Nothing lasts forever, least of all driver support. Case in point, Intel now considers 11th-14th Gen Core processor graphics as legacy products, and will only provide critical fixes and security updates to affected chips moving forward.
While this change encompasses processors such as Core i9-11900K, now more than four years old, Intel is also giving much younger chips including Core i9-14900K the chop. This isn’t too surprising, given that the architecture of these graphics is largely identical.
This change in policy affects both desktop and laptop processors. Intel has included a list of every product family affected by this transition, in its dedicated support knowledge base article (shown in the image above).
Intel hasn’t shared the reasons behind this move, but we can make a few educated guesses. Ending broader support for 11-14th Gen Core graphics undoubtedly improves cashflow. However, doing so also frees up resources and talent, that the company can put towards other projects such as integrating Nvidia iGPUs into future x86 CPUs.
All that said, some Core Ultra Series 1 and 2 processors (including Core Ultra 9 285K) use the same integrated graphics so Intel isn’t completely bidding farewell to its older architectures. Support for these newer chips should continue for at least a few more years.
A lack of day 0 support could make it more difficult to play new releases on Intel integrated graphics, providing performance doesn’t prove more problematic first and foremost. From my experience, though, these optimisations are more nice to haves than anything more substantial.
I don’t foresee this change causing much trouble for most users, as dedicated graphics should pick up the slack in the majority of instances. I’m keen to see what Intel does in the wake of this change, as it should hopefully allow for greater resource allocation to upcoming products. Here’s looking at you Arc B770, hurry up now.
