It seems Intel is far from stepping back from the discrete GPU arena, despite what some might think. Recent shipping manifests have stirred up interest by shedding light on Intel’s ongoing work on a new variant of their Battlemage line alongside an intriguing, somewhat enigmatic SKU.
Last year, Intel threw us for a loop with the announcement of two fresh Battlemage GPUs – the Arc B580 and B570. They gained a lot of traction back then, partly because NVIDIA and AMD hadn’t rolled out their own next-gen counterparts yet. Fast forward to now, and as we near the end of Q2, Intel has been noticeably silent about their desktop GPU plans. This opened the door for speculation, leading some to conclude that Intel had no major ambitions in the dGPU sector anymore. But hold that thought, because shipping manifests are telling a different story.
Twitter was buzzing recently with a post that drew attention to these developments, specifically naming the “BMG-G31.” It’s reportedly a notch above the current Battlemage models, and rumors suggest it could house between 24 and 32 Xe2 cores, boast a 256-bit memory bus, and come equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. However, chatter about Intel shelving the BMG-G31 model for consumers has surfaced too, casting doubts. The shipping manifests themselves point to the BMG-G31 being categorized for “R&D purposes,” hinting that it might be aimed more towards AI or professional work rather than consumer use.
Adding another layer of mystique, there’s mention of a strange variant dubbed the BMG “C32.” The naming conventions here are a bit of a puzzle since it seems to blend Battlemage and Celestial codes. Delving deeper, some, like @mikdt, believe this could be a “reworked” version of the “BMG-G31,” aligning it with the broader Battlemage family. So, clearly, Intel has multiple irons in the fire. What remains uncertain is their ultimate target – will these GPUs make their way into the hands of regular desktop users?
Given Intel’s trajectory and the development of their Xe3 “Celestial” architecture anticipated for the new Panther Lake SoCs, it looks like Intel might be shifting gears under the direction of their new CEO. With a broader focus on AI, it’s plausible that their GPU releases will lean more towards AI-focused tasks rather than solely catering to consumer-grade gaming rigs.
It’s an intriguing time, and as Intel refines its approach to discrete GPUs, we’re all left speculating about the next strategic move from Team Blue.
