New Intel Arc Battlemage gaming GPUs could arrive as soon as next month

[Daniel Sims]

Rumor mill: Reports have long suggested that Intel plans to launch its second generation of desktop graphics cards in late 2024, and there's no indication that Chipzilla has encountered significant delays. While details on specifications, performance, and pricing remain scarce, the new GPUs could arrive weeks ahead of competitor releases from AMD and Nvidia. Moreover, could this be Intel's last hurrah before they abandon desktop GPUs again?

Trusted leaker Golden Pig Upgrade recently hinted that Intel's upcoming Arc Battlemage desktop graphics cards will debut in December. Little is known regarding the company's intended market segment, but the tipster described Battlemage's performance as "wonderful."

Battlemage will succeed Arc Alchemist, Intel's first dedicated GPU series, which launched in 2022. The most powerful Alchemist model, the Arc A770, was roughly comparable to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060, so Battlemage is likely to focus on mid-range and entry-level cards.

Earlier reports uncovered three Battlemage GPUs: BMG-G10, BMG-21, and BMG-31. BMG-G10, the most powerful of the three, isn't expected to be released for consumer use, signaling that Intel isn't aiming to compete in the enthusiast space dominated by GPUs like the RTX 4090 or the upcoming RTX 5090.

Also see: We Tested 250 Games on an Intel Arc GPU: How Did It Go?

Meanwhile, BMG-31 appears to be an entry-level or mobile-focused card, featuring the same number of Xe graphics cores as the A770. In September, an unidentified Battlemage card powered by the BMG-G21 chip, equipped with 12GB of VRAM and a 2,850 MHz boost clock – an unprecedented speed for any graphics card – was spotted on Geekbench.

A mainstream-focused strategy would mirror AMD's plans for its upcoming RDNA 4 lineup, likely branded as the Radeon RX 8000 series.

AMD's next-generation GPUs are also not expected to compete with Nvidia's upcoming flagship RTX 5090, which is rumored to feature 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM with a 600W TDP. Both lineups are anticipated to make an appearance at CES 2025 in late January, with launches expected through the first quarter of the year.

Previous reports on Battlemage indicated that Intel aimed to begin shipping the cards before Black Friday in late November. While the company may narrowly miss that target, a December release would still capture some holiday-season shopping fervor, offering Intel a much-needed edge against AMD and Nvidia.

Alchemist suffered significant shipping delays in 2022, which left it trailing in performance compared to the latest products from competitors. These delays, compounded by initially poor drivers (now vastly improved), limited Intel's GPU market share, which has since nearly disappeared.

Recently, CEO Pat Gelsinger mentioned that Intel will invest less in discrete graphics moving forward due to weakening demand, implying that the next generation of Intel GPUs, Arc Celestial, could be scaled back or even canceled.

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New Intel Arc Battlemage gaming GPUs could arrive as soon as next month

 

[AnilD]

Intel’s choice to stick with mid-tier GPUs is a smart long-term play. Enthusiast cards make headlines, but mainstream cards sell in higher volumes. Plus, a December release date could make Battlemage popular among holiday shoppers looking for cost-effective upgrades.

That said... Pat Gelsinger’s comments about scaling back on discrete GPUs are a bit concerning. Intel needs time to develop a foothold in the GPU market.

 

[takaozo]

Intel didn't made a mid-tier GPU, the best they have is 2 gen old mainstream. The A770 was arround 3060 performance. Mid-tier should have been 3070-3070Ti level. Also they sold at no margin or at loss most of the GPU's. The ROI was never recouped and business can't sustain with this margins.
Pat's decision is based on numbers and Intel numbers are a down all over for now.

The drivers issues from the start made a big stain on ARC reputation and gamers are not beta-testers.
Same happened with Radeon, just look at their market 10-12%.

I will not buy a product waiting 6-12 months for software to catch-up. You want me to be a beta-tester give me the hardware and pay me to test your stuff.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Intel can get it right, if they price it right. Most people like myself do NOT play at 4k, do NOT use advanced features like Ray Tracing. Most people are happy with a stutter free experience playing at mid-range graphic settings.

When the game is good, you really don't care about the little details so much, you get immersed into the game.

I have a 4070 super and the highest rez I game is 3400x1440. I was find with 1020p! I just wanted a wide screen monitor, so bumped the rez up to match.

 

[jpvalverde85]

Certainly they can get it right, actually tech wise they are in a good place on the graphics processing, their tech is useful, works mostly well (they got right scaling, they got right raytracing, new apis works well, they are mobile suitable so arch wise they arent power hogs), they just have been a bit dissapointing on the execution or configuration of the chips themselves, A770 for example you see the peaks of performance and it could be inferred the might of the chip, but also you see all the lows and mediums and that speaks about the places where it could have been optimized, I had the hope that Intel could work it a bit more at the software/driver side but they are still lacking a bit. If they get it right with the new gen, there is an opportunity to have a decent console like performance and features and in that scenario if they go hard on marketing and prices they may be able to build themselves a bigger place given that AMD already announced they will not be going all in next gen.

 

[MasterAce]

Intel didn't made a mid-tier GPU, the best they have is 2 gen old mainstream. The A770 was arround 3060 performance. Mid-tier should have been 3070-3070Ti level. Also they sold at no margin or at loss most of the GPU's. The ROI was never recouped and business can't sustain with this margins.
Pat's decision is based on numbers and Intel numbers are a down all over for now.

The drivers issues from the start made a big stain on ARC reputation and gamers are not beta-testers.
Same happened with Radeon, just look at their market 10-12%.

I will not buy a product waiting 6-12 months for software to catch-up. You want me to be a beta-tester give me the hardware and pay me to test your stuff.

Meanwhile Nvidia gets to demand any price they want and be as anticonsumer as they want. This is not a good development.

And if Pat himself doesn’t believe in ARC, who’s going to buy one?

 

[Loadedaxe]

Intel didn't made a mid-tier GPU, the best they have is 2 gen old mainstream. The A770 was arround 3060 performance. Mid-tier should have been 3070-3070Ti level. Also they sold at no margin or at loss most of the GPU's. The ROI was never recouped and business can't sustain with this margins.
Pat's decision is based on numbers and Intel numbers are a down all over for now.

The drivers issues from the start made a big stain on ARC reputation and gamers are not beta-testers.
Same happened with Radeon, just look at their market 10-12%.

I will not buy a product waiting 6-12 months for software to catch-up. You want me to be a beta-tester give me the hardware and pay me to test your stuff.

You could have made an argument for this in 2022. Yes they had issues with drivers in the beginning, but currently, Intel's driver issues are very minor and I don't think they will be an issue with this release.

I have a A750 and its works just fine with no issues. I think battlemage will be a blessing for those that are tired of Nvidia and AMD, especially at pricing. Wait and see what the reviews show before writing them off.

 

[yesnt]

2850 MHz boost clock "unprecedented"? Is it though?