Intel is showing no signs of stepping back in the competitive discrete GPU market. Recent shipping manifests hint at the ongoing development of a new Battlemage variant and a mysterious new GPU model.
Last year, Intel took us by surprise with the reveal of two Battlemage GPUs, the Arc B580 and B570. This was greeted with significant attention as NVIDIA and AMD had yet to reveal their next-gen offerings. Fast forward to nearly the end of Q2, and Intel seems to have gone quiet about their desktop GPU future. This silence made many speculate that Intel was losing interest. But fresh insights from shipping manifests suggest otherwise.
One of the manifests mentions the “BMG-G31”, a robust silicon that outmatches the current Battlemage models. Rumors suggest a variant of this could sport up to 32 Xe2 cores, a 256-bit memory bus, and 16GB of GDDR6 memory. However, speculation has also circulated about this model being canceled, indicating Intel might not aim it at the consumer sector after all. The “R&D purpose” label on these shipping manifests suggests the BMG-G31 is likely geared towards AI and professional applications.
In addition, another manifest highlights a curious model labeled BMG “C32”. The naming mix of Battlemage and Celestial has puzzled many, but insiders hint that it might be a part of the Battlemage series—a potential reimagining of the “BMG-G31”, as noted by @mikdt. Despite these developments, uncertainty remains whether these GPUs will target the desktop market or not.
As Intel continues its work on its discrete GPU lineup, it will be fascinating to see the path they choose, especially since they are currently also developing the Xe3 “Celestial” architecture poised for Panther Lake SoCs. With the company’s new CEO directing more focus towards AI-related priorities, it seems likely that Team Blue might be steering its GPU innovations towards AI-specific tasks.
