Intel Arc Battlemage is touted to be the successor of Intel’s first-generation Alchemist series for discrete graphics architecture and is all set for its release anytime soon.
While the gaming market is predominantly ruled by brands like Nvidia and AMD, with their GeForce and Radeon series, Intel entered the discrete sector lately (in March 2022), which turned out to be a successful venture. Later, the Arc GPU series was extended to ARC A750 and A770, which got released in Oct 2022.
The Intel Arc A770 was priced similarly to the NVIDIA RTX 3060 but outperformed the latter in many ways. But now it is considered the last GPU in the Arc Alchemist lineup as Intel Arc Battlemage is ready to set its foot in the GPU lineup.
Let’s Deep Dive to Know More About Intel Arc Battlemage.
While there isn’t much information about Intel’s Arc Battlemage lineup for now, you can expect a lot of updates related to its architecture and software. Also, you will see some of the most cutting-edge technologies being implemented in this new GPU series. The Intel Arc GPU release date is set for next year, which is 2024.
Expected Features of Battlemage GPU lineup
Here are some rumoured about the upcoming Intel Arc Battlemage GPU lineup:
- Intel arc gaming laptop (Battlemage) has been designed for enthusiasts and pro-level gamers.
- These graphics may come with improved Deep link capabilities.
- Advanced memory system and compression
- Better ray tracing acceleration
- Improved ML-based rendering
- Better and robust microarchitecture
Moreover, the Intel Arc Battlemage series will likely have double the Xe core counts than A770. So instead of 32 cores, the gamers will have 64 processing cores.
Also, Intel has claimed to feature a clock speed of around 3 GHz. But the current Intel GPU’s clock speed is not similar to Nvidia’s clock boost. The Nvidia RTX 49 series reached up to 2/9 GHz on lighter workloads and during overclocking.
But one of the most prominent features of the Intel second generation graphics lineup is that the graphics will be high-end instead of entry or more level (Alchemist series). As a result, the Intel Arc Battlemage series is considered to give tough competition to the Nvidia flagship graphics, RTX 4080. If everything goes according to Intel’s plan, you might witness great drivers at the launch.
Graphics (GPU) Micro Architecture:
Gamers and designers who are well versed in technological updation must be aware that before the Intel Arc GPU series was launched, the prime focus of Intel was on Xe graphics hardware (it is the core architecture of Arc GPU). The Xe has been split into four different architectures, namely Xe-LP, Xe-HP, Xe-HPG, and Xe-HPC, all designed to target different market segments.
The Classification
But, with the Battlemage series, it seems like Intel is not taking that tack with Xe2. Furthermore, the Accelerate Compute Group (AXG) has been split into two sections to serve Intel’s Client Computing Group and Data Center Group. It seems like the second-generation arc graphics (Battlemage series) will get divided into two segments, such as Xe2-LPG dedicated to integrated graphics and low-power components and Xe2-HPG for powerful discrete GPUs and pro-level visualization.
As per the authenticated sources, it is likely that the Data Center Group will likely focus more on the Xe-HPC. On the other hand, the Client Computing Group, which has the other portion of AXG, will be focusing on the versions of Xe2.
Implementation:
In short, the Xe2-LPG will get employed in the Intel Core processors as integrated graphics. Also, it will support the complete direct 12 Ultimate feature set. Doing so will put Intel’s integrated graphics comparable to its rival AMD, whose integrated graphics already support DirectX 12 Ultimate.
On the other hand, Xe2-HPG will feature high-powered discrete graphics GPUs for both form factors; desktops and laptops.
Intel Current and Upcoming Discrete Graphics Compared:
Here is a run-through between the Intel Arc Alchemist Series and Battlemage Series to bring better clarity towards these discrete graphics.
| Parameters | Alchemist Series | Battlemage Series |
| Technology | Xe-HPG | Xe2HPG |
| Performance | Entry to mid-level | Mid to high-level |
| GPU Segment | Mainstream Gaming | Mainstream – High-level gaming |
| GPU Generation | Gen 12 | Gen 13 (Expected) |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 (Expected) No information is available as of now |
| Process Node | TSMC 6nm | To be announced |
| Launch Year | 2022 | 2024 (expected) |
Conclusion:
While there isn’t much information available about Intel Arc Battlemage Series, from the available data, it is evident that these GPUs will be Intel’s second-generation discrete graphics. The current generation of Alchemist GPUs is based on Xe-HPG architecture, but the upcoming ones will feature Xe2 HPG.
There is also news about the upcoming Intel Arc GPUs and their architectural makes and technologies they will be using. The third generation series will be named Celestial GPUs. They are due to be rolled out in 2025-26. There is also a fourth-generation series called the Intel ARC Druid series. However, not much information is available on the same. As for now Intel Arc GPUs (Battlemage) release date is not yet out, but we can expect it to be released any time in 2024. Stay tuned for more updates.
