We asked the team at Intel about the Intel® Core™ i7 processor and what they mean to gamers, getting the intel story, on just how important the processors are in the gaming industry.

Why would you say Intel® Core™ Processors are perfect for gamers?

We know gaming and, over the years, we’ve demonstrated our commitment to it by delivering processors and platforms that push the boundaries of performance to unprecedented levels. In addition to straight-up processing power, we know gaming is personal and that the perfect system, in your eyes, is one you customize. That’s why Intel’s engineered a comprehensive computing platform of processors and technologies that are tailor-made for PCs’ most demanding experiences – like our revolutionary Intel® Optane™ memory as well as our 3D NAND SSDs, Thunderbolt™ 3 technology, Intel® WiGig, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Speed Shift technology.

How important are games when designing new CPUs?

Gaming has become an explosive growth area and a major cultural force. Intel, and the PCs that our customers create, deliver the best gaming experience available because PCs offer incredibly immersive experiences people have become accustomed to. All of these immersive experiences wouldn’t be made possible without continuing to innovate and deliver the performance needed for stunningly real live game play, streaming, VR, video editing/encoding, and the ability to play 4K games.

Another important aspect is the growing phenomenon of eSports which has captured the hearts and minds of avid gamers and spectators around the globe. Intel has been in the thick of gaming well before competitive gaming was named eSports. Earlier this year, more than 173,000 fans attended the Intel® Extreme Masters Championship in Katowice, Poland and the live stream reached 46 million unique viewers across the globe in 19 languages, making IEM Katowice the biggest event in eSports history. And for the first time, 340,000 unique viewers tuned into the VR Tournament Live Broadcast. This week, we’re kicking off IEM Season 12 in Sydney, Australia, bringing the heritage of eSports’ longest running tournament to more players and fans.

Now VR is becoming more common, do you have to take any considerations into account for the future?

Where today’s computing experience primarily involves engaging with a screen, tomorrow’s experience will completely immerse through sight, sound and touch. The opportunities VR brings are bound only by imagination. But delivering true VR is challenging. It requires massive computing power, new sensing and capturing technologies in both the PC and cloud, and huge amounts of data flow. Intel has the right mix of technologies and investments from the processor to graphics & platform technologies to the software, cloud and analytics.

Finally, our definition of true, ultimate VR is merged reality, a natural and dynamic virtual experience that will merge physical and digital worlds in real time through powerful sensing and digitizing technologies – completely uninhibited and untethered – to create immersive experiences indistinguishable from reality to headsets and PCs. To make merged a reality, we’re investing in RealSense™, volumetric video and our AIO solution Project Alloy. We’re also working with partners cross industry to scale VR products/technologies to the mainstream (Project EVO). Regardless of the device, we want to provide an uncompromised experience anytime, anywhere, and ensure that the continued evolution of the experience is driven and supported by Intel technology.