Just yesterday, we heard how chip stock Intel (INTC) wanted your next PC to be a modular PC. This sounded like a decent idea, but undoubtedly, some wondered where such a PC would come from. Intel may have just the thing, as it followed up its call with some actual designs. This proved little help with investors, though, as shares slid just over 3% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Intel brought out a set of modular laptop and mini-PC designs alike, reports noted, all done in the style of the old Framework series. The designs called for the motherboard and the input / output (I/O) board to be separated, which does make components more accessible.
Further, the report noted, the new designs come with sub-boards located to the left and right, where, typically, HDMI and USB ports are seen on most current laptops. That leaves the central motherboard all on its own, and makes the processor and its cooling setup more accessible. And, from there, much more readily upgraded by the end user. The designs also call for the use of the LPCAMM memory standard, and M.2 cards to handle Wi-Fi and solid state drive (SSD) upgrading. Screen sizes come in 14 and 16 inches, and cooling can be done without a fan, with one fan, or even with two fans.
Showing Off the Gaming Chops
Meanwhile, Intel made a move to allay any concerns over its ability to serve in the gaming market. It got together with 2K Games to bundle Civilization VII with the 14th Gen core CPUS, and the Core Ultra Series 2, for a limited time.
This is not the first time Intel has turned to such a tactic; previously, it partnered with Ubisoft (UBSFY) to offer up Assassin’s Creed: Shadows with certain processors as well. The move demonstrates that these processors can handle these games; why else would they hand them out as part of a bundle pack only to discover that these processors are insufficient to handle these games? The consequences of such a failure are so high that it almost has to be a given that these processors can do the job, and that, by extension, makes them a more attractive prospect.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 22 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 57.24% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $23.87 per share implies 13.94% upside potential.
