,024 and 3,072 core analog chips. The document title does not provide any other actual core details, but notes that there are a total of five different GPU SKUs for notebooks

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This may mean that there are only three different core counts, but with different levels of memory support. Or it could mean that the rumors of 96, 128, 196, 256, 384, and 512 EU versions of DG2 are true and that these will all be in tomorrow's PCs and laptops. In any case, later this year.

Videocardz also found references to different sockets used by the 512 and 128 EU GPUs, the former soldered to a 2660-pin ball grid array (BGA) socket and the latter to a 1379-pin BGA socket.

Through references to DG2 in Tiger Lake H laptops, the site suggests that DG2 will debut in these machines later this year. Making the new discrete GPUs available first on the 11th generation gaming laptops makes some sense, as it will give Intel tight control over the entire system from the start. If the add-in cards are released first, the Intel Xe HPG cards will be at the mercy of the myriad systems that the PC platform will feature, and who knows what difference an older CPU, different motherboard, or strange memory configuration will make to a brand new GPU.

By launching on laptops first, it will be much easier for Intel to validate and optimize the GPU and drivers for the exact system before it gets into the hands of reviewers and the general public.

The final piece of the puzzle unearthed from these document titles and snippets is a note on graphics memory: Intel Xe HPG cards will be released with GDDR6 support, capable of running at data rates from 14 GT/sec to up to 18 GT/sec

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So what does this mean? Basically, it is happening, really happening. I never thought Intel would get to the point of releasing an actual discrete gaming GPU, at least not this year. Even when Jacob got his DG1, I still couldn't believe that there would be a gaming-ready follow-on that might actually be on my test rig.

But from the teaser trailer to the first Xe HPG Scavenger Hunt (whatever the prize is, it's already all been claimed), and from the increasing number of details buzzing around the Internets, there really is a third way out of the current graphics card crisis We surely won't have to wait much longer to find out if there really is a third way out of the current graphics card crisis.