Integrated graphics is hardly ever taken seriously, though vast improvements have been made in it the past few years, most noticeably Intel's various revisions of their integrated graphics cores. Their newest revision, the G965, will supposedly support some features you only typically see in standalone cards, such as Shader Model 3.0, Vertex Shaders 3.0, and Pixel Shaders 3.0. Another boost is the addition of HDMI output support and more support for hardware processing of video content. This will be a nice addition to desktop motherboards and various laptops that rely on Intel's integrated video, especially in office environments where performance can be appreciated, but the need of a standalone card isn't there.

Intel plans to begin releasing the new G965 cores in the middle of May as samples, with final production scheduled for 3Q 2006.