Intel throws in the towel with the Larrabee chip

Intel has thrown in the towel in its attempt to compete directly with Nvidia and AMD with the launch of the advanced graphics chip that was scheduled for this year or early next year.

Intel has abandoned its plans to launch an advanced graphics chip based on the Larrabee project. The multinational that intended to confront Nvidia and AMD with this chip has come to the conclusion that the delay that the project accumulates makes it unviable in the graphics market. According to Nick Knupffer, Intel spokesperson, plans to launch a high-level graphics card have accumulated such a delay that the company does not see an immediate launch as viable as originally planned.

Now, Intel plans to continue the Larrabee project as a software development platform for high-performance graphics computing, although without it being reflected in the expected graphics card.

The abandonment of the Larrabee project as a graphics chip is a strong blow for Intel, forcing the company to focus on the software, leaving aside the development of the chip itself. Intel assures that it will use the new software development platform for both internal and external use, with availability expected throughout 2010.

On the other hand, Intel maintains its plans to launch Pineview, its first chip with integrated graphics in a CPU designed for netbooks, before the end of the year.