Intel puts discrete graphics card plans in the freezer

Intel's Bill Kircos reveals the chip giant's graphics plans in a blog post and confirms that the Larrabee project has been axed. Kircos states Intel will not bring a discrete graphics product to the market, at least in the short-term, and that they will focus on processors with integrated graphics.

The Larrabee research wasn't a complete waste of time though, as Kircos suggests they're working on a server product derived from Larrabee program and research in many-core chips. Here's a summary of Intel's graphics priorities:

1. Our top priority continues to be around delivering an outstanding processor that addresses every day, general purpose computer needs and provides leadership visual computing experiences via processor graphics. We are further boosting funding and employee expertise here, and continue to champion the rapid shift to mobile wireless computing and HD video - we are laser-focused on these areas.

2. We are also executing on a business opportunity derived from the Larrabee program and Intel research in many-core chips. This server product line expansion is optimized for a broader range of highly parallel workloads in segments such as high performance computing. Intel VP Kirk Skaugen will provide an update on this next week at ISC 2010 in Germany.

3. We will not bring a discrete graphics product to market, at least in the short-term. As we said in December, we missed some key product milestones. Upon further assessment, and as mentioned above, we are focused on processor graphics, and we believe media/HD video and mobile computing are the most important areas to focus on moving forward.

4. We will also continue with ongoing Intel architecture-based graphics and HPC-related R&D and proof of concepts.