What is claimed to be the world’s only working prototype for Intel’s Larrabee GPU has just been sold on Ebay in France, reports Tom’s Hardware. The final price landed at 4650 euros.
Larrabee was Intel’s attempt in 2008 to make its own separate graphics processor. The hardware should have used x86 instructions along with specific add-ons and apparently worked more as a mix between a CPU and a GPU.
Intel’s goal should have been to develop a graphics processor that could be used for more varied purposes than games. The hardware must have been able to handle very advanced graphic effects such as beam trace tracking and irregular shadow mapping.
In general, however, the card performed poorly compared to competitors and the project was discontinued in 2009. The technology that was developed went instead to Intel’s supercomputer department.
Also read: New king on the throne – Intel loses the lead in the chip market
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