Integrated GPUs are breaking new ground in a discrete graphics market full of price-gouged GPUs from Nvidia and AMD by offering affordable hybrid performance.
The entry-level graphics card market is shrinking fast, mainly because of inflation. Today, even basic cards like the Nvidia RTX 5050 start at $250, while AMD’s RX 9060XT 8 GB is priced at $299. Just a few years ago, you could get an RX 480, a solid mid-range GPU, for $199. As affordable discrete GPUs become rare, integrated graphics and APUs are stepping up. AMD’s Ryzen 5 8600G and Ryzen 7 8700G already offer decent 1080p gaming without needing a separate GPU, making them a great option for budget builds.
But AMD isn’t stopping there: At the top of its new Ryzen AI 300 series is the Strix Halo (formerly Ryzen AI Max+ 395), which shows how far integrated chips have come. It packs a powerful 16-core x86 CPU running at 3.0 GHz base and up to 5.1 GHz boost, along with the Radeon 8060S; an integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture. With speeds up to 2.9 GHz, it handles both CPU and GPU tasks within a 120-watt power limit. While it’s not cheap, it offers serious performance without needing a separate graphics card, especially in laptops and compact PCs.
Compared to Apple’s M4 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, both built on ARM architecture, AMD’s chip has one major advantage: Full support for x86 apps and games. Apple and Qualcomm are great for creative work and battery life, but struggle with PC gaming due to software emulation. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395, on the other hand, runs games natively, making it an all-in-one choice for users who want performance and compatibility in a single chip.
