AMD iGPUs are “not that competitive” says Intel, reveals there are no plans to rival Strix Halo

Intel has made it clear it doesn’t feel threatened by AMD’s current level of integrated graphics, namely the iGPU in Team Red’s Strix Halo processors. We’d say the biggest reveal from Intel at CES 2026 earlier this month was its new Panther Lake mobile architecture, set to power “more than 200 designs” while delivering excellent performance and even viability for gaming.

Intel’s Tom Peterson recently discussed the Core Ultra Series 3 launch (code-named Panther Lake) with Club386. Peterson is an ‘Intel Fellow’, one of the company’s highest-ranking technical positions. When questioned on whether these new chips can lead to the production of a Strix Halo competitor, thanks to the improved iGPU, Peterson simply says, “You know, I don’t think so”.

Intel says it’s already more competitive in the integrated graphics space

In the chat, the Intel Fellow suggests Strix Halo seems better suited as a discrete architecture, or at least, says power users should be grabbing a discrete third-party GPU instead. “I think that segment would be better served by a small, discrete GPU that’s going to be provided by third parties,” says Peterson. And on the topic of efficiency – a key aspect of mobile architectures – Intel firmly believes it is on top.

“AMD’s current product is not that competitive, either on a power or performance-per-watt basis.”

Tom Petersen, Intel Fellow

“If you look at the relative performance of us versus AMD’s best today, it’s clear that we’re focused on integrated graphics performance, primarily for gaming,” Petersen adds. It is worth noting that Strix Halo typically isn’t marketed as a gaming architecture, but that doesn’t stop it from being placed in devices like GPD’s Win 5 handheld.

AMD has recently been bold enough to call out Intel on its Panther Lake performance claims, pointing out that its latest AMD Ryzen AI 400 series (code-named Gorgon Point, a refresh of Strix Halo) comes out on top across a wide range of categories versus Panther Lake.

However, Intel continues to make gains for lower-power systems, where its XeSS-aided graphics outperform AMD. This is particularly important for lightweight laptops and gaming handhelds – Intel has already revealed a dedicated platform for the latter, which goes to suggest we might see some powerful Panther Lake handhelds this year – none have been announced yet.

Written by

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.

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