Intel will integrate DirectX 11 graphics technology into its next generation of laptop and desktop chips (Ivy Bridge), a company executive said Thursday in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Chips based on the Ivy Bridge architecture, which is Intel's next generation architecture after the recently released Sandy Bridge, are expected to be released early next year.

DirectX 11 includes a set of tools that can generate more realistic images when playing games on PCs running Windows 7. Intel will integrate the technology into next-generation laptop and desktop chips.

Intel's current Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5 and i7 chips integrate the older DirectX 10.1.

Intel's rival AMD is already offering DirectX 11 support with its Fusion low-power chips, which were officially announced Tuesday. The Fusion chips are AMD's response to Intel's Sandy Briddge offerings as thay also combine the graphics processor and CPU in a single piece of silicon.

Besides adding DirectX 11 support, the Ivy Bridge chips will be manufactured using an 22nm process technology, meaning that they will be more energy efficient than Intel's currently available 32nm chips.