Intel has officially ceased regular support for Gen 9 iGPUs
Since Intel’s Clarkdale in 2010, integrated graphics have been incorporated within the CPU, belonging to Gen 5 iGPUs. Commonly seen Alder Lake and Raptor Lake in the market now feature evolved Gen 12 iGPUs. However, the most memorable for gamers are Skylake’s Gen 9 and Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, and Comet Lake’s Gen 9.5, spanning from the 6th to the 10th generation of Core processors.
As reported by TechPowerup, Intel has officially ceased regular support for Gen 9 iGPUs, utilized by the 6th generation Core Skylake processors, with the final regular driver being version 31.0.101.2115. Boasting up to 24 EUs, it provides basic display functionality, complying with Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 WHQL requirements, and supporting Direct3D DDI up to API level 11_0.
Furthermore, Gen 9 iGPUs support hardware acceleration for HEVC/H.265, AVC, SVC, VP8, and MJPEG, as well as camera RAW architecture. In terms of multimedia, Gen 9 iGPUs employ a single fixed-function unit to reduce power consumption, while Quick Sync transcoding units utilize fixed-function encoders to minimize power usage and latency. Video decoding and transcoding acceleration also support standards such as HEVC/H.265, VP8, and MJPEG.
The “retirement” of Gen 9 iGPUs implies that Intel will no longer provide driver updates on a regular basis, reducing support frequency to a minimum and only offering updates when critical security or stability issues necessitate fixes. Intel will continue to support Gen 9.5 iGPUs, powering the 7th through 10th generation Core processors.
Building upon the Gen 9 foundation, Gen 9.5 iGPUs enhance video hardware decoding capabilities, utilizing the more potent MFX multi-format media codec hardware module, supporting 10-bit HEVC, 8/10-bit VP9 video format hardware decoding, 10-bit HEVC, 8-bit VP9 video format hardware encoding, and introducing Intel Wireless Display technology support while boosting AVC encoding efficiency. Moreover, the VQE video quality engine now supports HDR and SDR, with expanded color gamut support for Rec.2020.
