Intel Laptops Will Reintroduce Memory Sticks

Intel is reversing one of its significant recent changes to laptop chips. Previously, the company had announced that its upcoming Lunar Lake laptops would feature a set amount of RAM fixed onto the processor package, effectively eliminating the use of memory sticks. However, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has admitted that this decision was financially unwise and confirmed that this approach will not be repeated. Additionally, there are indications that Intel may be discontinuing its desktop GPUs.

Future Intel chip generations, such as Panther Lake and Nova Lake, will not include integrated memory. Gelsinger stated during Intel’s Q3 2024 earnings call, as observed by VideoCardz, that this strategy will be a one-time endeavor with the Lunar Lake series. He further explained that memory will be built in a more conventional manner, off the package, while the CPU and I/O capabilities remain within the package. The firm intends for volume memory to be off-package in its future product roadmap.

Although Intel previously presented Lunar Lake’s on-package memory as beneficial for laptop battery life—claiming it reduced power consumption by 40%—Gelsinger now suggests that Lunar Lake was originally an experimental concept rather than central to Intel’s laptop strategy. Initially, Lunar Lake was designed to be a niche product focused on high performance and battery efficiency. However, due to the rise of AI PCs, the product unexpectedly transitioned into a significant volume category.

The shift towards relying on external partnerships for memory chips and using wafers from competitor TSMC posed challenges for Intel. When Intel announced mass layoffs and corporate restructuring last quarter, its CFO revealed that Lunar Lake was financially burdensome and not conducive to improving Intel’s financial state. Gelsinger acknowledged that while Lunar Lake sales did not reach 100 million units, it nevertheless became a substantial part of the company’s total product mix.

For those interested in PC graphics, it appears Intel’s discrete GPU projects are also considered unsuccessful. Gelsinger is now prioritizing the simplification of Intel’s consumer products, signaling potential discontinuation of standalone graphics cards and chips. He noted an industry shift towards larger, integrated graphics capabilities, reducing the necessity for discrete graphics in the future marketplace.

This change means that while Intel may not progress beyond the Alchemist generation—leaving gamers who anticipated the Battlemage GPUs disappointed—its Arc graphics efforts, such as Battlemage, have contributed to the enhanced integrated graphics now available in its laptop chips.

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